5 actions to take now ahead of a possible recession

Matthew Fox

Sun, Mar 9, 2025, 9:01 AM 5 min read

• After years of the US system dodging a downturn, recession fears are percolating.

• Uncertainty implicit tariffs and authorities layoffs has dimmed the economical outlook and fueled marketplace instability.

• Here's what fiscal planners told BI astir however tense radical tin hole for a recession.

Recessionary fears are gripping Wall Street, causing banal prices to plunge and economical outlooks to sour.

Investors are grappling with the uncertainty of President Donald Trump's docket of implementing sweeping tariffs and firing tremendous swaths of the national workforce.

On Friday, the Nasdaq 100 officially entered correction territory, down 10% since mid-February. The S&P 500 is down 7% implicit the aforesaid clip period.

Meanwhile, calls are increasing for the US system to participate a downturn, with immoderate forecasts adjacent predicting a play of stagflation, a dire combo of debased maturation and precocious inflation.

So what's 1 to bash successful the look of specified pessimistic views of the marketplace and the economy?

Business Insider spoke with fiscal pros to perceive what they accidental radical tin bash to hole for a imaginable recession.

This is crucial.

As radical scan the headlines, fearfulness tin beryllium a almighty motivator to instrumentality drastic measures. But it's important not to enactment impulsively oregon beryllium overly affectional astir your program and the actions you instrumentality that could interaction your life.

Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group, said due to the fact that GDP information is backward-looking, it's imaginable that the system volition look from a recession earlier we adjacent larn 1 has officially occurred.

From an concern perspective, Blovin stressed that semipermanent investors should support buying assets to instrumentality vantage of the little prices.

"The lone alteration to your portfolio should beryllium to corroborate its diversified and you tin upwind the tempest successful bully times oregon bad," Bolvin said. "Don't panic. The headlines — and the marketplace — alteration quickly."

As for circumstantial concern considerations, stocks are often much volatile during a recession. If you're looking to shield your portfolio from large swings successful equities, this could beryllium a bully clip to summation your holdings of things similar ultra-safe US Treasury bills, Lisa Featherngill, nationalist manager of wealthiness readying astatine Comerica Wealth Management, said.

Importantly, if you're invested for a semipermanent goal, specified arsenic retirement, don't panic and merchantability into a tumbling market. While dips occur, the banal market's way implicit the decades has been consistently up and to the right.

Brett Panziera, CFP, subordinate manager of fiscal readying astatine EP Wealth Advisors, told BI that it's important to physique and support a currency reserve that tin screen non-discretionary expenses successful the lawsuit that you suffer your job.