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Investors fear quiet market will turn volatile

When it comes to wild price swings, the stock market has been tame this year. Yet nearly two out of three Americans (64%) fear market volatility will return in the next 12 months and impact their portfolios, according to a new study from financial services firm Edward Jones.

Despite fears of a coming stock market decline of 10% or more,

55% of investors said they would not adjust their portfolios if a market “correction” struck.

It has been a quiet year on Wall Street. The S&P 500 stock index has notched 37 record highs on its way to a gain of more than

11%. So far this year, there have been only eight trading days in which the stock index has moved 1% or more in either direction, compared to 48 days last year, 72 days in 2015 and 134 days in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis, data from Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices, show.

Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones, was bouyed by results showing investors would not get spooked at the first sign of market turbulence.

“It’s encouraging to see that investors aren’t making rash or emotional decisions when it comes to their portfolios,” Warne said in a statement. “It’s important to remember that markets naturally peak and dip over time, fluctuating much more frequently than the U.S. economy. Having a well-diversified portfolio will work to hedge against market volatility, lessening the impact of inevitable corrections.”