Knowledge Center

February 25, 2022

We know you are as concerned as we are about the safety and welfare of the Ukrainian people. The horrific situation over the last 48 hours in the Ukraine has added to the market volatility we've already been experiencing this year. During these turbulent times, maintaining your retirement investment plan can be especially challenging as fear of the unknown may lead to hasty decisions.

Members of the RPB Board and Investment Committee, along with NEPC, our outside investment advisor, have been in regular contact and want to keep you informed about the situation. To this end, we're sharing a message from David Baskin, Chair of RPB's Investment Committee and Baskin Wealth Management, to his clients in Canada that we think will also be relevant to you. You can also watch the recording of our most recent webinar, Outlook 2022: The Road Ahead.

As you'll hear from watching the videos, RPB has a long term perspective on the markets and pursues a diversification strategy for our Tier 1 Target Allocation Funds in order to cushion the fluctuating returns during times like these.

Historically, diversification and rebalancing have helped investors navigate volatile markets during uncertain times and these steps continue to be important for you to think about:

1. Stay diversified: As we have seen, markets can whipsaw as they digest new information. During market turmoil, diversification helps manage the market swings and is paramount for investment success over the long term. The Tier 1 funds have diversification built-in based on their objectives. Tier 2 and Tier 3 funds are asset class-specific so you will need to build your own diversified portfolio.
   
2. Rebalance to your long-term objectives: Fear and uncertainty will likely govern the markets in the near term and will change your mix of stocks (growth), bonds (income), and cash (capital preservation) from your intended asset allocation. That’s why you may want to rebalance your assets to keep them in line with your objectives. If you wish to rebalance your account, click here for instructions.

We're monitoring the markets closely and will keep you updated as necessary. We're here to help. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at (212) 681-1818 or askus@rpb.org.

If you have questions about your investments, we encourage you to speak with your financial advisor or call Fidelity's retirement planners at 800.328.6608.