key points
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The markets have been particularly volatile this year, leaving many investors uncertain about the future.
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Warren Buffett’s best advice is surprisingly simple and straightforward.
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No matter what is happening, an investment move should be avoided right now.
When Warren Buffett gives investing advice, it pays to listen. The stock market has been particularly confusing lately S&P 500 (SNPindex: ^GSPC) Hitting record highs, new highs, and then more record highs in a matter of weeks.
While even Buffett can’t predict what the markets will do through the remainder of 2026, he can offer some timeless advice to guide investors through the ups and downs.
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Closeup shot of Warren Buffett at an event.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Buffett’s best advice for dealing with volatility
Buffett has offered countless investing tips over his decades-long career, but a common theme is his insistence on maintaining a long-term view.
In 2008, he wrote an opinion article the new York Times To help reassure Americans discouraged by the Great Recession. In it, he reminded investors that the short-term pain of the recession was legitimate, but the long-term potential of the market is far more important:
(I) Investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged institutions or businesses in weak competitive positions. But fears about the long-term prosperity of the country’s many good companies are misplaced. These businesses will indeed face earnings headwinds, as they always have. But most major companies will set new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now.
Since that article was published, the S&P 500 has generated a total return of nearly 1,000%.
^SPX Chart
Stock market volatility is troubling, and many investors are worried about a potential market crash recession in 2026, due to persistently high inflation and rising oil prices. But the market has faced worse in the past, and over time it has always managed to thrive.
A move to avoid, according to Buffett
If there’s any incredibly risky move to make right now, it’s to try to time the market. This strategy may sound smart on paper. if you can sell your stocks You can make huge profits by “buying the dip” during the market peak and then again during the decline.
However, now more than ever, it is impossible to know what the markets will do in the short term. For example, in early 2020, the S&P 500 experienced one of the sharpest crashes in history, when it lost nearly a third of its value in just a few weeks. However, it increased by about 13% by the end of the year.
^SPX Chart
Something similar happened in April last year due to uncertainty over President Trump’s “Liberation Day”. Tariff. The S&P 500 quickly moved into correction territory, and recovered almost immediately when Trump rolled back many of those tariffs.
Now, the war in Iran has created uncertainty over oil prices, making the market volatile once again. The constant barrage of promising news followed by setbacks has caused huge fluctuations in global markets, and no one – not even experts – can say what will happen in the coming months.
Selling your stocks during any of these periods may seem like a smart idea, as many investors expected the market to fall into a much deeper decline. But because the market bounced back quickly in many of these events, you may have missed attractive recovery periods.
^SPX Chart
Buffett’s best advice for dealing with these types of ups and downs is to ride out the storm and stay invested for the long term.
As he wrote in Times Piece:
I cannot predict short-term stock market movements. I don’t have the slightest idea whether the stock will be higher or lower a month or a year from now. However, the likelihood is that the market will go up, perhaps substantially, long before sentiment or the economy changes. So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over.
The US could enter a recession in 2026, or the market could reach new highs during the rest of the year. Rather than trying to guess which direction a stock is going to go, it is safer to hold on to it during volatile periods to reap the rewards of a recovery.
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katie brockman No positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has one Disclosure Policy.