Worried about stocks? Why long-term investing is crucial

Tahni Davison is a Financial Adviser with Gilkison Group.

You don’t have to flick through the newspaper or scroll on your phone for long before you see some less than encouraging opinion piece about what is happening in the world. Whether its rising inflation, wars, interest rates or property prices, mainstream media like to sensationalise everything – especially in times of market volatility and economic challenges.

While it is very easy for people to have an opinion on what will happen next, it’s important to remember what has happened in the past. According to the media, the world is ending. But they’ve written that before and not only has the world not ended, markets and mankind have bounced back just as strong, if not stronger.

This great article from Dimensional takes us back to 1997 – to what was about to happen in the world and how share markets reacted, both positively and negatively in the 25 years that followed.

No one knows for certain what is going happen over the next 12 months or 25 years. If we stick to our principles and invest for the long term, diversify exposure to multiple assets, sectors and countries, tune out the noise from mainstream media and don’t panic, then evidence points to positive outcomes for all.