It's been a wild ride for markets these last few weeks. Kelli Tampio, a financial advisor with Edward Jones, is still in the office these days, but communicating with clients remotely.
"I'm doing online and phone appointments so when clients have questions they can call my office and I can answer any concerns they might have with the current market," Tampio said.
There's a lot of uncertainty right now, and everyone's situation is different. But a good way to start is to take a look at your financial goals, both short and long term
"If someone is in a panic, I think it's important for them to know how their money is working for them in the short term, medium term and long term,"Tampio said. "So it's important to put things in perspective. Do I have my short-term money working for me today? Do I have a good emergency fund in this slowdown that's going to be efficient to pull me through, and how is my long term money going to be working for me? Also, what kind of expectations can I anticipate with the market?"
As far as 401k's are concerned, she says make sure you're diversified, and you know what that breakdown of stocks and bonds is - so you have an idea of what to expect.
"If there's no immediate need for that money, I would just make sure it's diversified and you understand how it's diversified," Tampio said. And you understand that okay, I hold this money in the market, this much in fixed income, this is what I can expect based on my allocation and diversification so it's good to have those expectations set and know your long-term money situation."
She says there are some unique opportunities right now as well.
"There is a lot of market opportunity to invest, but not at the expense of any short-term needs," Tampio said. If clients have been coached well and have a good financial plan that's in line with their goals, I would say most people are comfortable with how they're positioned. I've been very busy in finding good opportunities to buy at this point. I have a mixture of everything but mostly right now the biggest issues are trying to stay the course, not to panic, staying focused on what the goal of that money is and finding opportunity if it's something that works for that person and their financial need at this point."
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