Photo by NYC Blues

There’s been lots of hoopla lately on the state of the Market. It’s been a tumultuous time for many investors – especially for older generations relying on a good return on their investments to retire on. However, for many young adults the downcast shadow of Wall Street does have a silver lining. With investors selling off stocks and stocks prices plummeting, now may be a pretty good opportunity for younger, long-term investors to start buying in.

The lamenting across the board about ditching stocks does have it’s merits.  And there are certainly reasons to be skeptical of which stocks you pick.  But, choosing well managed, financially sound companies could really pay off in the future.  According to Steven Goldberg at the Washington Post, stocks surge on average 38% after a bear market.  What does that mean for you?  Well, for starters, your dollar goes a long way in picking up more shares.  In short, you get more bang for your buck.  And according to many analysts, we’re closing in on the bottoming out point now.  The average stock market dip is 32 points.  Serious and smart investors know to buy, buy, buy in a bear market because ultimately what goes down must come back up.

If you’re still hesitant to put some extra money into the market right now, that’s understandable, but here are a few tips to help you choose the right place to put your money if you do.

• Purchasing Commodities – Commodities are always a safe bet in a bear market.  Mainly because you’re investing your money in tangible goods that will continue to be around and are based on some sort of actual value.   Precious metals are a good place to look for stocks that will continue to hold value.

• Invest in Emerging Markets – Emerging Markets can be a good choice when the market is low.  Emerging Markets Funds invest in a single or group of developing companies (usually in Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America, Far East, Middle East and Asia).  Although these funds are high risk and can be prone to economic and political instability, investors choose markets that have a high potential for growth and have an excellent potential for high returns.  Vanguard’s Emerging Market Stock Index Fund has a five year return of 22.74%.

• ETF’s (Exchange Traded Funds) – These funds are a good choice to diversity your investment and offer relatively low operating costs.  They work like an index fund, but are traded on the exchange like a stock so that the price fluctuates throughout the day.

Even though investing in the Market at a time when it seems like everyone is jumping ship can be nerve-wrecking, now is not the time to be pulling out.  Even older investors have too much to lose by cashing in at the moment.  Purchasing solid stocks at a time when the market is low will put you in a much greater position to profit in the long run and will prove to yield higher returns in the future.

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