Spooked by ongoing sharp decline in value of investments - should I cut my losses?

SVaz

3% is nothing.

Bond funds dropped 25% in a few days in 2022, I’d just stuck a big lump sum in one to ‘protect my money’ . Now that was a sickener. You live and learn.

chiang_mai

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81935142#Comment_81935142

It was -3% a few days ago, today, for me, it's -6%.

infj

I don't know if the OP is still reading this but many years ago when I first started investing, I read something along the lines of "by investing in tracker funds you are putting a little bit of money in to the fact that cleverer people than you will always be trying to make money and you get to have a share of that creativity and greed." Sadly I can't remember where I read it or the exact quote but the idea has always stuck with me. So unless you think that humans are about to stop being inventive and being greedy, this is just a blip in the long term.

chiang_mai

Blackrock is telling us that investors are mispricing the Iran war risks and assuming a speedy resolution to the issues. Even if the war ends tomorrow, oil prices and inflation will likely remain high for six months, until supplies return to normal levels. But what if the war doesn't end tomorrow, what if it runs for many months, on top of which there is the recovery time? They do have a point, nobody in these pages has mentioned that the conflict might be enduring, nor the recovery time, everyone appears to assume a speedy return to business as usual. Of course, if you consider such possibilities, you might be accused of being unnecessarily alarmist and subject to undue media sensationalism. But if you don't, could you be accused of being complacent or naive? Ah, but they would say that wouldn't they, they just want your to sell and get the markets moving again. Food for thought perhaps.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-26/blackrock-s-kapito-warns-investors-are-mispricing-iran-war-risks?srnd=homepage-asia

masonic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81937769#Comment_81937769

I'm squarely in the markets not fully pricing in camp. However, the orange one is already desperate to find a way out, given the damage it is doing to him at home.

InvesterJones

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81937769#Comment_81937769

"everyone appears to assume a speedy return to business as usual" Where are you reading that? It does worry me when people jump to sweeping generalisations, almost as much as the thought of someone making decisions based on opinions on the internet.

I think you're right to observe that nobody has mentioned exactly when the confluence will end nor how long a recovery would take - we can't possibly know.

But equities shocks have happened before, and they will happen again. Anyone investing ought to understand that.

chiang_mai

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81937786#Comment_81937786

Where I'm reading that is that comentators in these threads (and others) are all saying to sit tight. It's more about what isn't being said than what is! Nobody has once mentioned that we might be facing a very lengthy or even permanent disruption to the norm, something that would impact older investors more than the younger set, because they may not all have the required time to recovery. So if there is a generalisation anywhere in all of this, it's that the same rules of sitting tight, hold true for everyone, which I don't believe is true.

masonic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81937830#Comment_81937830

If one is invested appropriately for their circumstances, then the rule of sitting tight will hold true. I am sitting tight, after adjusting my risk exposure for a change to my circumstances last year. If sitting tight feels uncomfortable, then perhaps that's a problem with your current posture, and you need to fix that rather than try to shuffle in your chair in response to various aches and pains.

InvesterJones

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81937830#Comment_81937830

It probably not a wise game to try and infer meaning from what people aren't saying!

If it helps you, I'm happy to say we could be facing a lengthy impact to prices, which might require central banks to raise interest rates if they are concerned about second round effects. I don't think any such impact would result in a permanent disruption to the norm - so I'm not really surprised no-one has said the latter. Interest rate rises would likely reduce returns on equities, so this is always part of the planning when it comes to investments, which of course should always be timeframe appropriate - it's not just about age, but if you need your money in the short term going 100% equities isn't recommended - that's been a consistent message on these forums so I don't quite understand the concern about commentary in that respect.

chiang_mai

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81937847#Comment_81937847

I think it will always be the case that experienced and mature investors will remind us that we should have considered these possibilities from the outset and factored them into our asset allocations and choices of investments from day one. But reading the various comments and threads over time makes me think that experienced and mature investors in these discussions are very much in the minority, the majority are either newbies or inexperienced investors seeking guidance, advice and tips whilst many readers are not even heard from.

I think it's likely that the conversation says one thing but the much larger audience is thinking something different. So whilst you and others like you understand these "blips" and assume that because your asset allocation is up to par, that you shouldn't be concerned about protratcted downturns, I think the mainstream probably is worried….which is why I posted the Blackrock ariticle, because it is is directly relevant to a majority of the audience and they may not have the same precison in their allocations as you do..