ATLANTA — The stock market dropped again Tuesday, continuing a reaction to tariffs implemented nearly worldwide by the U.S.
And for some Atlanta retirees, the drop is hitting them hard.
”I know, personally, I’ve lost $100,000 in the stock market in the last week, which is devastating,” Chris Hester told Channel 2′s Michael Doudna. “I just retired about eight months ago, and now I may have to go back to work.”
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Hester is not alone, as tariff concerns have created an uncertain future, costing trillions.
”I think anytime we have a sell-off like this, it’s tough. Our human nature is to sort of run,” Wes Moss, chief investment strategist at Capital Investment Advisors, said.
However, Moss preaches patience amidst the drop.
”These market draw downs are very real and unnerving for folks, but the reality is that this is the normal course of markets and markets do recover,” Moss said.
For retirees, Moss says times like this are why it is important to have a balanced portfolio, and even with the recent drop, many people should have time to see the market recover their losses.
”Retirement should be 20, 30, God willing, 40 years. So even retirees have really long time horizons,” Moss said.
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And for those running state pensions, the timeline is even longer.
”We look at investments, not on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis, but on a really long time horizon. Not really years, but more like decades,” Jim Potvin, Executive Director of the Employee’s Retirement System of Georgia, said.
The system handles the retirement of around 115,000 Georgians. He says the market did cost their portfolio about 7% of its value.
However, Potvin says they’ve experienced bigger drops before, and the market has bounced back.
”With a time horizon like ours, we can be confident a long-term investment is the way to go,” Potvin said.
And in a time of rapid change, Potvin and Moss preach patience, not panic.
”Balance is always our friend. Patience is our friend, and panic does not work when it comes to investment,” Moss said.
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