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\n Ron Sachs\/CNP \/ SplashNews.com \/ Ron Sachs\/CNP \/ SplashNews.com <\/p>\n
Commitment to Our Readers<\/p>\n
GOBankingRates’ editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services – our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines<\/a> and our products and services review methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n 20 Years<\/strong> Trusted by<\/strong> Volatility in the stock market understandably rattles many investors, afraid they\u2019ll lose a substantial part of their portfolios. <\/p>\n Since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, stock market<\/a> turbulence has been at the forefront of many people\u2019s minds. Americans dealt with this especially after the brief but steep tumult in April 2025 over Trump\u2019s \u201cLiberation Day\u201d tariffs. Here are five ways to protect your 401(k) from \u201cTrump volatility.<\/a>\u201c<\/p>\n 1. Don\u2019t Panic<\/p>\n Panic is rarely a good thing when it comes to investing. Acting on panic<\/a> can cause you to sell holdings that will likely rebound over time. The upheaval in early 2025 is a good example of this. The S&P 500 dropped 11% between April 2 and 8, 2025, per the Council on Foreign Relations<\/a>, only to bounce back and more.<\/p>\n Personal finance expert Suze Orman believes acting on this panic is shortsighted. \u201cI hope you resisted any urge to sell stock holdings during the worst of the market declines earlier this year. Once you lock in lower values, you can\u2019t easily make them up. And the markets have delivered a quick reprieve: those early losses have been made up,\u201d Orman said in an article<\/a> on her website. <\/p>\n Staying out of the headlines is a good way to stymie the panic.<\/p>\n 2. Properly Diversify<\/p>\n Investing heavily in growth stocks is an exciting way to possibly experience exponential growth. The flipside can also be true if you\u2019re not careful. Although not always exciting, proper diversification<\/a> is a prudent way to protect your 401(k) from wild swings.<\/p>\n Diversification doesn\u2019t prevent losses, but it can reduce the likelihood that losses will dominate your 401(k). Investing in a healthy mix of stocks and bonds in your 401(k) is a good way to protect your portfolio when markets become tumultuous, according to Kiplinger<\/a>.<\/p>\n Most 401(k) plans offer access to a broad base of funds, as well as tools to help you create a diversified portfolio.<\/p>\n 3. Rebalance on a Schedule<\/p>\n Rebalancing your portfolio<\/a> is a long-held approach to managing a 401(k) or IRA. Experts recommend rebalancing once or twice annually to ensure your holdings don\u2019t drift too far from your desired asset allocation.<\/p>\n \u201cTrump volatility\u201d can make it feel like you should rebalance more regularly. Doing so can be problematic, as it may erode gains and increase transaction costs. Many 401(k) plans offer automatic rebalancing as a feature; stick with that to keep your portfolio on track. \u00a0<\/p>\n 4. Have a Fully Funded Emergency Fund<\/p>\n It\u2019s not uncommon for wild market swings to leave some needing to borrow money. Americans can take a 401(k) loan to borrow money from their retirement savings. Such loans have legitimate purposes, but taking one during a downturn can cause various problems.<\/p>\n Not only can they cause early withdrawal penalties, but they can also lock in losses. Having a fully funded emergency account is a perfect way to offset this risk. It\u2019s best to keep these funds in a high-yield savings account to maximize interest earnings. <\/p>\n Furthermore, an emergency fund is a helpful tool for protecting your overall financial well-being.<\/p>\n 5. Invest Consistently<\/p>\n Understandably, volatility can drive Americans to put off investing until calm returns. For the forward-thinking investor, volatility is as good a time as any to continue investing through their 401(k) plans.<\/p>\n Continuing to invest during volatility is a good strategy, and it may get you a higher-quality holding for cheaper, according to Fidelity<\/a>. Many 401(k) plans include an auto-increase feature, or allow you to add cash to your plan to buy more shares. Over the long term, this can help increase profits.<\/p>\n Stock market volatility is worrisome for many Americans. Thoughtful action and calm nerves can go a long way to protect your 401(k).<\/p>\n Need a little extra breathing room in your budget? MoneyLion, a sister company of GOBankingRates, is giving away $2,000 a day through Jan. 24, 2026. Sign up here<\/a> <\/strong>and see if a cash boost is in your future.<\/p>\n Editor\u2019s note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ron Sachs\/CNP \/ SplashNews.com \/ Ron Sachs\/CNP \/ SplashNews.com Commitment to Our Readers GOBankingRates’ editorial team is committed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[3889,79,18,5267,19,17,234,235,3887],"class_list":{"0":"post-295742","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-401k","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-gobankingrates","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-personal-finance","15":"tag-personalfinance","16":"tag-retirement"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115933037454014021","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.gobankingrates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/icon-20.svg?webp=1&quality=75\"){kind=icon}
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