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October is behind us and the midterms are over. Well, not if you live in Florida, but that’s another matter. Back to the discussion at hand. Investors looking for rest from recent market volatility have yet to find any relief.

Psychology has taken an unsettling turn and multiples have contracted, even as Q3 profit growth has been strong and growth at home remains solid.

Trade tensions, a global economic slowdown that includes China and Europe, Fed worries, and turbulence among the so-called FAANG stocks—Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google—have darkened the mood. If that weren’t enough, oil prices have taken a dramatic step lower, and investors are grappling with late-cycle jitters.

Elsewhere, Brexit has re-entered the conversation, and Italy’s ongoing budget discussions have rippled across the EU.

Trying to pinpoint the exact reason for instability is difficult. So, the shotgun approach, just list all the reasons, might be the best approach. If I had to pick one reason for the volatility (and there is more than one), I might point my finger at the Fed, as investors may express concerns that a policy mistake is in the making.

However, I’ll hedge my opinion and note we have yet to see much stress in the credit markets, and Treasury yields haven’t budged much.

End result, the NASDAQ and Russell 2000 Index have slipped into correction territory. The Dow and the S&P 500 Index have yet to correct (closing basis).

Short term volatility can be unnerving, especially when market action in recent years has been relatively sanguine.

The long-term data highlight that market pullbacks are normal. Between 1980 and 2017, the average maximum intra-year drawdown in the S&P 500 has been nearly 14% (LPL Research). In 2018, we’re at 10%.

A bigger concern: When economic growth eventually stalls—and it will—and commentary from blue chips turns negative, how might traders react?

The DJIA has yet to close at a new high, but the S&P 500 Index, Russell 2000 Index, and NASDAQ all set records on Friday. And it’s not just a few large-cap stocks swaying the indexes.

The Value Line Index, which is an equal-weighted index, is also at a new high. Put another way, a record for the Value Line signals the rally is broad-based.

The same themes that have supported stocks for years remain in play – a growing economy, rising profits, and low interest rates. As it stands, investors are more interested in the fundamentals than the political drama in DC.

Oh, one more thing. The new-closing high today for the S&P 500 officially cements the current bull market’s title as the lengthiest bull market on record.

Today, August 22 is the day the current bull market eclipses the bull run of the 1990s, which on Tuesday, had been the lengthiest bull market in modern history.

Well, if we’re splitting hairs, the S&P 500 Index must pass its closing high registered on January 26 before it can officially be declared the new champ. On Tuesday, it was within about 9 points of closing above its previous high.

While it appears set to become the longest-running bull market, the title for the best performance remains in the hands of the great run-up of the 1990s. You see, the S&P 500 is up 322% since the bottom in March 2009. The 1990s saw a gain from trough to peak of 417%.

Then, there are some folks–purists–who might argue the bear market of 1990, whose peak-to-trough decline extended to 19.92%, didn’t quite meet the true definition of a bear market–a 20.00% decline. For those folks, the bull market that peaked in 2000 began its climb after the 1987 market crash.

Sure, we can argue back and forth on this one, but there is one reality I think most of us can agree with.

Stocks go up and stocks go down. But long term, markets have an upward bias. A disciplined and diversified approach, which is rooted in time-tested investment principles, has historically put investors on a path to meet their financial goals.

Last week, Donald Trump announced new tariffs on steel and aluminum. These are industries he promised to protect in the campaign, and he’s following through. But at what cost?

The vast majority of economists will argue that free trade is a net benefit to the U.S. economy. But a net benefit hides the fact that some people lose. I get it.

Those in industries that face serious foreign competition rarely turn out to be winners. But let’s not discount the benefits of free trade.

Consumers win because they pay less for various goods, and jobs are created in export-oriented industries.

Did you know that last year U.S. exports totaled $2.3 trillion, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis? Yes, that’s trillion with a T. It’s not small change.

There are many more Americans that work for U.S. manufacturers that consume steel and aluminum than those who produce the metals.

Think about it: aluminum cans, farm equipment, construction equipment, aerospace, autos and parts, machinery, pipeline makers, and drilling equipment.

Trump has promised energy dominance, but he just created a new hurdle for energy producers that are voracious consumers of steel and aluminum. Not surprisingly, the industry has denounced the new measures.

At the margin, it raises costs and modestly boosts inflation. It could also force some U.S. manufacturers to put projects back on the shelf, move production offshore, or disrupt plans by foreign firms that had considered moving factories into the U.S.

And it doesn’t stop there. U.S. tariffs invite retaliation, pressuring exporters and jobs/profits in globally competitive sectors. The biggest concern: it could spiral into a tit-for-tat trade war.

America is open for business
That’s the message Trump resoundingly and unequivocally proclaimed to the world at Davos in January. It wasn’t an exercise in rhetoric; his words were backed by concrete actions.

His administration has launched an assault on regulatory excess. The tax cuts that just passed Congress favor business and production and make the U.S. a more attractive location to set up shop.

He’s now sending the world a mixed message.

At the margin, steel and aluminum tariffs won’t offset his pro-business policies. But unwarranted tariffs may lead to a nasty trade war, which no one wins.

It creates uncertainty for investors, increases prices for consumers, and could harm efficient job-creating sectors that are wrestling market share from global competitors.

Trump has signaled he’s willing to negotiate, but it’s a very risky strategy as our allies may be in no mood to give ground. It’s an exercise in economic alchemy.

Serenity Now! It’s a phrase that Seinfeld’s Frank Costanza latched on to thanks to his physician. As he so eloquently frames it, his “Doctor gave me a relaxation cassette. When my blood pressure gets too high, the man on the tape tells me to say, ‘Serenity now!‘”

“Medical advice” aside, investors have just been given a ring-side seat to a ten percent correction in the S&P 500 Index. Volatility unexpectedly engulfed trading, with the S&P 500 moving into correction territory just nine trading days after closing at an all-time high.

That’s a record, according to LPL Financial Research.

Putting aside Frank Costanza’s questionable medical advice, corrections and volatility are a normal part of the investing landscape. The period of relative tranquility, which began in the summer of 2016, is not. It’s profitable for an investor that is well-diversified, but it can’t be expected to continue forever.

Where to from here? I won’t try to time the market. No one can consistently time the market.

What I can say: A well-crafted financial plan that is uniquely crafted with your financial goals and risk tolerance levels in mind is the best place to begin. Don’t have a plan? A well-regarded financial advisor can assist.

Diversification cannot eliminate risk, but it can help mitigate it.

Advisors who take a long-term view and regularly communicate with their clients have been emphasizing the importance of the strong fundamentals but have also been subtly cautioning clients that market volatility would eventually resurface. Timing it, however, is almost next to impossible.

Resist the temptation to make emotional decisions. Making buy or sell decisions based solely on market swings are rarely optimal for long-term investors. That’s where the financial plan provides guidance.

It’s time for a gut check. Well-diversified portfolios heavily skewed to stocks can provide stronger long-term gains, but they come with more risk and greater price swings.

Can you handle the added risk? Has the selloff left you overly anxious? If so, revisit the plan with your financial advisor.

Corrections are never fun. For some, they feel like the end of the world. Historically, however, stocks have a longer-term upward bias.

A long-term perspective and a well-crafted financial plan that takes unexpected bumps in the road into account is a much better approach than Frank’s ill-advised advice.