Every investment faces the possibility of a catastrophic economic collapse. It has occurred previously. However, there are measures you may take to safeguard most of your assets from a market crash or even a worldwide economic catastrophe. Moreover, preparation and diversity are the pillars of an effective defense plan that can also assist you in weathering a financial storm. Here are six ways to prepare for a market crash.
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6 Ways to Prepare for a Market Crash
1. Find the Silver Lining in Taxes
If you cannot directly protect your investments against a collapse, there are still alternatives to mitigate your losses. One possibility for losses experienced in taxable accounts is tax-loss harvesting. You can simply sell your lost holdings and then repurchase them at least 31 days later. Notably, this entails selling before the end of the current tax year to realize the loss before Jan. 1, and then buying the stocks again in 31 days or later, if desired. The IRS would consider repurchasing the stocks before this period to be a wash sale, and the opportunity to claim the loss would be denied.
As a result, you may deduct all your losses from any gains in those accounts. You can carry forward any excess losses to the following year and deduct up to $3,000 from your regular income each year.
2. Eliminate Debts
If you have significant debts, you may better sell part or all of your holdings and pay off your debts. This is especially wise if you have a significant amount of high-interest debt, such as credit card balances or other consumer loans. At the very least, you will have a pretty solid balance sheet while the bear market rages.
Paying off your property or a significant portion of your mortgage can also be a smart option. It is never a bad idea to reduce your monthly responsibilities.
3. Hedge Your Bets
If you detect a severe slump coming, don’t be afraid to position yourself to profit straight from it. You may take numerous approaches, and the ideal one for you will be determined by your risk tolerance and time horizon. In addition, if you possess shares of a stock that you believe will decline, you might sell it short and buy it back when the chart patterns indicate it is likely near the bottom.
This is easier to accomplish if you already possess the stock you intend to short. If the market falls against you, you may simply deliver your shares to the broker and pay the price difference in cash. Another option is to purchase put options on any equities you own that have options or on one or more financial indexes. If the underlying securities or benchmark price falls, these derivatives’ value will skyrocket.
4. Request a Guarantee
Investing at least a percentage of your portfolio in assets that will not decline in tandem with the market is good. If you are a short-term investor, you should consider bank CDs and Treasury securities. However, if you invest for a longer time, fixed or indexed annuities or even indexed universal life insurance policies can offer superior returns to Treasury bonds. Bonds issued by corporations and even preferred shares of blue-chip businesses can generate competitive returns with low to moderate risk.
5. Escape to Safety
When there is significant market volatility, most experienced traders migrate to cash or cash equivalents. You should consider doing the same if you can do so before the crash. If you exit fast, you can re-enter when prices are significantly lower. When the tendency inevitably reverses, you may benefit from the appreciation even more.
6. Diversify Portfolio
Diversifying your portfolio could be the single most significant precaution you can take against a severe bear market. Depending on your age and risk tolerance, it may be good for most of your retirement assets to be invested in individual stocks, stock mutual funds, or exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
If a crisis is coming, you must be prepared to relocate at least a portion of your funds into something more secure. Stocks, bonds, cash, real estate, derivatives, cash value life insurance, annuities, and precious metals are some of the assets available today. Nevertheless, you can also invest in alternative assets, such as a modest oil and gas production stake. Spreading your wealth over many of these categories is the most effective strategy to ensure that you have anything left if the economy turns for the worst.
In short, market crashes are not really something to be concerned about. They are inescapable and an essential trade-off to profit from the exceptional gains that public stocks may give over time. You can follow the six mentioned ways to prepare better for the market crash. Importantly, you will empower yourself to be a real long-term investor unaffected by the market’s volatility in the near term. Overcoming the market’s hurdles will most certainly be a highly rewarding experience. The route will not always be easy, but it will be well worth it.
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Source: Investopedia