How to protect your 401(k) plan: Financial Pro

Ivory Johnson, Delancey Wealth Management Founder, joins 'The Exchange' to discuss retirement plans.

When it comes to your 401(k), there’s one piece of advice that most financial experts agree on in market routs like this: Stay the course.

That means fighting the natural temptation to log into your investment account and react to the market’s big swings.

However, many investors are not taking that advice, according to the latest data from the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index, which tracks daily activity at 401(k) plans provided by large employers.

Trading activity was the highest in the index’s history on Friday, Feb. 28, at 15.8 times average.

Meanwhile, trading activity on the previous day, Thursday, Feb. 27, was 11.37 times average. Only two other dates have exceeded the 11 times average. Those were Jan. 22, 2008 and Feb. 5, 2018.

“Even in the depths of the financial meltdown in October 2008, we didn’t see this type of abnormality,” said Rob Austin, head of research at Alight.

If you’re like a lot of people, you’re also looking for reassurance that your nest egg will still be OK. The key to that is to revisit your plan.

“Most people should do what’s good for them, agnostic of what the market is doing,” said Aaron Pottichen, senior vice president at Alliant Retirement Consulting in Austin, Texas.

“No one can time if the market is going to go up or down,” he added. “But we do have control over what our plan is.”

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