Advice to investors on how to deal with market volatility

While the Royal Bank of Scotland tells investors to sell everything, one business reporter says people should just be ready for quite the ride.

BNN’s Michael Hainsworth spoke with the CJME Morning Show Thursday morning, and said the warning from RBS doesn’t apply to everyone.

“What they’re saying is, ‘hey traders, guys who make this your day job, you’re going to want to unload everything (and) bury it in the coffee can,'” Hainsworth explained.

The advice doesn’t apply the same to the average person who works a day job, Hainsworth said.

“We’re in no position to take RBS’s advice. What we are in a position to do is take the advice of pretty much everyone else in the markets.”

That advice is to have a diversified portfolio that takes advantage of the ride the global markets are on.

Hainsworth says some investors may feel unsure of where they should keep their dollars.

“If you’ve got a massive component of your portfolio tied up in energy, yes, you’re in trouble,” Hainsworth explained. “But the thing is if you sell that now, you could find yourself in a position where we get a bit of a bump now – five years from now we could be kicking ourselves, and that’s what the smart money is telling me.”