Financial advisor shares advice as stock market sees major drop

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The stock market has seen major drops since the start of the year. And Wednesday was Wall Street’s worst day in almost two years.

Action News Jax’s Nick Gibson reached out to a financial advisor about what are the best pieces of advice for investors and people with retirement plans.

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Jim Newman says it’s only a matter of time before the downward trend in the stock market reverses.

“I have to tell you, it’s pretty frustrating,” says Newman.

Newman believes there’s one fundamental reason for the stock market going down.

“What I’m seeing is we are taking two steps forward from COVID and one step back,” says Newman.

The S&P 500, which tracks 500 large U.S. companies, has dropped 18% since early January.

With the market falling and prices lower, Newman says there are still many buys right now and stable companies people can invest in.

“I think in any correction what you need to have are investments, that are known and well-capitalized. Investments that you know are going to be here six, 12, 15 months out,” says Newman.

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Newman also maintains it’s a perfect time to invest in something.

“From the 1800s until now, the market has trended high every time that we’ve had a major correction,” says Newman.

Gibson asked Newman, “if someone is considering retirement is right now a bad time?”

“I get that question all the time. I try to tell clients don’t try to pinpoint an exact date. It’s more of a feeling when you want to retire,” says Newman.

Although it looks gloomy right now, Newman says people should stay the course.

“If we look at where we are today and look at where we are at the second half of this year. I’m reading the second half of this year, we will see a rebound,” says Newman.

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