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As the U.S. and Iran continue to negotiate a truce, global oil prices remain extremely volatile.

Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire on April 8, global oil prices dropped below $100 before hovering back up around that benchmark a few days later (1), when Iran and the U.S. failed to reach a lasting truce.

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On April 15, TD Economics reported that “prices once again dropped around 5% as markets price in the potential for second-round talks (2).” That being said, West Texas Intermediate oil prices have surged more than 50% since the war began on February 28 (3).

With oil prices in such a state of flux, so too is the stock market, which took a big hit when the Iran war began. The market has since bounced back, as the S&P 500 is up 17% since March 30 (4).

However, as ceasefire negotiations continue to drag on, investors with cold feet may feel inclined to sell their stocks, but Suze Orman warns this could be a big mistake.

In a conversation on Orman’s YouTube channel, Orman and markets expert Keith Fitz-Gerald discussed the importance of resisting the urge to sell your stocks right now.

“Everybody who thinks they’re being smart by stepping out right now is going to get left behind,” Fitz-Gerald told Orman (5). “I’ve learned that lesson the hard way. I thought I was being smart, I bailed out, I made mistakes, I lost money.”

When Orman asked Fitz-Gerald to tell the viewers why selling stock right now would be a big mistake, he advised people to relax and look at the bigger picture.

“In the early 2000s, Amazon lost 97% of its value,” he shared. “That’s incomprehensible to people today; they simply forget their history. We’re going to get through this.”

If you can stick it out through tough financial times, you could benefit from gains that will likely come when the market bounces back, according to Orman and Fitz-Gerald.

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Jaime Dimon, CEO of JPMorganChase, recently warned that a 2026 recession could be looming, citing both the war in Iran and the uptick in artificial intelligence as potential causes.

In his 2026 annual letter to shareholders, Dimon wrote that the economy faces “the potential for significant ongoing oil and commodity price shocks, along with the reshaping of global supply chains, which may lead to stickier inflation and ultimately higher interest rates than markets currently expect (6).”

That being said, much like Orman and Fitz-Gerald discussed, a potential recession doesn’t necessarily mean selling your stocks is the right thing to do, even if you’re feeling panicked.

Historically, recessions have been temporary. According to National Bank Direct Brokerage (NBDB), the average length of recessions in the U.S. since World War II has been around 11 months, and the 2008 recession was the longest — 18 months — during this period (7).

And between February 19 and March 23, 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the S&P 500 fell 33.8%. But it regained its all-time high by August and ended the year up 18.4% (8).

“Investors who sell after the market has dropped substantially usually are setting themselves up to miss the future rally in asset prices,” NBDB writes.

By avoiding selling during a panic, you can wait out the surging crude oil prices and hope for the rally to come soon.

Of course, it’s human nature to panic when markets plummet. And if you’re not a financial expert, it’s easy to get swept up in the tide of public opinion and sell your stocks at the first sign of trouble.

That’s why it can pay to work with a professional financial advisor who has ridden out previous ups and downs and can offer you personalized recommendations on the best moves for your portfolio.

Wondering where to start? If you have a portfolio of $250,000 or more, platforms like WiserAdvisor can connect you with vetted professionals who specialize in this kind of planning and can help you avoid panic selling.

Simply answer a few questions about your savings, retirement timeline and overall investment portfolio. From there, WiserAdvisor will review its network to match you — for free — with up to three vetted, reputable advisors aligned with your specific needs.

You can then schedule no-obligation consultations with your matches to determine the best fit for your long-term goals.

WiserAdvisor is a matching service and does not provide financial advice directly. All matched advisors are third parties, and specific financial results are not guaranteed.

If you’re committed to following Orman’s advice and keeping some skin in the game, it’s helpful to know which investments may have the most to offer.

And in a volatile market, expert insights can be a game changer.

With platforms like Moby, you can get expert research and recommendations to help you identify strong, long-term investments backed by advice from former hedge fund analysts.

In fact, in four years, and across almost 400 stock picks, their recommendations have beaten the S&P 500 by almost 12% on average. They also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Moby’s team spends hundreds of hours sifting through financial news and data to provide you with stock and crypto reports delivered straight to you. Their research keeps you up-to-the-minute on market shifts and can help you reduce the guesswork behind choosing stocks and ETFs — and deciding when to buy, hold or sell.

Plus, their reports are easy to understand for beginners, so you can become a smarter investor in just five minutes.

While you may not want to ditch traditional markets completely, investing in uncorrelated assets can be a great way to diversify your portfolio and hedge against inflation. This strategy can lower overall risk without sacrificing potential returns, potentially enhancing long-term performance through consistent growth.

So, if you’re looking to protect and grow your portfolio in a tumultuous time, consider options that enable you to invest in alternatives and public markets all in one place — like a self-directed account with IRA Financial.

IRA Financial gives you the freedom to invest in alternative assets like real estate, private equity, precious metals and crypto within a self-directed retirement account. And now you can add real-time, public market investing, powered by Interactive Brokers, a trusted global brokerage.

For the first time, you can manage both traditional and alternative assets seamlessly within a single self‑directed retirement structure, all for a flat fee.

Complete the application online in minutes to open your self‑directed retirement account with stock trading access powered by Interactive Brokers.

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We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

Trading Economics (1); TD Economics (2); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (3); Yahoo Finance (4); @SuzeOrman (5); JPMorganChase (6); National Bank Direct Brokerage (7); S&P Global (8)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.