And taking on additional risk may not really be necessary anyway. While returns are undeniably lower, with costs dropping, inflation virtually nonexistent and the low interest rates dramatically reducing the cost of capital, things are not all bad.
The key for investors is to look at returns in the context of all these other factors. If purchasing power has increased, then the drive for higher returns is not as crucial an issue. This is not to say that investors should be oblivious to market volatility, only that there is no need to be paranoid about this being an indicator of a repeat of 2008. Energy prices are an issue and one that will probably continue to swing, and things might get worse before they get better, but projections are for oil prices to start slowly climbing again by early next year.
So the ride may be a little bumpy for the foreseeable future; investors who have the luxury of a long-term view should use this time of turbulence as an opportunity to buy good stocks at a discount. In the long run, it matters much more what your money can purchase than how much of it you have.
Tim Clift serves as chief investment strategist at Envestnet|PMC and is responsible for the development of investment strategies, and of manager and fund strategist selection methods.