Many exchange traded fund (ETF) investors of all types have been worried these last few weeks, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average has seen some of its biggest losses and most volatile days in history.

Mary Ann Milbourn for the Orange County Register asked area advisors for their thoughts on how to best handle the turmoil that could be with us for some time.

Our thoughts were:

• If you’re a buy-and-hold investor, you don’t necessarily have to take this. Sometimes selling a portion of your portfolio will help protect you from further downside losses and benefits your emotional well-being.
• If you’re about to retire and are still invested in your portfolio, you might consider selling some positions to stop the losses. Once the markets turn back around, look into putting your money back in to try and regain some of the losses.
• Don’t stop contributing to your 401(k). It never hurts to do what you can. But do check to see if your 401(k) provider offers ETFs in their plan.
• If your bank is FDIC-insured, then your accounts are insured up to $100,000 per depositor and up to $250,000 for retirement accounts. If you have less than that, you are considered “safe.”

Tags: Retirement