While the Dow decreased again by 2,000 points in trading on Monday, a University of San Diego economy professor says those who may be most impacted by the unstable stock market are nearing retirement.
Due to a combination of coronavirus concerns and a crash in oil prices, stocks declined Monday and triggered an automatic halt in trading. It’s been a rough week for Wall Street and with concerns about the novel coronavirus, stocks have been volatile.
Alan Gin, Associate Professor of Economics at USD, said those closest to retirement should move their assets out of stocks and into more stable investments like bonds and fixed income.
“We don’t know what the extent of this coronavirus thing is going to be,” he told NBC 7. “If it extends for several months then it can have a negative impact, both on the U.S. economy and on the global economy.”
Gin, who says he, himself is near retirement, has followed his own advice by moving some stocks to fixed income. One local retiree said he is hopeful the market will recover.
“It could be an opportunity for people to invest because when it does bounce back, you’re going to make a profit,” said retiree Luke Holleda. “I think it’s too soon to be panicking.”
The COVID-19 virus has impacted the travel and tourist industry as airline shares were down, theme parks in Asia closed and the South by Southwest music festival was canceled.
