Most savers and retirees should be wary of abrupt changes to their investment strategy despite global stock markets this week continuing to see-saw and millions seeing the value of their DC retirement pots fall in value.

That’s the consensus view of financial commentators, in the face of the global stock market turmoil.

Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell, said: “Calm at this moment, when those in the highest offices appear to be losing theirs, is the order of the day. Investing is a long-term game and there are few life goals better suited to taking a long view than saving for retirement.”

He said that during periods of turmoil, like at the moment, problems tend to surface when it comes to pensions and when people are invested in a way that does not match their end goals.

He said: “If market movements over the course of a week completely knock retirement plans off course, it means you were almost certainly investing in a way that didn’t match your risk appetite or time horizon, or both.”

Duncan Lamont, head of strategic research at Schroders, said: “Crises happen. The stock market falls 20% once every four years, on average, 10% most years. It’s easy to forget this. Even if you’re a seasoned investor, how much comfort does that give you when you’re in the thick of it?”

He pointed out that looking at world stock markets (as represented by the MSCI World Index) reveals that 10% falls happened in 30 of the 53 calendar years before 2025. In the past decade, that includes 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2023.

More substantial falls of 20% occurred in 13 of the 52 years (once every four years, on average – but if it happens this year, that will be four times in the past eight years, in 2018, 2020 and 2022).

He said the simple reality is that, “the stock market has tremendous power to help grow wealth in the long-run but short-term volatility and risk of falls are the price of the entry ticket.”

For investors, the turmoil can throw up opportunities, according to Devan Kaloo, global head of equities at Aberdeen Investments.

He said: “In the face of threat to growth, governments in Europe and China may seek to stimulate. While weaker growth in the US may overwhelm inflationary pressures prompting more aggressive easing from the Federal Reserve and there will be relative winners from tariff fallout.

“Against this backdrop, while the short term is uncertain, we remain constructive on Emerging Markets – as countries like China move to support their domestic economy, countries like India, Mexico and Indonesia are relative tariffs winners, while lower US rates will support local currencies and allow rate cuts.”