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Market fluctuation: What you
should know and what you could consider doing

 

It's important to remember you and your Merrill advisor built your plan, factoring in the need for resiliency during times of market fluctuation. We’re here to provide guidance on additional steps you can take today to help stay on track.

Did you know?

 

It’s about time in the markets, not timing the markets. We’ve experienced spikes in volatility before and, although there is no guarantee, historically the market has been known to rise over the long term after decline. That’s why abandoning the markets during these periods could potentially lead to an underperforming portfolio.

Image of a chart detailing the performance of investments in the market. The chart shows the decline of investments during the recession of December 2007 through June 2009. The bottom line indicates that investments that existed the market and invested in cash from 2007 and 2020 only grew from $50,000 to $57,000. The middle line depicts investments that exited the market and reinvested within one year and shows that from 2007 to 2020 investments went from $50,000 to $195,000. The top line depicts investments that stayed in the stock market and from 2007 to 2020 shows that those investments went from around $60,000 to $299,000. Underneath the chart the disclaimer says that past performance is no guarantee of future results. This graph is for illustrative purposes only and not indicative of any investment. Recession data is from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The market is represented by the Ibbotson Large Company Stock Index. Cash is represented by the 30-day U.S. Treasury bill. An investment cannot be made directly in an index. The data assumes reinvestment of income and does not account for taxes or transaction costs. Copyright Morningstar. All rights reserved.

Here are some key steps you can take to
reduce the impact of market fluctuation

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Rebalance your portfolio

Rebalancing your portfolio as markets adjust returns your investments to your original strategy, could potentially help improve returns, and couldhelp reduce the impact of volatility.

Learn more

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Confirm your time horizon

Ensuring you have enough readily-liquid assets creates confidence that your short-term cash flow needs are addressed while leaving the balance of your investments in place to address your long-term goals.

Learn more

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Reduce your tax burden

Market declines may represent an opportunity to harvest losses to offset financial gains.

Learn more

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Due to COVID-19 and its impact on the current environment, the United States Postal Service is unable to deliver mail to certain foreign countries1. As a result, Merrill will be delaying mailings to impacted clients. Click here for additional details.

 

1 As of July 27, 2020, the United States Postal Service is unable to deliver mail to the following twenty-three (23) countries: Bermuda, Bolivia, Botswana, Brunei, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Iraq, Libya, Mauritius, Nepal, Panama, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Venezuela and Yemen.

 

SEC Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative

 

Investing involves risk. There is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities.

Asset allocation, diversification and rebalancing do not ensure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets.

Ibbotson Large Company Stock Index is represented by the S&P 500 Composite Index (S&P 500) from 1957 to present, and the S&P 90 from 1926 to 1956. The Ibbotson style indexes cover various market capitalization sizes including large-cap, mid-cap, small-cap, and micro-cap. The Large Company Stock Index is constructed by first selecting deciles 1-2 of the NYSE universe and then assigning similar sized NTSE Amex and NASDAQ companies to the corresponding portfolios.

Merrill, its affiliates, and financial advisors do not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. You should consult your legal and/or tax advisors before making any financial decisions.

Merrill offers a broad range of brokerage, investment advisory (including financial planning) and other services.There are important differences between brokerage and investment advisory services, including the type of advice and assistance provided, the fees charged, and the rights and obligations of the parties. It is important to understand the differences, particularly when determining which service or services to select. For more information about these services and their differences, speak with your Merrill financial advisor.

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