Invest with composure
Market volatility is a fact of life. While global markets offer access to attractive long-term capital growth and income opportunities, market pullbacks happen frequently. Fortunately, there are several strategies that investors can use to make sure they are best positioned to ride out the market’s ups and downs.
Aim long
Longer time horizons can dampen the impact of market volatility.
Stay calm
Selling when markets are volatile risks locking in losses.
Diversify
Diversification can stabilise portfolios in volatile markets.
Take a long view to manage volatility
History suggests investors are much less likely to suffer losses when investments are held over longer periods of time, particularly for balanced portfolios. It's therefore important to keep a long-term perspective.
Range of equity and bond total returns
%, annualised total returns, 1950-present

Source: Bloomberg Barclays, Refinitiv Datastream, S&P Global, Strategas/Ibbotson, J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Large cap equity represents the S&P 500 Composite and Bonds represents the Strategas/Ibbotson US Government Bond Index, the US Long-term Corporate Bond Index until 2000 and the Bloomberg Barclays US Agg. Corporate – Investment Grade Index from 2000 onwards. Returns shown are per annum and are calculated based on monthly returns from 1950 to latest available and include dividends. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current and future results. Guide to the Markets - Europe. Data as of 30 June 2023.
Don't panic sell when markets drop
Drawdowns are part and parcel of investing. Stock markets have mostly ended in positive territory, even in years marked by declines of more than 10%. Selling when markets are volatile therefore risks locking in losses when markets bounce back.
FTSE All-Share intra-year declines vs. calendar-year returns
%; despite average intra-year drops of 15,5% (median 12,1%), annual returns are positive in 32 of 43 years

Source: MSCI, Refinitiv Datastream, J.P Morgan Asset Management. Returns are local currency price returns. Intra-year decline refers to the largest market fall from peak to trough within the calendar year. Returns shown are calendar years from 1980 to 2022. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current and future results. Guide to the Markets - Europe. Data as of 30 June 2023.
Spread risk across regions, asset classes and strategies
In the last 10 calendar years, a portfolio investing in a combination of developed market and emerging market equities, investment grade and high yield bonds, property securities, commodities and hedge funds has delivered healthy returns with much less volatility than investing in equities alone.
Asset class returns (EUR)

Diversification does not guarantee positive returns nor eliminate the risk of loss.
Source: Bloomberg Barclays, FTSE, J.P. Morgan Economic Research, MSCI, Refinitiv Datastream, J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Annualised return and volatility covers the period from 2013 to 2022. Vol. is the standard deviation of annual returns. Govt bonds: Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Government Treasuries; HY bonds: ICE BofA Global High Yield; EMD: J.P. Morgan EMBI Global Diversified; IG bonds: Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate – Corporates; Cmdty: Bloomberg Commodity; REITs: FTSE NAREIT All REITS; DM equities: MSCI World; EM equities: MSCI EM; Hedge funds: HFRI Global Hedge Fund Index; Cash: JP Morgan Cash Index EUR (3M). Hypothetical portfolio (for illustrative purposes only and should not be taken as a recommendation): 30% DM equities; 10% EM equities; 15% IG bonds; 12,5% government bonds; 7,5% HY bonds; 5% EMD; 5% commodities; 5% cash; 5% REITs and 5% hedge funds. All returns are total return, in EUR, and are unhedged. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current and future results. Guide to the Markets - Europe. Data as of 30 June 2023.
Insights for challenging markets
Market Watch – economic and market updates
Listen to our market strategists and senior investors to find out more about the economic repercussions of the war in Ukraine and its impact on markets.
Income investing in a higher-for-longer world
In this edition of Market Watch, Karen Ward is joined by Multi-Asset Solutions Portfolio Manager and Head of Income Strategies Michael Schoenhaut, as they assess the outlook for the economy and markets in a higher-for-longer interest rate environment, and consider the implications for income-generating multi-asset portfolios.
What next for the US and UK economies?
In this Market Watch, we’ll be doing a deep dive into the US and UK economies. Dr David Kelly will join us from New York to provide his take on the US outlook while Karen will reflect on whether the OECD is right to claim that the UK has the worst growth and inflation trajectory of all developed nations.
Understanding inflation
Join Karen Ward and Stephen D. King, author of the book We Need to Talk About Inflation, which the Financial Times described as “essential reading”. They discuss the lessons from history and whether we are in a new inflationary regime.
Building resilient portfolios
In an unpredictable world, investment portfolios need the flexibility to adapt and thrive, whatever lies ahead. This means investing in funds that can provide exposure to the market’s upside when things are going well, but that can also help to provide stability when times are tough.
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