VALDOSTA — With Washington in disarray, a government shutdown continuing into the new year and the stock market bouncing up and down, it can be frightening times for investors.

Stacy Bush of Valdosta, president and chief executive officer of Bush Wealth Management, wants to reassure people the best option is to do nothing.

Up until recently, the stock market saw tremendous gains this year. 

“It was a historic run in the stock market,” Bush said. “Almost every stock was up, but it hit its peak sometime around September.”

After that, the stock market plummeted and all of the gains of 2018 were swept away. Then, this Christmas saw a larger holiday drop in the stock market than people expected.

Bush said the holiday season is typically boring for the market, which is why the drop caught people off guard. Right after the drop, however, there was another stock surge that canceled out the holiday drop.

The continuous back and forth pull can set people on edge and make them wary of sticking with their investments, but Bush said this is just the stock market righting itself after years of gain.

“We’ve seen stock continually go up since the recession and now the market is pulling back to figure stuff out,” Bush said. 

The sometimes violent swings of the market are “just headline news” getting people riled up and making knee-jerk reactions, he said.

“When you hear that the Fed is raising interest rates again, you can be tempted to sell everything,” Bush said. “We tell people to stay with their long-term goals.”

A long-term goal is typically a diversified stock portfolio and lasts up to 10 years, he said.

Bush advises nervous investors to sit down with their financial advisers and work out a plan that gives them the peace of mind they need to get through this period of uncertainty.

“It can be scary to watch your money go up and down,” Bush said. “But you don’t want to react to fear or greed. That’s the real piece of advice here.”

Thomas Lynn is a government and education reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be reached at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256