Retirement Plan Update, Q3 2021

Market Recap:

The third quarter of the year served us with two humbling reminders: Patrick Mahomes can, in fact, throw an interception in September, and stock market corrections still occur.  After rising another 5% through August, volatility finally entered the market as the S&P 500 fell over 4.5% in September.  The main catalysts of the market selloff were lingering uncertainties due to the Covid Delta variant and continued concerns about rising inflation.  Inflation concerns have also driven interest rates higher, which have hurt bond prices as well.    

Even after a minor correction, market valuation remains historically high.  Therefore, there is still potential for more significant losses in stocks.  And given the uncertainties mentioned above, we could expect to see elevated market volatility for the remainder of the year.  As retirement plan participants dollar-cost averaging into the market each pay period, market fluctuations create buying opportunities.

How to Protect your Retirement Accounts:

With mainstream news sources frequently reporting on cybercrime, it’s understandable that participants may be concerned about protecting their accounts.  First, know that your retirement plan custodian is committed to safeguarding your information and your assets.  Most custodians have processes in place to maintain security features on an ongoing basis as well as to monitor active security threats in real-time.  But what can you do to protect your account proactively? 

• Set a strong password and don’t share it with anyone else.  Your password should be at least eight characters, with a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols, and should be unique for each website you use. 

• Keep your eMail address up to date in case the custodian needs to reach you. 

• Think before you click.  Scammers use email or text messages to trick you into giving them your personal information. Phishing emails and text messages may look like they’re from a company you know or trust and often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. Be cautious about clicking on links or attachments, especially in emails. 

• Don’t use public Wi-Fi to access websites with sensitive personal information. 

• Use antivirus software on your machine and keep that software up to date.