--- title: '''They Shouldn''t Feel Alone'': Many Investors Struggle With the Emotional Rollercoaster of Market Volatility' description: Investors struggle with handling stock market volatility emotionally, but aren't asking for help, according to a new report. authors: - name: Mallika Mitra role: Contributing Editor url: https://money.com/author/mallika-mitra/ bio: Mallika Mitra is a contributing editor for Money, based in Chicago. She has covered investing and retirement for seven years and her work has appeared in CNBC, Bloomberg, Kiplinger, AARP, Barron’s, Bankrate, The Daily Upside, ETF.com, The Bond Buyer, PLANADVISER, PLANSPONSOR and Investopedia. education: Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY Kalamazoo College at_money_since: 2020 articles: 395 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - CNBC - Bloomberg - Kiplinger - Barron's - Bankrate - WGN-TV - CBS News Radio - This Morning With Gordon Deal - Everyone's Talkin' Money social: - https://twitter.com/mitra_mallika - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallika-mitra-4577a386/ published: '2022-01-14T17:42:57.000Z' modified: '2024-01-10T17:09:59.000Z' section: Economy and Politics tags: - stock market - stocks word_count: 634 canonical: https://money.com/stock-market-volatility-advice-survey/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Man studying stock market charts on his personal computer at home](https://img.money.com/2022/01/News-2022-Stock-Market-Volatility.jpg) Plenty of investors check [trading apps](https://money.com/how-to-use-robinhood-beginners/) daily and worry about the stock market's latest price moves. Unfortunately, few of them actually seek help dealing with the emotional rollercoaster. Handling market volatility emotionally is among Americans' biggest financial advice gaps — meaning, they struggle with it but don't ask anyone for guidance — according to a new [report](https://www.heartsandwallets.com/docs/press/press_release_2022-01-11_Biggest_Financial_Advice_Gaps_for_Americans.pdf) from market research firm Hearts & Wallets. "If consumers are feeling nervous about handling market volatility emotionally, they shouldn't feel alone," says Laura Varas, Hearts & Wallets founder and CEO. "They're actually in quite good company." The survey, which was conducted online in September and included 5,794 participants, featured questions about which financial tasks respondents found most difficult and whether they are seeking help, like searching for answers online, talking to a financial advisor or reaching out to friends and family. The other big financial advice gaps are [choosing appropriate investments](https://money.com/how-to-buy-stocks/), estimating [required minimum withdrawals](https://money.com/rmds-taxes-what-is-required-2021/) (RMDs), making buy and sell decisions on investments and [estate planning](https://money.com/coronavirus-financial-plan/), the research found. While more households are seeking financial advice overall than in the previous year, most of that growth is driven by households with $100,000 to under $500,000 in assets. The research found that millennials and [Gen Z-ers](https://money.com/gen-z-rewriting-personal-finance-rules-real-time/) are more likely to seek help for financial tasks than [older generations](https://money.com/gen-z-investors-talk-about-money/). So, why aren't people seeking financial advice for issues like handling market volatility? Reasons vary but could include that consumers don't know where to turn for help, have difficulty relating to support or are worried about the cost, Amber Katris, Hearts & Wallets subject matter expert, said in the press release that accompanied the report. Reaching out is the first step, Varas says. Overall, households that sought help on at least two tasks were more than twice as likely to see value in advice than households who have not sought help. ## How to handle stock market volatility The stock market has had a great run up since it crashed in March of 2020 when COVID-19 first hit, with the S&P 500 — a benchmark commonly used to measure the overall stock market — continuing to hit [new record highs](https://money.com/stock-market-forecast-end-2021/). But the market has recently been experiencing a pullback, and if you're worried about volatility, that's understandable. Still, giving into the fear and panic selling is [not the right move](https://money.com/cash-on-sidelines-coronavirus/). Just take a look at 2020, when investors pulled $326 billion out of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in March — more than triple the fund outflows seen in October 2008, the previous record — according to [Morningstar](https://www.morningstar.com/articles/978165/long-term-fund-outflows-amid-volatility-triple-08-figures). By August of 2021, the S&P 500 was [up 100%](https://money.com/stock-market-doubled-pandemic-low/) from its pandemic low, meaning that investors who had bought during the low would have doubled their money. Financial advisors say the key to handling market volatility is to have a long-term investing plan in place that includes a [diversified portfolio](https://money.com/how-to-diversify-your-stock-portfolio/) that is regularly [rebalanced](https://money.com/stock-market-volatility/). A diversified portfolio will include a mix of assets, like stocks and bonds, as well as a mix within those assets — stocks of both small and large companies, international and U.S. companies, etc. Rebalancing refers to selling investments that have increased in value and replenishing investments that have decreased in value to get your portfolio back to holding its target weights. Ideally, sticking to this plan will ensure that if one part of your portfolio suffers, another will whether the storm. If you need help, you can also turn to a financial advisor for help. Money has a [full guide](https://money.com/how-to-choose-a-financial-advisor/) on finding an advisor, including how to know which type of advisor you want, how much they tend to cost and more. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/stock-market-volatility-advice-survey/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Economy and Politics", "item": "https://money.com/economy-and-politics/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Stock Market", "item": "https://money.com/stock-market/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "'They Shouldn't Feel Alone': Many Investors Struggle With the Emotional Rollercoaster of Market Volatility" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/stock-market-volatility-advice-survey/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/stock-market-volatility-advice-survey/", "name": "'They Shouldn't Feel Alone': Many Investors Struggle With the Emotional Rollercoaster of Market Volatility", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2022-01-14T17:42:57.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/stock-market-volatility-advice-survey/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/stock-market-volatility-advice-survey/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-01-10T17:09:59.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "'They Shouldn't Feel Alone': Many Investors Struggle With the Emotional Rollercoaster of Market Volatility", "articleSection": "Economy and Politics", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2022/01/News-2022-Stock-Market-Volatility.jpg", "width": 2571, "height": 1714, "caption": "News-2022-Stock-Market-Volatility" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mallika Mitra", "url": "https://money.com/author/mallika-mitra/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/mallika-mitra/#author", "description": "Mallika Mitra is a contributing editor for Money, based in Chicago. She has covered investing and retirement for seven years and her work has appeared in CNBC, Bloomberg, Kiplinger, AARP, Barron’s, Bankrate, The Daily Upside, ETF.com, The Bond Buyer, PLANADVISER, PLANSPONSOR and Investopedia.\r\n", "image": "https://img.money.com/2020/05/Headshot.png?w=640&h=640&crop=1", "email": "mallikaamitra@gmail.com", "jobTitle": "Contributing Editor", "alumniOf": "Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY Kalamazoo College", "subjectOf": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://cnbc.com", "name": "CNBC" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://bloomberg.com", "name": "Bloomberg" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://kiplinger.com", "name": "Kiplinger" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://barrons.com", "name": "Barron's" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://bankrate.com", "name": "Bankrate" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://wgntv.com/midday-news/your-money-matters-why-is-crypto-so-popular/", "name": "WGN-TV" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-wall-street-journal-travel-editor-scott-mccartney/id1500053390?i=1000505352440", "name": "CBS News Radio" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://thismorningwithgordondeal.com/b/Lots-of-People-Think-NFTs-Are-Cryptocurrency-and-Theyre-Wrong/306379835851553325.html", "name": "This Morning With Gordon Deal" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-invest-in-a-recession/id957163760?i=1000596422109", "name": "Everyone's Talkin' Money" } ], "sameAs": [ "https://twitter.com/mitra_mallika", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallika-mitra-4577a386/" ], "worksFor": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2022-01-14T17:42:57.000Z", "description": "Investors struggle with handling stock market volatility emotionally, but aren't asking for help, according to a new report.", "abstract": "Investors struggle with handling stock market volatility emotionally, but aren't asking for help, according to a new report.", "@id": "https://money.com/stock-market-volatility-advice-survey/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2024-01-10T17:09:59.000Z", "wordCount": 634, "keywords": [ "stock market", "stocks" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Political economy", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_economy" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Stock market", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_market" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Opinion poll", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_poll" ] } ] } ] } ```