Suze Orman sits on a chair onstage with her hands folded together, on the verge of speaking.
The U.S.-Iran war has entered its fifth week, with no clear signs of a ceasefire on the horizon. The uncertainty of the war paired with oil turmoil has left many investors feeling frustrated and concerned about their money.
The U.S. stock market has been hit heavily with the S&P 500 finishing last week at 8.7% below its all-time high, and both the Dow and Nasdaq were more than 10% below their records (1).
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Trump told the Financial Times on Sunday that he wants to “take the oil” in Iran (2), and the U.S. sent thousands of troops to the Middle East last week. Crude oil prices have surged more than 50% since the war began on February 28 (3), hovering around $100 a barrel.
This market volatility and its impact on oil will likely continue for the near term, if not longer.
Suze Orman recently sat down with markets expert Keith Fitz-Gerald to discuss the chaos. “Everything now is simply dependent on one thing and one thing only,” she told Fitz-Gerald. “And that is oil, in my opinion” (4).
Orman reminded listeners that the fundamentals of the stocks on the stock exchange, including earnings and profitability, had been solid and strong until the war began. “Now we’re watching oil go up and up and up and sometimes it comes back down and when it comes back down, that’s when we see the markets go up.”
What investors can do right now
Orman and Fitz-Gerald shared their perspective on how everyday investors can navigate the uncertainty.
Stay with your investments for the long term
If you’re investing in stocks, and watching them daily and then reacting in panic to the chaos by selling or pulling out, then you won’t see the long-term benefits.
Both Orman and Fitz-Gerald agree that when there is more certainty back in the market, we will see markets skyrocket again. Fitz-Gerald warns that “everybody who thinks they’re being smart by stepping out right now is going to get left behind.”
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Choose stable stocks
Orman asks Fitz-Gerald for his advice on what to do if your tech stocks and others in the market are heading downward.
His advice? Continue to invest but get more critical of where you put your money.
“If you’re freaked out because all of your tech has gone in one direction, you can balance that like a little kid’s teeter totter on the playground with a stable stock like Chevron,” says Fitz-Gerald. He iterates that it has “dinosaur juice” that we will need for some time along with great dividends and is stable and has been over time.
Another one he recommends is SGOV, short-term U.S. treasuries. He flags this as “super safe” with a great yield that is not going to go anywhere.
Don’t be nervous to buy stocks at a high
The Chevron recommendation is one that Orman and Fitz-Gerald have discussed in the past. Orman shared that the last time they discussed it, viewers were frustrated that they were recommending to buy a stock that was at a high.
Both Orman and Fitz-Gerald agree that it’s a mistake when people are nervous to buy because the price per share is high. With Chevron, after viewers were frustrated, the stock continued to climb even higher, so those that didn’t buy missed out on those gains.
“Pick any stock you want…any of the stocks you own and zoom out to 20 years and tell me that the chart doesn’t go high to low, low to high, over that time period,” says Fitz-Gerald.
All the news headlines, social media posts, and commentary around the war can make the market feel like a scary place to be in right now. Both Orman and Fitz-Gerald agree that being nervous about your money and your investments makes sense. But, Fitz-Gerald shares, when you feel this frustration it can actually mean there is opportunity for growth.
“I’ve learned that lesson the hard way. I thought I was being smart, I bailed out, I made mistakes, I lost money,” he told Orman. “But if you continue to lean in when you feel that way and you get uncomfortable, I’ve learned that’s a heck of a lot more profitable.”
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Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
The Associated Press (1); The Financial Times (2); CNN (3); Suze Orman’s Official Channel (4)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.