“We’ve had sustained bull markets for several years — we have a ton of pent-up gains,” said Tara Thompson Popernik, director of research for Bernstein Private Wealth Management’s wealth planning and analysis group. But past increases do little to cushion the psychological blow of losses now, she said.
Falling asset prices do offer some strategic opportunities to clients, like harvesting losses which can lower tax bills.
Rich clients generally don’t need to even think about cutting back on spending, Thompson Popernik said, because they already have enough stored away to meet any possible needs.
“We haven’t seen a ton of clients fundamentally change their plans,” she said.
--With assistance from Alexandre Tanzi.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.