My investments have gone down – should I sell?
Riding out the highs and lows of the stock market confidently
If you’ve checked on your investments recently and felt a bit nervous, you’re not alone. We all know that ups and downs are a normal part of investing – but it doesn’t always feel that way when they happen. Market drops can be worrying, especially if they continue for several days.
There’s no need for alarm or urgent action, but it’s a great time to learn more about volatility – and what to expect as the situation develops.
By the end of this guide, you’ll know:
What volatility is and what’s normal
What’s happening now in the stock markets
Whether to sell your investments
The best long-term investing approach
How to reduce the impact of volatility
What is volatility?
Volatility is just a word for how much the value of investments goes up and down over time – and some of it is completely normal.
The key thing to remember is that it works both ways: the same forces that can push prices down can push them back up – and historically, they always do.
What’s happening now in the stock markets?
What’s currently happening in the stock markets could be described as a dip. A dip just means that prices have fallen – a bit like a sale at a shop.
Between 27 February and 6 March 2026, the FTSE 100 lost approximately 5.7% of its value, the Dow Jones lost around 3%, and the DAX lost around 6.7%. These markets represent some of the largest companies in the UK, US, and Germany.
This has made some investors a little anxious, and you might be wondering what you should do next, if anything.
Is this level of volatility unusual?
No – single-digit weekly losses like this are normal and happen quite regularly, especially in reaction to major world news.
For comparison, the Dow Jones lost over 9% between 2 April and 4 April 2025, after President Trump announced tariffs on US imports, but recovered the loss during May. Similarly, the FTSE 100 lost nearly 7% in the days following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and recovered within weeks.
Even though these political situations are still ongoing, the impact on the markets was quite brief, as is often the case.
Should I sell my investments?
When you see the value of your investments falling, it can be really tempting to cut your losses. And ultimately, it’s up to you.
But first, remember that a week is a very short time in the stock markets. It’s generally recommended to invest for at least 5 years to see the best chance of growth. Over these years, you’ll probably experience several dips and several recoveries.
We previously mentioned three markets that have seen one-week losses – now let’s look at those same markets over a longer period. In the past 5 years to 6 March 2026:
The FTSE 100 has grown by around 55%
The Dow Jones has grown by nearly 51%
The DAX has grown by over 69%
So, most investors who’ve been invested for 5 years already are still well ahead of where they started, even if they saw a loss in the last week.
What’s the best long-term approach?
It’s completely natural to want to avoid short-term losses in investing, but the truth is, there’s no need to – and trying to might mean you’ll miss the best days in the market, which often happen in periods of recovery.
If you’re aiming to grow your money over the long term, studies have shown that the best approach is to simply stay invested, known as buy and hold. Investors who do this will experience every type of temporary loss – dips, crashes, and bear markets – but will also benefit from the recoveries, and this tends to pay off in the long run.
Can you reduce the impact of volatility?
Yes! You won’t want to eliminate volatility entirely – this will mean you won’t see any growth – but if you’d like to feel its impact less, there are 3 things you can do.
1. Invest regularly and consistently
If you’d invested £1,000 in the FTSE 100 on 27 February, you would have bought in at the peak of the market and felt the following dip quite strongly.
If you’d invested £100 a month in each of the last 10 months, you’d have bought in at a lot of different points – some high and some low – so the impact would be softer, financially and emotionally.
2. Choose appropriate investments
All investments are more volatile than cash, but some investments are more volatile than others. Bonds are at the lower end of the scale and shares are a little higher (bonds are essentially loans you give to governments or companies, while shares mean you own a small piece of a company).
So, if you’d prefer to see less volatility, you might want to invest in a lower proportion of shares and higher proportion of bonds. Bear in mind that lower volatility tends to also mean lower growth.
Zopa offers two funds: Balanced (55% bonds and 45% shares) and Bold (20% bonds and 80% shares).
3. Focus on the long term
Volatility can have a negative impact on the value of your investments in the short term, but it’s crucial for strong, long-term growth.
For both of Zopa’s funds, we recommend that you plan to invest for at least 5 years (although you’re not locked in, so you’re free to withdraw your money earlier if you want to). If you’ve still got years to go before you need to withdraw your money, try not to worry about what happens from week to week.
Whenever you’re ready to invest, we’re here to help you take the next step.
