Risk to stocks and your retirement can be measured in many ways. The Hamas' strike on Israel over the weekend certainly creates risk. The brutal attack on Israel referred to as Israel's 9/11, was completely unexpected. Immediately, Israel declared war. If you remember what happened after our 9/11, take that and multiply it by two or greater. It seems like this war could spiral out of control, seeing that there are more than a few terrorist countries/groups (such as Iran) that are helping Hamas with the attack on Israel.
Now, before I go on, let me state what I am not trying to say. War of any kind is horrific on every front, as thousands lose their lives. I am not trying to say that losses in your 401k plan are more important than loss of life. My job is to keep my readers informed as to the environment of risk. Remember, stewardship is about managing risk. As a prudent steward, you have to constantly evaluate the potential for big losses in your retirement accounts. It is crucial to evaluate the risk levels of the market to determine when it makes sense to make changes to your risk profile.
Remember, it is early, and these situations are unpredictable. Here is the risk profile of this event:
This creates uncertainty - and markets hate uncertainty.
Is this war going to drag us into any type of involvement?
It wouldn't take much to tip our economy into a recession.
100% of the time, major risks to the markets are nothing that we see coming. No one saw this coming and/or the direction it will take.
However, from an economic standpoint, it translates to higher oil prices, creating more inflation in gasoline. At this point, this is just something to keep on the radar. Just know this also has the ability to escalate very quickly.
If you want a no-cost opinion on your 401k plan and your risk level, sign up for a 30-minute phone call here.
Bob Brooks is a Financial Advisor and Host of the Prudent Money Radio Show, heard daily on 91.3 FM at 3:00 PM in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
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