I’ll let you in on a cheeky secret:

Even though we advisers know what people should do when the market falls apart, we still worry that this is the time it’ll be different.

Each financial crisis I’ve been through, advisers have helped clients ‘hold the line’ and remain invested, even as they watch their balances fall.

And we know that this is – 9/10 times – the right thing to do.

But there’s also a voice at the back of my head asking, every single time “what if this time is different?”. What if this is the time the market never recovers? What if this is the time we stumble into a depression? What if this is the time that proves all of my training wrong?

Then the logical part of my brain kicks in.

The part that knows the danger that comes from selling down to cash.

That appreciates the economic fundamentals that support staying invested.

That knows that our client portfolios can absorb periods of extreme volatility, because they’ve been carrying their 0%-return cash buffers for just this kind of situation.

What I’m saying is – it’s normal to be worried when the sky seems to be falling in.

We worry too.

But we’re trained to focus on what it all means for you – and help you make the best decisions possible when everything is going wrong.