By Paul Waldmiller
Did you know that last week was the worst trading week for the United States Stock Market ever?
A 2019 survey shows that 50% of Americans have an 401k retirement plan which includes stocks, bonds and mutual funds. According to the Federal Reserve, of the ten percent of families with the highest income, a whopping 92 percent owned stock (2013 figure). That is just above the level it had been in 2007 and also just before that latest economic decline. But ownership had slipped for people in the bottom half of the income distribution and to a lesser degree for folks who were above the median but below the top ten percent.
What does all this fore mentioned information mean to you? Simply this, if you own stocks, bonds and/or mutual funds, with all the current turmoil in our stock market, there are steps that you can take to protect your assets. A wise person protects his or her wealth and takes prudent steps to protect all assets whether it is socks, cash or other valuables.
Here are some immediate and specific steps that some professional investors such as Michael Contursi, Executive VP of RCW Financial have recommended to protect your wealth;
1) Diversify! If you have a high volume or most of your wealth invested in the Stock Market, some have suggested that you remove upwards of 30% of your wealth out of the Market and place in more conservative assets.
2) Invest in precious metals such as Gold. Although the price of gold last week fluctuated, over time, the price of gold has steadily increased over the years. You will probably never receive a quick and large return on your investment, but precious metals such as gold do increase over time. A very safe investment for long-term investment.
3) Invest in fine art and rare coins. These two commodities grow in their value over time because of their rarity. People have a tendency to pay more for these items over time, specifically because of the rarity.