How Is Your Retirement Portfolio Handling Market Volatility?

Understanding Risk—and How to Buffer Against It

Market volatility can be unnerving, especially for those in or nearing retirement. Sudden drops often catch investors off guard, prompting uncomfortable questions like:

• “Could this have been avoided?”
  
  
• “How can I protect myself from future losses?”
  
  

These are not just valid concerns—they’re essential questions every retiree should be asking. But in today’s unpredictable market environment, finding the right answers requires more than guesswork or gut instincts.

Why the Usual “Solutions” Fall Short

The simple (and tempting) answer might seem to be: just get out before the market drops. But unless you have a crystal ball, there’s no way to consistently predict exactly when markets will turn south.

What about sitting in cash or moving everything to fixed income? While these positions can offer stability, they often fail to deliver sufficient growth over the long term. In fact, many of these lower-risk strategies struggle to even keep up with inflation, leaving retirees vulnerable to an eroding standard of living.

So, if timing the market isn’t realistic and ultra-conservative allocations fall short, what’s the alternative?

Strategic Buffering: A Smarter Way to Manage Risk

At HealthHarbor, we specialize in designing defined outcome strategies that give retirees more control over their financial future—even in volatile markets.

Through customized retirement planning, we can structure investments with built-in “buffers” to help manage downside risk while still participating in market growth.

Here’s one of our simplest approaches:

• 100% Market Buffer: Your principal is protected from market losses.
  
  
• Up to 50% Market Participation: You gain the upside potential of a portion of market growth.
  
  

This strategy offers significantly more return potential than traditional cash or bond positions, while still providing essential downside protection—an attractive combination for long-term retirees.

No Crystal Ball? No Problem.

The truth is, no one can consistently predict market movements. But with HealthHarbor’s defined outcome strategies, you don’t need to.

Our retirement planning process helps ensure that your portfolio is equipped to handle volatility, avoid major setbacks, and stay on track to meet your goals—even when markets turn turbulent.

Ready to Explore Your Options?

If you’re unsure how your current portfolio would handle another downturn, or if you’re looking for smarter ways to reduce risk without sacrificing growth, we’d love to help.

Schedule a consultation with our team to explore buffer strategies and custom solutions that align with your retirement goals.

HealthHarbor
Your Retirement. Resilient. Purposeful. Protected.