Stay invested in 2020? This wealth manager says yes

After last week’s horror Friday, many ASX investors will probably be starting this week feeling a little uneasy. That’s totally understandable. On Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) plunged by 3.1% in one of the worst days for ASX 200 shares since March.

That followed even bigger falls on the US markets late last week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index fell by 5% on Thursday night (our time) and another 1.3% on Friday night.

But according to the world’s largest wealth manager, investors should be using this pullback to double-down on their investments. According to reporting from Business Insider, Swiss investing giant UBS is merely viewing Friday’s sell-off as a “bout of profit-taking after a strong run” and thinks it shouldn’t be taken to heart by investors today.

Business Insider quotes UBS chief investment officer of global wealth management Mark Haefele: “Stocks are still well-supported by a combination of Fed liquidity, attractive equity risk premiums and an ongoing recovery as economies reopen from the lockdowns.”

As such, Mr Haefele thinks investors should “stay invested” by following these 3 recommendations:

1. Ease into markets with a dollar-cost averaging strategy
2. Diversify for the ‘next leg’ outside the big-name tech stocks like those with 5G prospects or those set to profit from a ‘green recovery’
3. Protect against the downside with diversification across both asset classes (including gold) and regions

Should ASX investors take note?

I think the advice of UBS is definitely worth considering today, even though share markets are still at historically high levels (especially over in the US). With interest rates at record lows, there’s really no alternative to investing in growth assets like ASX shares if you don’t want your money going backwards as cash.

Thus, apart from a carefully-manicured cash position in your portfolio to take advantage of any future opportunities, I still think ASX investors should be staying mostly invested in today’s environment. By all means, take some profits off the table and add to your cash position if you’re feeling nervous. But strategies like ‘selling everything and waiting for the next crash’ are high-risk ones right now, in my view. Trying to ‘time the market’ is never a good idea anyway.

Strategies like dollar-cost averaging and diversification, by contrast, can help investors to smooth out returns over time, and mitigate the risk of losing a large sum of capital if there does happen to be another market crash waiting around the corner. 

More reading

• Why the Ramelius share price is leading the gold sector higher today
• ASX 200 up 0.5%: CSL signs COVID-19 vaccine agreements, big four banks charge higher
• 4 of the best ASX shares to buy before 2021
• More radical action from RBA likely after Victoria’s extends harsh lockdown
• Share price opportunities to buy this week

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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