Stock-ing Up for the Pandemic. Why Stocks May Be a Good Addition to Your List of Essentials.

It is no secret that the Coronavirus pandemic has left the stock market in shambles. One peek at business news and you’ll see a multitude of instances where stock values are crashing and a sense of constant fear looming over investors, for it has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride. The stock market index was at an all-time high of 42,273 as recently as January 20, before going berserk and dropping 40% in two months, shortly after which it jumped back up by 20% in little more than a fortnight. This prompted investors to reconsider their investment choices and also created a lot of panic and confusion. But many experts are of the opinion that the highly disruptive pandemic situation may, in fact, have a hidden silver-lining.

Let’s face the facts first: stock market trading was never child’s play. It has always come with a certain high degree of risk. But that has never stopped investors from throwing caution to the wind. This doesn’t mean that the pandemic, coupled with the ostensible recession that has hit the world markets should be perceived as just another hurdle. Fortunately, it is true that there is a hidden silver-lining, which means that there are a few things you can do to not only keep your money safe, but also make more money out of it. For that, it is important to understand how certain tricks work better than others in a situation like this.

If you’re thinking long-term while investing and plan on using the money for a future lump-sum requirement, the key is to keep an eye on the unpredictable market and withdraw at the best possible time close to your requirement, since it’s highly unlikely that when you actually want to sell the stocks, the market will be performing well. Another trick is to focus on diversification by not concentrating your investments in high-risk-high-return alternatives like equities, but rather investing them across a few other fixed-income options like risk-free post office deposits which gives a healthy 7.7% return, or fixed deposits.

By observing these basic practices, it becomes much easier to keep a track of your investments and ensure frequent positive returns. The ambiguity calls for investors to stock up and face the odds, and make the most of their existing portfolio, while focusing on damage control, since a bird in hand is worth two in the bush.