What to Review When Markets Fall
A calm checklist for the weeks when headlines are loud and account balances are lower, written to be read before that happens.
Investors who want a plan for how to think through a market decline before it happens, rather than deciding in the moment.
The most consequential investing mistakes tend to happen during downturns, when decisions get made quickly and under stress rather than calmly and in advance.
- How to check your cash runway before a decline, not during one
- A way to think about rebalancing discipline in a falling market
- Tax-loss harvesting as a question to raise, not a rule to apply blindly
- Whether withdrawals can be sourced from somewhere other than depressed holdings
- Job-loss and income contingency questions worth asking in advance
- How to notice when a decision is being driven by headlines
- Why writing a plan down before a decline changes how it's followed
- 1
Know your cash runway before markets move
Cash runway means the number of months or years of planned spending that could be covered without selling investments at a loss. This is best calculated when markets are calm, so the number is ready when it's needed rather than estimated in a hurry. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal, and no cash cushion removes that risk entirely — it only changes the timing of decisions.
Questions to answer- · How many months of spending could we cover from cash alone right now?
- · When did we last update that figure?
- · Does the answer change how urgent a decline would feel?
- 2
Decide your rebalancing rule in advance
Rebalancing during a decline often means selling what has held up better to buy what has fallen, which can feel counterintuitive in the moment. Deciding the rule — a set percentage drift, a set calendar date, or some combination — before a downturn removes some of the emotion from the decision when it actually arrives. Whatever rule is chosen, write it down somewhere it can be found later.
Questions to answer- · What rule would trigger a rebalance in our accounts?
- · Is that rule written down somewhere we'll actually check?
- · Have we followed this rule the last time markets moved?
5 more sections in the full guide.
Here is exactly what is still to come. Add your name and email above to keep reading on this page and print a copy. Two fields — never account balances or account numbers.
- Raise tax-loss harvesting as a question, not an assumption
Selling a losing position to realize a loss for tax purposes can make sense in some situations and not in others, depending on the account type, the replacement holding, and rules like the wash-sale rule.
Includes: “Which of our losses sit in taxable accounts where this could apply?”
- Look for another source for planned withdrawals
If a withdrawal is due during a decline, check whether it can be sourced from cash, a less-affected holding, or a different account before selling from whatever has fallen furthest.
Includes: “What withdrawal, if any, is coming due soon?”
- Think through job-loss and income contingencies
Market declines and economic slowdowns sometimes arrive together, which means income disruption can compound investment losses at the same time.
Includes: “How long would our emergency reserve cover expenses without income?”
- Notice when a decision is being driven by headlines
A useful test is to ask whether a proposed change to the portfolio would have been made anyway, absent the news of the last few days.
Includes: “Would we be making this change without the recent headline?”
- Write the plan down before it's needed
A short written plan — what triggers a review, who is consulted, and what steps are considered off the table — is far easier to follow during a decline than a plan that only exists as a general intention.
Includes: “Do we have anything written down for how we'll respond to a decline?”
No spam. We never sell or share your details, and you can ask us to stop contacting you at any time.
Official sources
Rules change. Confirm anything that affects a decision against the current official source.
Where this fits in our work
This guide accompanies our investment management work. Joe Donti meets with Arizona households by appointment — in the Scottsdale office, by phone, or on Zoom.
Related reading
This guide is general education and is not individualized investment, tax, legal, Medicare, or insurance advice, and it is not a recommendation to buy or sell any product or security. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Insurance and annuity guarantees depend on the claims-paying ability of the issuing carrier. Rules and figures change — confirm current details with the official sources above and with your own tax, legal, or insurance professional.