COLORADO SPRINGS — There are a lot of fears about the economy as new and presumptive cases of the coronavirus continue to pop up every day.
On a local basis in southern Colorado the only major change currently are low gas prices which could mean more money in people's wallets. When it comes to people's financial portfolios advisors are telling people to keep their emotions under control.
Guy Harris, a financial advisor with Edward Jones Investments, said, "It's certainly had an affect on the market and a lot of investors are concerned about the effects of coronavirus on their investment portfolios."
Put in or pull back? That's the moneymaker question being asked by investors around the world as the virus continues to spread.
"If history is any indication - that this should be solved fairly quickly," said Harris who refers back to the 12 major health events we've had since 1981 like SARS, Zika, and Ebola.
"In 11 of those 12 cases we've had the market rebound within 3-6 months."
He believes the same thing could happen with the coronavirus, something he wants investors to keep in mind.
"Try and keep your emotions under control and stick with good quality investments, and try and stick to your plan...this may be a short-term effect. Hopefully it will, the coronavirus, will be solved in a short period of time."
But while people wait for the virus to dissipate Carl Carlson, CEO of Carlson Financial, has a suggestion. He said, "It's time to just be patient. If you have some cash on the side maybe go ahead and invest some of that while the market is down like this."
When it comes to your 401(k) Carlson said, "If you weren't positioned right, you weren't allocated right, figure that out now, but make the change when the market comes back...don't get too shook up, Don't panic too much and hang in there."
In regards to the current low gas prices, Harris shared that while it's a good thing for people's wallets it's somewhat offset by the fact that people are concerned about traveling and interacting with people in stores and restaurants. Harris says he's completely speculating, but because of this we might see an uptick in online purchasing.
