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Chart of the Day

Good morning!

The recent stock declines and overall anxiety about economic growth has many stomachs churning and hearts palpitating. Understandably so, because money is on the line, and if you’re close to retirement, your life savings are at risk.

It’s always during those moments that someone advises, “Don’t panic, and whatever you do, don’t panic sell at the bottom.” Somehow that seems to make it worse.

Readers may find comfort in knowing that this is normal. Even professional athletes get stressed under high stakes situations. Take top figure skater Amber Glenn, for example, a star in her field, who would frequently stumble when it counted because of the pressure and the adrenaline. 

That was until she tried neurotherapy, which involved learning how to manage her nervous system under competition conditions. Glenn did this by getting used to the feeling of performing under pressure using sensors until it became second nature to her. She practiced staying in control “through breathing and other techniques, even as clinic staff deliberately move around or bang doors to throw her off.”

To be clear, we’re not saying you need to seek neurotherapy, but the answer to thriving during market stresses might lie in conditioning your brain. Glenn’s comeback is proof that getting used to the pressure is better than preparing for the pressure. 

Along those lines, here’s three other quick tips for strengthening your mental resolve.

How do you feel? 

You don’t necessarily need to start journaling, but it may be helpful to write down how you feel during market euphoria versus downturns. Fundstrat Head of Crypto Strategy Sean Farrell said, “You can use your feelings as a counter signal.” This way you can track your own bias better and figure out if you get easily influenced by market conditions. 

What’s your holding period?

A holding period—whether it be short, intermediate or long term—directly impacts an investor’s ability to stomach the paper losses. If your investments are going down, it might be helpful to remind yourself of your time horizon before making any changes to your portfolio strategy. If you still have a decade to go until retirement, do you really need to trim holdings? For example, Amazon.com shares didn’t do all that much from late 1990s to mid-2010s. It then posted a meteoric rally, with its market value now over $2 trillion. 

Change in thesis?

Ask yourself: Has the actual investing thesis behind why you bought the stock in the first place changed, or are you just selling because you don’t like the unrealized losses. If the fundamental thesis hasn’t changed, then perhaps it might be better to focus on the optimistic perspective: the stocks you like are now available at a great, discounted price.

Of course, we’re not saying you need to hold onto losers, nor do we pretend to be experts on how to avoid selling at the bottom. However, training yourself mentally can condition your brain to fight back the next time the market tests your resolve.

Share your thoughts

What are your tips on staying calm through the market turbulence? Click here to send us your response.

Here’s what a reader commented

Question: Has the stock market decline hurt you, or are you impartial?

Answer: Your point of U.S. households now owning 60% of the equity universe being a reason for added anxiety among investors is spot on. If you are a baby boomer that recently retired and is depending on your investment portfolio to finance said retirement, I imagine you are paying a little more attention than you did 10 years ago when your portfolio was probably less than half the size it is now.  Add in a high concentration of growth companies aka Mag-7, and that’s a recipe for being glued to CNBC and X to hear and read about everything that can go wrong.

Catch up with Fundstrat

Markets became decidedly mere risk-averse last week post-auto tariffs and these fears increased over the weekend with news reports of $700 billion of tariffs ahead. But this is also the reason that peak anxiety is getting priced in now. And Fed speaks at the end of the week. 

Technical

Unfortunately, Friday’s breakdown can’t be considered anything but negative, and this damage needs to be recouped right away on Monday to prevent a retest of March lows.

Crypto

We break down the latest crypto selloff and explore what the widening in high-yield spreads could be signaling for the path ahead. 

News We’re Following

Breaking News

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Business

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• Why JPMorgan, BlackRock want to ‘privatize’ more of your stock and bond money in volatile market CNBC
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Politics

• Mike Waltz Is Losing Support Inside the White House WSJ
• Trump Says He’s ‘Not Joking’ About Seeking a Third Term in Defiance of Constitution NYT
• White House Weighs Helping Farmers as Trump Escalates Trade War NYT
• Musk gives $1m checks to voters ahead of Wisconsin supreme court election SEM

Overseas

• Marine Le Pen Found Guilty of Embezzlement, Banned From Next Elections WSJ
• Netanyahu Names New Intel Chief Despite Showdown With Court NYT

Of Interest 

• ‘A hostile state’: The call to boycott US travel BBC
• Sotheby’s CEO: New York art market has been a big beneficiary of Brexit FT