Both say they've never panicked and sold into a rapidly declining market. They've got strategies they're comfortable with and lots of reinforcement as active members of non-profit investment organizations. That's important in a market that has whipsawed investors and weeded out many of those who just a year ago were never going to lose money again. Experts say the current declines are once again teaching investors the importance of concepts such as diversification and asset allocation - all but forgotten in last year's tech stock frenzy.
Investors have to arm themselves with the right tools, though.
These types of periods truly define investors' risk tolerance. The lesson from 2000 is if you're investing in stocks, you must diversify. It's tough to call the bottom. It typically takes six to 12 months for the economy to rev up after the Federal Reserve begins lowering interest rates. Companies are disappointing investors now because their earnings aren't growing much over their very good numbers of a year ago.