Market Crash: 3 Things You Must Do

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Investors are still deep inside today’s market crash, with COVID-19 and the oil and gas glut plunging stocks to prices not seen in a decade. It can be hard to know where to turn or what to do, and it can lead investors to make some big mistakes.

Instead of letting this market crash make your decisions at a time like this, it’s best to remember a few key basics of investing.

Gut check

We’re human. It’s only natural to look at today’s market crash and feel our stomach do backflips. You talk to your friends and they’ve all sold as many stocks as they can, fearing the stock market could sink even lower. But that would be a huge, huge mistake.

At a time like this you have to keep your emotions in check. Investing isn’t a science exactly, but it most certainly shouldn’t be based on your emotions. I get it; it’s stressful seeing your stocks go further and further down.

But if you look back at the stock market during the last recession a decade ago, you’ll see that stocks rebounded within a year. Canadian banks, for example, fared as some of the best in the world, trading at pre-crash prices within a years time.

Move things around

If you’re really concerned that your stocks are moving around too much in the opposite direction, it might be time to juggle around your stocks. Perhaps you were part of the cannabis boom, buying up stocks hoping to make some quick cash.

Unfortunately, most cannabis stocks aren’t likely to bounce back for a while, so it might be best to sell some riskier stocks and either keep the cash or reinvest in something more stable.

Again, Canadian banks are a great bet to be one of the first to bounce back. A stock like Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY)(NYSE:RY) is Canada’s largest bank based on market capitalization, and has expanded around the world to gain a foothold in a number of countries and continents.

This includes Latin America, an emerging market that could see serious cash come in as the economies strengthen. Its wealth and commercial management sectors are also highly lucrative, meaning that investors should expect cash to keep coming in for years to come.

Don’t bottom out

There can be a few signs that a market bottom is coming, but during a market crash it’s probably much better just to do the above. Check your emotions, rebalance your portfolio, and look to stocks that offer a solid long-term investment. A stock like Royal Bank is the perfect option to bring in cash for the long term, as it has decades of growth behind it.

This also includes its dividends, meaning you’ll be bringing cash in even during today’s market crash. Royal Bank offers a strong dividend yield of 5.98% as of writing, meaning an investment of $5,000 today would bring in about $275 per year. That money could be used to stash away for the future or to reinvest in other great stocks.

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