Change my portfolio. I can’t take it anymore!”
Robert, an experienced financial professional I work with, has been through it all—the dot-com bubble, the Great Recession, the COVID-19 market chaos. And like clockwork, every time the market faces a serious downturn, the calls start pouring in.
Clients are anxious. Some are demanding immediate changes to their portfolios to “stop the bleeding.” Even those who’ve weathered past crises are more unsettled than usual. It’s a pattern Robert knows all too well.
As someone who’s worked closely with Robert for years, I could hear the weariness in his voice. “Barbara,” he said, “the calls are starting again. I’ve been through this before, but it feels like everything I do to try to ease their anxiety is not working. What more can I do?”
The truth is, Robert wasn’t fully aware of the powerful psychological responses that market downturns can trigger—reactions that can unsettle even the most seasoned investors. In this article, I’ll explore what’s happening beneath the surface and share strategies to help your clients stay calm, focused, and committed to their long-term plan, even when the market feels like it’s unraveling.
First, Why It Can Feel Like This Downturn Is the Worst Yet
When markets fall, some clients feel like this time is worse than ever. It’s a natural psychological response—the memories of the pain from past market downturns fade faster than we realize. This fading memory can make it harder to recall that markets have recovered from similar declines before, especially when things turned out fine in the end.
Events like the Great Recession, the dot-com bubble, or the COVID-19 market chaos were terrifying at the time, but now many clients recall them as distant or not quite comparable. That’s not a flaw in memory—it’s neuroscience. Studies show our brains actively clear out older, emotionally charged memories to make room for new ones.1 This forgetting isn’t passive, it’s like your brain deleting old files to make space. It’s your mind saying, “No need to stress about those old market crashes, let’s focus on today instead.” That’s why each new downturn feels uniquely alarming. Clients often forget how they’ve navigated tough markets before—and how they’ve consistently bounced back. That’s why having a financial professional to provide clarity and support can make all the difference.
Such forgetfulness can trigger what I call “I Must Do Something Syndrome.” Anxiety creates a powerful urge to act fast. But those actions are often impulsive and emotionally driven.
In the case of Robert’s clients, that urgency sounds like: “Change my portfolio. I can’t take it anymore!” And that can mean abandoning a well-crafted plan at the worst possible time.
Understanding why clients feel so shaken is only the first step. The next—and arguably more important—step is knowing how to respond in a way that calms their anxiety without dismissing it. That starts with asking the right questions.
Second, Ask the Right Questions
It can be frustrating when a client questions the plan you’ve thoughtfully built, especially when their doubts are sparked by market downturns. It may feel like your experience and judgment are being overlooked. It’s natural to want to explain why the plan makes sense, but that approach doesn’t always connect with what a client is really feeling. In fact, trying to justify the plan can make clients feel unheard or dismissed.
Instead, these moments of panic are an opportunity for a reflective conversation because you can help them reconnect with the experiences and goals that originally shaped their plan.
Begin by empathizing that this downturn may feel especially intense. You might say, “The market is down XX%, and that’s understandably affecting how you’re feeling right now.” Acknowledge their stress without minimizing it.
Next, suggest taking a step back before making any major portfolio changes. You could say something like, “Let’s revisit some of the past downturns we’ve navigated together and talk about how you approached them.” This ties directly to what we explored earlier—how clients tend to forget the emotional weight of past crises and how they recovered. Here are five talking points to help guide that conversation:
“Let’s revisit some of the major financial downturns we’ve navigated together—like the 1987 crash, the dot-com bubble, the Great Recession, or COVID-19.”
“What do you remember feeling during that time?”
“Looking back, what actions were you considering?”
“Do you remember how steep the drop was—or how long it lasted?” (Most clients don’t, you can be prepared with stats from the infographic below)
“Does anything stand out to you about how we approached it?”
These questions reframe the current moment by helping clients remember they’ve faced similar situations before—and that they overcame them. If their anxiety isn’t resolved right away, keep the conversation going. Stay with them until the stress starts to ease, and then shift the focus to what comes next.
Once clients have revisited their past experiences and begun to regain perspective, the conversation can shift from reflection to reassurance. This is the moment to help them refocus, not on making changes, but rather on reaffirming the plan that was built for times like these.
