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How to protect your money as Mideast turmoil fuels market volatility
Kerry Hannon · Senior Columnist Thu, March 5, 2026 at 9:11 AM CST 5 min read
The stock market has been whipsawing as the conflict in the Middle East has unfolded.
In the initial trading days since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran, markets fell and then recouped most of the losses. Oil prices spiked, and demand surged for safe havens like gold amid new global uncertainty.
Investors and retirement savers are nervously feeling around for solid financial footing. I asked several financial advisors what they’re telling clients about managing their money in these unpredictable times.
Read more: What an extended war with Iran could mean for gas prices
Fear and your finances
The first rule: Don’t freak out.
“It’s difficult to set aside the strong emotions that often occur during major world events like this,” Lisa A.K. Kirchenbauer, senior advisor and founder of Omega Wealth Management in Arlington, Va., told Yahoo Finance. “As hard as it can be, investing decisions fueled by these short-term fears should be avoided. Historically, long-term investing outshines short-term market trading over time.”
That means no panic selling. Don’t pull money you’ve smartly invested and turn it into cash in your mattress. Especially when it comes to retirement saving, you’re investing for the long term. Geopolitical events are, for the most part, short-term shocks to markets.
‘Not unusual’
Sometimes the best strategy is to simply sit on your hands.
“As we have seen over the last couple of days, the global stock markets have been on a wild roller coaster,” Kirchenbauer said. “Reacting to the morning’s market reading could end up being a mistake in the afternoon or the next day.”
That’s key to remember, especially if you’re decades away from retiring and the need to dip into those savings.
“Staying invested and making strategic adjustments, rather than reacting emotionally, leads to stronger long-term results,” Kirchenbauer said.
Discipline rules the day
Focus on your personal retirement runway and your values.
“Protecting your mission and mind allows you to protect your money during times of war and market volatility,” Lazetta Rainey Braxton, a financial planner and founder of The Real Wealth Coterie, told Yahoo Finance. “Your goals and values play a critical role regarding your risk and reward capacity.”
Some investors, she said, implement short-term active and tactical decisions, such as shifting to safe havens such as gold and silver and investing in companies that profit from war.
Read more: What's a safe haven, and should you invest in one?
Others may weather the market volatility by “staying true to their diversified asset allocation or revisiting it with intention,” she added.
One priority right now is to have a cash “cushion account.”
“This is a critical safeguard to help you navigate inflation, job transitions, sabbaticals, and unexpected opportunities,” she said.” These reserves provide stability and flexibility in an ever-changing geopolitical and economic environment.”
Braxton monitors stock and bond markets — both domestically and internationally — through the lens of geopolitical and economic developments, yet her investment philosophy is simple. Stay centered on long-term wealth building through passive index investing and diversification.
Remember your long-term goals
How many years until you plan to retire? That number is key in the moves you make now.
“It's always important to stick with your plan, and times of stress are not the best times to be taking rushed actions,” Justin Smith, a certified financial planner with Savant Wealth Management in Phoenix, told Yahoo Finance. “Hopefully, your plan and portfolio were built to help you navigate times of turbulence and volatility.”
Stay calm is Smith’s mantra. “Focus on what you can control, such as your retirement plan and cash holdings, and acknowledge that much of this is out of your control.”
Read more: Here's what to do with your retirement savings in a market sell-off
Selling can be a mistake
“The mistake a lot of people make is selling out of positions when the market is lower,” said John Anderson, a certified financial planner in Chicago.
If you’re investing money automatically in your employer-sponsored retirement plan or an IRA, you're investing when the market is ripping and when it’s tanking, and that means the return on your investments evens out over the long haul.
If you’re like many retirement savers and invest in a target-date retirement fund, your account is automatically adjusting for market gyrations.
With a target-date retirement fund, you pick the year you’d like to retire and buy a mutual fund with that year in its name (like Target 2044). The fund manager then splits up your investment between stocks and bonds, typically both U.S. and international, changing that balance to a more conservative blend as the target date approaches.
Near retirees, downshift
Are you retiring within three to five years? Listen up.
“If you're in a position where you are a little closer to retirement and you've built that nest egg up, then it'll be good to work with your advisor to see what strategies or products are out there that might protect you from downside loss,” Anderson said.
“Generally speaking, you might want to shift to a portfolio with less risk, by diversifying out of equities and more into fixed income holdings.”
That’s solid advice and in line with what I heard from many of the pros I talked to. When you’re close to stepping away from a steady paycheck, or already retired, you should have at least five years’ worth of living expenses in a combination of high-yielding savings accounts, CDs, money market funds, and high-quality bonds.
Rebalance on a regular basis
The world’s gone mad, so give your portfolio a new look even if only to ease your mind.
“This is the time to meet with your advisor to review your portfolio,” said Kimberly R. Stewart, a certified financial planner with Ameriprise Financial in Orlando.
Financial advisors generally suggest rebalancing (adjusting your mix of stocks and bonds) whenever your portfolio deviates by 7% to 10% from your original asset allocation, which was built to match your time horizon, risk tolerance, and financial goals. To roughly determine what percentage of your portfolio should be in stocks, subtract your age from 110. So, a 60-year-old would have 50% in stocks and the rest in bonds and cash.
“The mistake a lot of individuals make,” Anderson said, “is that they aren't reviewing their portfolios on a consistent enough basis, and that might make one vulnerable when distributing funds from these accounts in down markets — which is going to potentially erode that nest egg faster.”
Kerry Hannon is a Senior Columnist at Yahoo Finance. She is a career and retirement strategist and the author of 14 books, including "In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work" and "Never Too Old to Get Rich." Follow her on Bluesky.
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Source: “AOL Money”
