Chaos creates opportunity. 😵‍💫 

This is a phrase I've heard from a number of financial professionals and it rings true more than ever right now.

After higher-than-expected tariffs were put in place this week, I expect you'll experience and talk to people with a wide range of emotions.

Regardless of your political affiliation, the one emotion that's running rampant is fear.

Here's CNN's Fear & Green Index rating as of Friday, April 4th:

Why is it so low?

It's because the stock market is down over 10% in 3 days and bringing back PTSD memories of the 2020 COVID drop.

Portfolios are down, people are worried this will accelerate a recession, and we're bracing for the price increases associated with the tariffs to hit.

Oh and by the way, these emotions are likely to throw a wrench in home sales, too.

You are probably going to have clients who say they're nervous and want to pause the process until they get more clarity on the situation.

Does that bring you back to pre-election times last year?

But, if you were with me at my last MarketPulse 360, you know that the best opportunities appear at the extremes.

What people decide to do in moments like this (hitting stop or go) can echo throughout their life depending on the choice they make.

Don't just take it from me, consider what one of the greatest investors of our time, Warren Buffett, says:

What opportunities are appearing? 👀

Whenever things get crazy, we have a tendency to freeze up, seek safety, or black out and fight. 

Our instincts kick in and we go on our autopilot that's been trained on our experiences..

For example, people who got burned in the 2008 Great Financial Crisis are prone to see another real estate crash around every corner. 

If you lost a lot of money in stocks when they went down in 2020, you may have sworn off investing entirely.

But, let me ask you this: Are you married to your first love? Did you have a heartbreak along the way? What if you gave up entirely after the first failed relationship and never married your spouse?

Life shouldn't be constantly reacting to extreme events and making bad decisions.

We should spend our energy learning from our experiences and fine-tuning our autopilot system to spot opportunities.

💡 Every time you feel the fear well up inside, take a breath and ask yourself: where's the opportunity in this situation?

You won't find it immediately, but you'll train yourself to start looking for them and over time you'll see more and more.

Eyes to see, ears to hear.

Don't forget, the stock and real estate markets are the only ones in the world where everyone freaks out (negatively) when they goes on sale.

Prices tend to rise and the best deals appear when everyone is scared to take action.

Let's go find an opportunity!  🚀

Dr. Alex Stewart
Founder