Recession Watch: What to do with your stocks

We may or may not be headed into a recession. It depends upon which economist you believe, but it is time to assess your risk exposure and possibly reallocate your portfolio holdings. Don't panic and start selling just because you hear warnings of a recession. You may be locking in loses that are not necessary, especially if the assets in your portfolio are being held for the long-term and you won't need them for ten years or more years.

Step 1 - Take Stock of Your Stock/Mutual Fund/Bond Holdings: Review your holdings and ask yourself these questions: Did your holdings perform the way you expected them to do when you first bought them? Did they do better? Did they do worse? Do you think they are still a good choice based on your investment horizon? Is your allocation out of whack? For example, did you buy some aggressive growth stocks or mutual funds that are now a much larger portion of your portfolio than you think wise.

Step 2 - Sell any stocks or mutual funds you determine don't match your current goals: As you look through your portfolio and find holdings you really don't want any more, bite the bullet, take the loss (if there is one) and don't risk an even greater loss if we do end up in a full-blown recession. Hold on to any cash generated for buying opportunities once the current stock market correction has finished doing its damage.