Ask Cadence: If the markets and economy are likely to struggle over the next few years, will my retirement plan be ruined?

Not necessarily. For those who don’t understand where we are in the economic cycle and the current valuation levels of markets, there will likely be some very unpleasant surprises down the road. This is nothing new. For investors who were too aggressively positioned in 1999 and 2007, most of the progress they had made over years of investing was wiped out within months. This time probably won’t be any different for unsuspecting investors. However, by taking a more conservative approach and focusing on principal preservation, there will most likely be opportunities down the road to invest at much more reasonable levels across the financial asset spectrum. By being smart and disciplined about when you invest, the odds of getting a decent long-term return that keeps you on track toward reaching your retirement goals go up significantly. We’re very optimistic in this regard.