A Millennial Financial Advisor's Take on Market Opportunity

First of all, let's clear one thing up: we Millennials are listening to government leaders and healthcare professionals and staying inside, if our job allows. The people to worry about are (1) older Americans attempting to continue business as usual and (2) Gen Z who seems to feel the need to fight authority at any cost.

Now, for the actual purpose of this article, the historic market volatility over the last few weeks driven by the global COVID-19 pandemic. It has been unprecedented and unrelenting.

During the recession in ‘08, many of us were fresh out of school, facing a tough job market, but without investment portfolios to worry about. We then spent the next decade benefiting from a bull market run that made investing feel safe and double digit growth seem inevitable.

This month, we saw our hard-earned 401K balances drop by 30% in record time. We're also navigating a new reality, trying to maintain our sanity while negotiating work-from-home space with our partners, keeping in touch with family and friends virtually, and trying our best to stay healthy and active indoors.

Even before this pandemic, our generation was beleaguered by student debt and rising housing costs. Many of us also succumbed to the pressure to lead "Instagram-worthy" lives that resulted in expensive credit card debt, which now feels insurmountable.

Amidst an endlessly depressing news cycle that seems to pile bad news on top of horrifying statistics on top of alarming warnings, I'm here to tell you that at least from an economic perspective, we're being presented with an amazing opportunity.

First, we get to re-evaluate essential spending vs. discretionary. I love to travel, try new restaurants, and frequent boutique yoga studios, but there's been something grounding about dinners at home, digital game nights and runs in the park. We're all spending less and saving more - this gives us an opportunity to pay down debt faster (a temporary waive on student loan interest means more of your $ goes to principal!) and build up our emergency funds.

Second, for those with cash to spare, some of the world's best businesses are now on sale at 20% off 2019 prices. Remember, stocks aren’t just nameless, faceless certificates – they are ownership shares in real companies. Investing in stocks is akin to buying malls, airplanes, data centers, and factories. And while their stock prices have moved sharply in recent days, and they surely will again in our lifetimes, the best companies will emerge from this panic even stronger than before.

So, where do we go from here? Revisit your saving and spending, and invest what you can. Don't let a temporary decline in the value of your existing investments throw you off course. Remember that you have decades left to save for your kids' college tuitions and your own retirement, and that the market has historically recovered from even the worst downturns.

And lastly, call your mom, wash your hands, support local businesses that you care about, and hang in there.