When economic conditions turn against investors, they have an opportunity to inspect their portfolio strategies, according to Kelly Ryan, head of independent wealth management at State Street Global Advisors.

Down markets mean there is an opportunity to consider harvesting losses to reduce the taxes that will ultimately be due on those investments.

“Investors and their advisors usually look at tax loss harvesting at the end of the year when the April tax date is approaching,” Ryan said in an interview. “But with the volatile market for both equities and fixed income that we have been experiencing in the last few months, now can be a good time to look at that option.”

With the S&P 500 down 15% and Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index down 10% since the start of the year, investors may be able to save themselves some tax money by taking those losses now.

An advisor who takes the opportunity to talk to clients about this option shows he or she is actively keeping an eye on clients’ assets. “It is a great way to add value to your service,” Ryan said. “Taking action will strengthen the relationship with clients and show you are carefully watching their portfolios.

“This is the first time in a really long time that we have experienced losses in the fixed income space and it creates a unique situation to take taxes losses,” she added.

Investors should think about selling the equities or bonds that are experiencing negative returns of 2% or more and replace them with something similar, but something that is not declining. If the investors holds a large cap equities mix that is declining, he or she may want to look at a different large cap mixture of assets. 

“Assuming the client has confidence in the portfolio balance and the risk level,” the portfolio should remain substantially the same. The cost of the investments should also be taken into consideration when deciding what to sell and what the replacement assets should be. “Some of the ETFs have only a three basis-point cost, which makes them attractive, Ryan added.

“It is one thing for an investor to say he or she has risk tolerance when things are going well,” Ryan explained. ”It is another thing to say that when markets are down.” The advisor should use this opportunity to reassess risk tolerance with the client.

The level of risk the client is willing to assume will help determine if he or she should move to cash for a while, or if the client should stick with shifting the investments within the portfolio instead.