When your accounts are down due to market volatility, it’s natural to feel uneasy. But downturns can also be prime opportunities to strengthen your strategy. This checklist outlines actionable, long-term-focused steps to help you stay the course—and even come out ahead.

Market Volatility Checklist: Smart Moves When Accounts Are Down

🧠 Mindset & Strategy

• Stay Calm & Stick to the Plan. Volatility is normal. Emotional selling will lock in losses—focus on your long-term goals.
• Review Your Time Horizon. If retirement is years away, short-term dips are noise.
• Rebalance If Needed. Ensure your asset allocation still reflects your risk tolerance and timeline.

Did you know? Historically, 73% of all years in the S&P 500 have delivered positive returns.

But here’s something important to remember: your portfolio likely won’t always mirror the headlines. That’s because you're not investing directly in the index metrics being tracked—you’re likely invested in a mix of different funds. But, your timeline matters. The longer you are invested, the more likely your chances of positive returns. 

💰 Roth Conversions

• Consider Roth Conversions at Lower Values. Consider converting traditional IRA funds while markets are down—you’ll pay tax on a reduced balance, and future growth is tax-free. A Roth conversion is when you move money from a Traditional IRA (or another pre-tax retirement account) into a Roth IRA. It’s a strategic tax move that can help you create tax-free income in retirement.
• How It Works:
  1. You transfer pre-tax money from your Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.
  2. The amount you convert is taxed as ordinary income in the year you convert.
  3. Once in the Roth IRA, the money grows tax-free—and withdrawals in retirement are also tax-free, as long as you follow IRS rules.
• Run Tax Projections. First, make sure the conversion won’t push you into a higher tax bracket. Here's a free Roth Conversion calculator.  Set a time to discuss if this strategy makes sense for you. We highly recommend meeting with a financial planner before completing any Roth conversions on your own.

Why Consider a Roth Conversion (Especially During Market Volatility)?

• Market Down = Lower Values to Convert. Converting when your account balance is down means you’ll pay tax on a smaller amount, but future recovery and growth happens in the Roth—tax-free.
• Tax-Free Growth Forever. Roth IRAs aren’t subject to Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), so your money can stay invested and growing longer.
• Diversifies Your Tax Buckets. In retirement, you can pull income from taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free accounts—giving you flexibility and better control over your tax bracket.
• When Might a Roth Conversion Make Sense?
  • You expect to be in a higher tax bracket later.
  • You’re temporarily in a low-income year (retired early, between jobs, etc.).
  • You want to leave tax-free assets to heirs.
  • You have cash on hand to cover the taxes (you don’t want to pay the tax from the IRA itself if you can avoid it).

📈 Investment Strategy

• • Consider Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA is an all-weather strategy). Investing a consistent dollar amount each month means buying more shares when they are at lower prices.

How Dollar Cost Averaging Works: 

Without Dollar Cost Averaging:

• Avoid Timing the Market. Time, NOT timing, is what matters. Stay consistent.

Market declines have occurred in every year. Market declines are a normal part of investing:

🏦 Retirement Contributions

• Increase Payroll Contributions to 401(k). If you're self-employed, consider setting up a solo 401k or SEP IRA to boost contributions while stocks are down—essentially buying on sale. For recommendations on how much you should be saving in your retirement, reach out.
• This is how $10,000 would have performed over time, depending on whether you were an equity investor, balanced investor, bond investor, reactionary investor (selling when there are market drops), or if you kept things in cash:

• Max Out Tax-Advantaged Accounts. Prioritize your IRA, Roth IRA, or HSA to take advantage of tax benefits and market recovery.

🧐 Financial Housekeeping

• Check Your Emergency Fund. Maintain at LEAST 6 months of expenses in a money market or high yield savings to avoid liquidating investments in a downturn.
• Consider Harvesting Tax Losses (Taxable Accounts). It may make sense to strategically sell losing positions to offset capital gains—consult a tax professional and certified financial planner first. Questions? Reach out.

📝 Bonus Tip

• Document Lessons Learned. Keep a journal of your thoughts, actions, and market takeaways—it builds discipline and self-awareness.

How to Document Lessons Learned During Market Volatility

When emotions run high during downturns, we can revert back to fight or flight mode and make snap decisions—or freeze entirely. Taking time to reflect helps you identify what worked, what didn’t, and how you want to respond in the future. Over time, this builds financial resilience and confidence.

What to Include in Your Investment Journal

1. Your Emotional State

• How did you feel when the market dropped? (Anxious, calm, panicked, indifferent?)
• Were you tempted to sell or change strategy?
• Did the volatility affect your sleep, mood, or relationships?

2. Decisions Made (or Not Made)

• Did you stay invested? Sell? Buy more?
• Did you adjust contributions, allocations, or savings?
• What actions (if any) did you take based on headlines or advice?

3. What Worked & What Didn't?

• Did you follow your long-term strategy?
• Did automation (e.g., auto contributions) into accounts like your 401k, savings,  Roth IRA, etc help you stay on track?
• What helped you remain calm?

4. Lessons for Future You

• What would you want to remember next time markets drop?
• Do you need to adjust your risk tolerance or emergency fund?

5. A Snapshot of the Market

• Date and approximate market conditions (e.g., S&P 500 down 10% from peak).
• Any big economic headlines you were reacting to (inflation, rate hikes, etc.).
• Helpful to see context when looking back later.

How to Store It

• Digital Tools: Use a note-taking app (e.g. Evernote, Google Docs).
• Physical Journal: A dedicated notebook with dates and reflections.
• Spreadsheet: If you prefer structure—columns for date, market move, emotional response, actions, notes.

Make It a Habit

• Set a calendar reminder to update your journal weekly, monthly, quarterly or during significant market swings.
• Revisit old entries to spot growth, patterns, or recurring blind spots.

Have questions? reach out.

This content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information.  Images sourced from MFS & Capital Group. Chart 1 & 2 on Dollar Cost Averaging sourced from Charles Schwab. It may not be used for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation. The opinions expressed and material provided are for general information, and should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security.