The concept of “buy low and sell high” sounds attractive, but it can be difficult to follow due to the unpredictable nature of short-term market prices. To take advantage of these changing prices, one effective investment strategy is dollar-cost averaging (DCA).

When markets decline, it’s tempting to sell and wait for stability before jumping back in. But it’s virtually impossible to know when markets will rebound. Trying to time the market by buying a GIC may sometimes look like a smart move, but your long-term investment performance will likely be worse than if you had simply stayed invested through the bad times.

It’s human nature to be more emotionally sensitive to falling markets, but it’s not always logical. It’s natural for markets to move up and down over time, and the average length of a rising (bull) market is much longer than a declining (bear) market, where gains in a bull market often far exceed losses in a bear market.

It’s close to impossible to predict what assets will perform the best (or worst) over time in any market. As a result, investors spread their savings across many asset classes and many countries or regions, according to their ability or willingness to take risk. This spreading out of assets is called “diversification”.

Emotions can run high during periods of increased market volatility. Thankfully, there are tips to help you ride out the storm and keep your long-term financial goals on track.