In today’s media-saturated world, it’s nearly impossible to avoid hearing negative market news. Financial markets tend to fluctuate weekly due to social, political and economic events. As a result, the media offers an endless barrage of advice on what everyone should do with their retirement accounts, moment by moment.
However, savvy investors understand that overreacting to bad news and short-term market volatility with impulsive decisions can deliver disastrous results. Here are four things to remember to help you navigate wisely through all the noise.
Hopefully, you’ve already created a diversified asset allocation, but it’s never too late if you haven’t! Diversifying your investments across multiple asset classes is essential because each class reacts differently to market conditions. If you’ve allocated too much of your account to one asset class, you could be exposed to greater risk in certain market situations.
Without a strategic asset allocation plan, retirement investing becomes guesswork. Your allocation should be tailored to your financial needs, retirement income goals, risk tolerance and time horizon — in other words, long-term factors, not short-term market fluctuations or news. For example, if you’re a younger investor with aggressive retirement income goals, you likely have a higher tolerance for risk and can afford to assemble a more aggressive portfolio. However, as your goals evolve and your risk tolerance and time horizon change, your allocation will likely need to change as well. Regularly reviewing and adjusting your portfolio helps ensure it remains aligned with your needs.
Fortunately, GuideStone® can help. We offer three easy-to-understand investment approaches to help you prepare an asset allocation that meets your needs.
Short-term market volatility is inevitable, so staying focused on the long term is key. While past performance does not guarantee future performance, the stock market has been resilient through the years. When viewed over long periods, the market has been friendly to investors, yielding far more positive returns than negative ones.
Don’t let short-term market volatility and headlines derail your savings strategy. Remember that staying invested beats market timing. Start making contributions to your retirement plan as early in your career as possible. Workers who start saving consistently in their 20s will likely benefit more from the combination of time and compound growth than those who wait to start saving until they are in their 40s.
If you can’t save as much as you need to right now, plan to boost your contribution amount each year until you’ve reached your investment goal. Increasing your contributions may have a smaller effect on your take-home pay than you think. Use this calculator to see how much an increase will affect your paycheck. If you already participate in your employer’s retirement plan, you can easily increase your contributions by contacting your HR department. If not, ask them how to enroll!
Remember that a down market is generally a good time to buy. This is when your routine contributions will acquire more shares at lower prices. If the share price recovers or increases, you could benefit over the long term. Viewing a down market from this standpoint can help you stay focused on your long-term goals and prevent impulsive and emotional responses.
When you cut through all the empty noise, the bottom line remains the same: History has always rewarded the long-term investment approach through the stock market’s downturns and upturns. The best defense against market volatility and the pressure of market news is establishing an investment plan and staying the course with your strategic asset allocation. Investors who map out a strategy early in their careers and consistently invest to reach their long-term goals have a greater chance of being prepared for a comfortable retirement.
You can trust that GuideStone® is here to help you every step of the way. Not sure if you’re on track for retirement? We have several helpful resources and calculators available to help determine where you are and how to get where you want to go.
For more information, contact us at Info@GuideStone.org or 1-888-98-GUIDE (1-888-984-8433), Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT.
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• Sep 29, 2025 