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This summer does not seem to be shaping up to be one that those nearing Retirement can take a long vacation and forget about the markets.
Global macroeconomic headwinds like the ongoing on-again, off-again Iran war continues to impact the price of oil and thus aggravate inflation fears already stoked by high government borrowing levels.
Add to that growing trepidation of a fast-expanding AI Bubble that skeptics warn may burst at any moment, the often-parabolic moves of now-trendy chip and memory stocks and it seems a time to retrench and rebalance. And if that were not enough, Canadian investors need to worry about the ongoing Tariff and global trade wars ignited by the deranged Tariff Man in the White House, and repeated signals that the CUSMA/USCMA negotiations may result in no free trade deal at all.
For this blog — which is being published precisely half way through 2026 — I once again reached out to Linked In and Featured.com, which recently changed its name to Connectively, to get expert opinions from financial advisors, investment executives, business owners and other experts to get their views and suggestions for getting through this summer of investor ennui.
Here’s how the question was posed at Connectively:
How cautious about their investments do you think those in or near Retirement need to be this summer, in light of the ongoing Iran war and impact on inflation; increased nervousness about an AI Bubble and volatile chip and memory stocks, and finally global trade uncertainties in light of the negotiations of CUSMA/USCMA? Suggestions for rebalancing or hedging, role of commodities in preparing for higher inflation.
Out of almost 100 responses, we have picked 19 shown below. As usual, the complete responses are accompanied by the sources’ head shots and bio links to their respective web sites. We have added subheadings to speed readers to the content that seems relevant to particular readers.
Capital preservation deserves equal attention to growth
Investors approaching or living in retirement face a particularly challenging environment this summer. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, persistent inflation risks, AI-driven market exuberance, and ongoing trade negotiations have created a backdrop where capital preservation deserves equal attention to growth. Research from the Federal Reserve shows that inflation remains one of the greatest threats to retirement income because rising costs can erode purchasing power over time. At the same time, concentration risk has become more pronounced, with a small group of AI and semiconductor stocks accounting for a significant share of recent market gains.
A prudent approach often involves broad diversification rather than attempting to predict short-term market movements. Exposure across dividend-paying equities, high-quality bonds, inflation-protected securities, and select commodities can help reduce portfolio volatility. Gold and other commodities have historically served as partial hedges during periods of geopolitical uncertainty and inflationary pressure, though excessive concentration in any single asset class may introduce new risks.
Retirement portfolios generally benefit from maintaining adequate liquidity, regularly rebalancing allocations, and ensuring that investment decisions align with income needs rather than market headlines. In uncertain periods, resilience tends to outperform speculation. — Arvind Rongala, CEO, Edstellar
Retirees should focus first on Iran and its Inflation spillover
Retirement timing matters enormously here. I’ve worked with clients who looked fully prepared on paper but had nearly everything exposed to the same macro headwinds you’re describing: trade disruption, energy price shocks, and concentrated tech positions all hitting simultaneously.
The Iran situation and its inflation spillover is where I’d focus first for near-retirees. In April 2025, we watched gold hit nearly US$3,500/oz and money market funds absorb record inflows precisely because investors needed somewhere to park cash when equities wobbled. A deliberate cash buffer covering 12-18 months of withdrawals changes your emotional decision-making completely: you’re not forced to sell equities into a bad market.
On the AI bubble concern specifically, the Nasdaq entered bear market territory earlier this year largely on tech concentration. If you’re holding broad index funds, a target-date fund, and individual chip or memory stocks, you likely have far more AI exposure than you realize. Run a simple overlap check across every holding before assuming you’re diversified.
For commodities as an inflation hedge, I’d think about it sequentially rather than reactively: energy-linked assets and real assets like REITs behave differently depending on whether inflation is demand-driven or supply-shock-driven. With CUSMA/USMCA renegotiation creating genuine input-cost uncertainty for North American manufacturers, agricultural and metals exposure makes more structural sense right now than chasing whatever commodity headline is hot that week. — Daniel Delaney, Owner, Seek & Find Financial
Cut back on concentrated tech holdings and replace with a proportion of your money in short-duration TIPS and I-Bonds
If you’re approaching retirement age in the next few years, this is a particularly critical summer to be proactive. Here’s what I tell folks at MintWit: The problem is not the potential for picking the wrong stock. The risk lies in having been entirely too heavy in equities such that, come a simultaneous geopolitical shock, an AI-driven stock price correction and an inflation spurt triggered by trade war, all three can come crashing down at once before you even have the chance to catch your breath.
The prudent response here is to run your current allocation through a stress test of chip stocks falling 30% while energy prices surge owing to a crisis in the Middle East, and rising costs due to renegotiation of CUSMA terms for North American goods. The reason why you’re losing sleep over it is because you may well be too heavily exposed to growth equities with too little hedging against inflation.
As far as your reallocations, my recommendation is to cut back sharply on concentrated tech holdings and replace with a proportion of your money in short-duration TIPS and I-Bonds, in order to build up that buffer for the likelihood of sticky inflation. I would also recommend a small investment (say 5-10%) in commodities – especially energy and agriculture-related ETFs – to cover your inflation exposure, rather than speculative trades in commodities. As ever, gold continues to function as a geopolitical hedge, although you want to remain disciplined about it.
In sum, the most important thing for those close to retirement at this juncture is optionality. Make sure you have enough of your assets in low-risk, liquid investments so that when the worst-case scenario strikes the market, you don’t end up selling your stocks at rock bottom. — Scott Brown, Founder, MintWit
Chasing every new trend or algorithm change just doesn’t work
I work in tech, but I’ve learned to be cautious. Chasing every new trend or algorithm change just doesn’t work. The steady approach wins every time. I think retirees should treat their money the same way. Don’t panic over headlines. Make small, gradual adjustments to your investments instead. Keeping some money in commodities can help with inflation, and regular check-ins ensure your savings match your life, not the market noise. — Vlad Ivanov, CEO, Search GAP Method
Be cautious but don’t panic … take a barbell approach
I’d be cautious, but I wouldn’t panic. The S&P 500 is now so concentrated in the Magnificent-7 that those names effectively drive the whole index. Off the March low, the Nasdaq-100 ran up roughly 20%, and at points was going nearly parabolic. With renewed tensions and conflict involving US and Iran, we’re now seeing that move cool off with both profit taking and sector rotation into more defensive areas.
On the surface that looks scary. But if you step back to the technicals, we still haven’t broken the 50-day moving average or the 10-week moving average, so there’s real support underneath this market for now.
Volatility like this is genuinely uncomfortable, though, so for someone in or near retirement I’d lean into a barbell approach. Keep some of your high-growth exposure, but balance it with quality dividend payers that cushion the ride and pay you while you wait.
Off the top of my head, two names that fit the stable, income side of that barbell are THG, The Hanover Insurance Group, and PSTL, Postal Realty Trust, a REIT that leases almost exclusively to the US Postal Service, so its rent is effectively government-backed. Neither is a rocket ship. They grow slowly, pay a dividend, and hold up better when the high-flyers wobble. That dividend income is also what helps offset paper losses in a drawdown, so you’re not forced to sell your growth positions at the worst possible time.
These are just examples of the type, not recommendations, but the principle holds is that in a summer like this, you want both ends of the barbell. — Adrian Rosebrock PhD, Chief Investment Officer & Founder, WheelMetrics
Early signs of Stagflation in major economies worldwide
The ongoing Iran conflict is beyond energy deficiency. You could see early signs of stagflation in the major economies worldwide. The volatility is pressuring retirees and the ones approaching retirement with underwhelming returns. According to the latest research by Goldmann Sachs, the uncertainity imposes lower returns on equities and bonds for a brief 1.5-2 years approximately.
With the AI bubble, the tech-heavy portfolio takes the backseat by default. CUSMA renegotiations including currency fluctuations and supply chain instability, navigating pitfalls collectively. All the factors compound to an inflation scenario. Rebalancing is safeguarding the assets and materials, ensuring protection of the equity before inflation wears down.
The average retirement portfolio is leaning more towards innovation but with less focus on the practical inflation scenarios. Last minute-hassle is not going to help in navigating the situation this summer. Portfolio review has become more vital with ongoing fluctuations. — Ankit Sarawagi, Curator, CFO Matrix
Trim the Sails, don’t abandon the Boat
If you’re close to retirement or already in it, the headlines this summer can feel pretty scary. Conflicts overseas, shaky tech stocks, trade deals up in the air, it’s a lot. But here’s what I’d tell anyone in that season of life: don’t let the noise push you into a panic move.
The real risk for retirees isn’t market swings. It’s making emotional decisions that lock in losses or leave you without income when you need it most. If your money is set up right with a solid base of guaranteed income and some protection built in, short-term chaos shouldn’t shake your foundation.
That said, this is a good time to take a closer look at your mix. With inflation still a concern, partly because of oil and energy tied to what’s happening overseas, it makes sense to have some exposure to real assets like commodities. Gold, energy, and other hard assets have historically held up better when prices rise. They’re not glamorous, but they do a job.
If you’re heavy in tech or growth stocks right now, some rebalancing could reduce your risk without pulling you out of the market entirely. Think of it like trimming the sails, not abandoning the boat. The goal at this stage isn’t to chase gains. It’s to protect what you’ve built and make sure it lasts as long as you do. That’s what smart financial planning for this chapter of life is really about. –– Paul Mauro, Founder & Author, Smart Financial Lifestyle
The biggest risk is being overly concentrated in assets that have performed well recently
For investors who are in or approaching retirement, I believe caution is warranted, but not panic. The biggest risk is often not a war, an AI bubble, or trade negotiations themselves, but being overly concentrated in assets that have performed well recently. Retirees generally have less time to recover from significant market declines, so preserving capital becomes increasingly important. If a portfolio has become heavily weighted toward high-growth technology or AI-related stocks, this may be a sensible time to rebalance and lock in some gains rather than relying on a single investment theme to drive future returns.
I would focus on diversification across asset classes, including quality dividend-paying stocks, investment-grade bonds, and a reasonable cash reserve. Commodities can also play a useful role as an inflation hedge, particularly energy and precious metals, but I view them as a supporting allocation rather than a core holding. The goal is not to predict whether inflation will rise or whether technology stocks will correct, but to ensure the portfolio remains resilient under multiple scenarios.
The most successful retirees I have seen are not those who accurately forecast every market event. They are the ones who build portfolios that can withstand uncertainty. In today’s environment, disciplined rebalancing and risk management are likely more important than trying to predict the next geopolitical or economic headline. — Bowen He, Director, Webzilla Digital Marketing
Focus should be on sequence-of-returns risk, liquidity, and diversification, not on guessing the next market move
For people in or near retirement, this summer is a good time to be more disciplined, not more reactive. The biggest mistake is trying to trade every headline about war, inflation, AI stocks, or trade negotiations. If you are within a few years of drawing from your portfolio, the focus should be on sequence-of-returns risk, liquidity, and diversification, not on guessing the next market move.
A practical approach is to rebalance back to your target allocation and make sure the next one to three years of expected withdrawals are not sitting in the most volatile assets. That often means keeping a larger reserve in cash, money market funds, or short-duration high-quality bonds so near-term spending is not forced out of a stock selloff. If equities have become concentrated in a handful of tech, chip, or AI-related names, trimming back to a broader mix can reduce risk without abandoning growth entirely.
On hedging, retirees should be careful about treating hedges as speculation. Options, leveraged products, and big tactical bets can create more complexity than protection. In most cases, the simpler hedge is broad diversification across US and international stocks, investment-grade bonds, and a modest inflation-sensitive sleeve.
Commodities can play a role, but usually a limited one. They can help if inflation flares again, especially when energy shocks are part of the story, but commodities are volatile and do not produce income. For most retirees, I would think in terms of modest exposure, not a major portfolio shift. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities and short-duration bonds can also help address inflation risk in a way that is often easier to hold through turbulence.
My general rule is this: if a retiree is losing sleep over current headlines, the portfolio may already be taking more risk than it should. Summer 2026 looks like a season to review allocations, reduce concentration, strengthen your cash-flow plan, and avoid emotional moves driven by geopolitical noise. — Kruno Sulic, Founder, LoansPlainly
https://www.loansplainly.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/krunosulic
Kruno Sulić, Founder & SaaS Product Builder, Cliprise
Spreading money into index funds and investment-grade bonds keeps us steady when markets get wild
Back in my AI finance startup days, we learned not to put all our eggs in one basket. We treated chip-supply and trade risks like they could disappear overnight and avoided going all in on AI or a single exporter. Spreading money into index funds and investment-grade bonds kept us steady when markets got wild. Commodities can help with inflation, but you can’t bet on just one thing to save you. –– Damien Mourot, CTO, AGO
If investing in AI-adjacent stocks, look at the ones solving real problems with paying customers. Not the ones burning cash chasing buzz.
As a bootstrapped founder who has been putting my own money on the line since 2018, I think about risk differently than most. I do not have investors to cushion the fall. Every dollar in Simply Noted came out of my pocket.
When I look at the current landscape with active conflicts, inflation that keeps hanging around, and AI reshaping entire industries, I think the right move is cautious but not frozen. The worst thing retirees can do right now is panic and go 100% cash. Inflation eats that alive. But going aggressive into speculative assets is equally dangerous.
What I have seen work in my own approach is diversification with a bias toward things that generate income. Real assets, dividend-paying stocks, and businesses with real revenue, not hype. I built a hardware company with 6 patents and physical product. That is a real business generating real cash flow. That kind of thinking applies to retirement portfolios too.
AI is a wildcard. It is creating massive value for some companies and destroying others. If you are investing in AI-adjacent stocks, look at the ones solving real problems with paying customers. Not the ones burning cash chasing buzz.
Stay invested, stay diversified, and stay skeptical of anything promising guaranteed returns during uncertain times. — Rick Elmore, Founder/CEO, Simply Noted (simplynoted.com)
Look toward tangible, cash-flowing physical goods rather than speculative paper assets
As a growth architect with a computer science background from Coleman University, I track tech volatility daily to optimize high-stakes digital investments. The current AI bubble and volatile chip stocks mirror the rapid hype cycles of open-source tech projects like ArduSat, which raised $106,330 on Kickstarter but required immediate real-world utility to survive.
To hedge against inflation and CUSMA trade uncertainties, investors should look toward tangible, cash-flowing physical goods rather than speculative paper assets. Through my work with WooCommerce, I see how businesses selling physical commodities directly to consumers consistently outlast market volatility because they control their own supply and inventory.
Rebalancing your portfolio this summer requires cutting out high-fee “greed” and locking down your assets, much like using Yoast SEO to secure a website’s htaccess file from outside attacks. Protect your retirement by prioritizing high-intent, cash-generating channels and keeping your investment strategy highly efficient. — Justin Murray, Owner, KickinKnowledge
Once “concerns about conflict in Iran or the sustainability of artificial intelligence are visible on every screen, the options market has already adjusted its prices.”
I am not a financial adviser: I address this question through the lens of market volatility instead of providing specific allocation instructions. There is a frequent pattern where individuals lower their risk exposure after negative news headlines appear. It is common for this to be the most expensive time to take such action.
By the time concerns about conflict in Iran or the sustainability of artificial intelligence are visible on every screen, the options market has already adjusted its prices. On VolRadar at this time, the Information Technology sector displays the highest implied-volatility rank of all S&P 500 sectors. And 10 of 11 sectors are currently setting prices for larger fluctuations than stocks have realized in early June 2026.
For an individual who is close to retirement, this means the cost of purchasing protection for companies that produce semiconductors and memory hardware is high right now. In a more cost-effective approach, a person hedges when volatility is low rather than after it increases rapidly. Commodities are outside of the data that I track: I defer to a specialist for that area.
Sector IV-rank and volatility-risk-premium data: https://volradar.com/implied-volatility-statistics/ — Aigars Pilmanis, Founder, VolRadar
Shift from Tech stocks to utilities and companies that sell stuff people always need
If I were close to retiring right now, I’d be playing it extra safe this summer. I actually started moving some money last year, shifting away from a few tech stocks and into things like utilities and companies that sell stuff people always need. My returns didn’t suddenly jump, but things have been less bumpy and I’m not checking my account as much. When it feels this shaky, I’d also look into simple hedges like commodities or even covered-call strategies to bring in a little cash. — Joseph Melara, Chief Operating Officer, Truly Tough Contractors
Forget chasing big returns. Protecting what you have and getting steady income matters more.
If you’re retired or close to it, forget chasing big returns. Protecting what you have and getting steady income matters more. I’ve seen markets crash enough times to know you need to limit your risks and shift to safer investments. Options strategies like selling covered calls can soften the blow when things drop, but keep positions small. Some gold or energy helps if prices jump, but whatever you do, stick to your approach and check it often. — Wesley Vork, Founder, The Forex Complex
Cash Flow is everything
Running a production company taught me that cash flow is everything, and the same logic applies to a retirement portfolio this summer. With oil-driven inflation creeping back from the Iran conflict, an AI and chip market that swings hard on a single earnings call, and real question marks hanging over the USMCA review, I’d be cautious: not frozen, but cautious.
The way I think about it is the way I budget a shoot: you never bet the whole production on one shot working. If your retirement money is leaning heavily on tech and semiconductors right now, that’s the financial equivalent of having no backup footage. Spread the risk before you need to, not after.
On the practical side, I track everything through Wealthsimple so I can actually see how exposed I am instead of guessing, and I’d nudge anyone near retirement to do the same kind of honest audit. Rebalancing is trimming the winners that have ballooned and topping up the steadier, boring stuff keeps you from being overexposed when the volatile names correct.
A modest slice of commodities is energy, gold, the things that tend to hold up when inflation runs hot. works as a quiet hedge, the same way I keep a contingency line in every budget for the day something goes sideways.
My honest take: protect your downside first, talk to a real advisor before making big moves, and remember that the goal this close to retirement isn’t to win big, it’s to not get caught without a plan. — Adam Gorham, Founder & Creative Director, Adam Gorham Films
Geopolitical and inflationary pressures are not within an investor’s control, but you can control your Asset Allocation decisions.
Retirement portfolios with limited time until retirement have to drastically change from speculative growth to defensive utility given the extreme concentration of today’s equity indices within one to two sector themes. It exposes investors that have 30-40% of their retirement assets in a few technology stocks to the risk of not only extreme volatility but also not having proper diversification in their retirement accounts.
Having operated as a business professional, I have observed this pattern of behaviour by organisations that focus on growth at any cost over and above sound financial fundamentals, they are at risk of being the first to suffer when a market correction occurs. The same type of critical analysis should be applied to retirement savings.
By using prudent investment practices during this life cycle, investors should be able to perform stress tests on their exposure to speculative sectors and have sufficient cash or high-quality bonds to provide an adequate buffer against being forced sellers of assets during a market decline.
While geopolitical and inflationary pressures are typically not factors within an investor’s control, the investor does have control of his/her asset allocation decisions. Therefore, invest with purpose to create resiliency by investing in asset classes that generate consistent, absolute yield rather than speculating on the future of the technology sector through cycles of positive sentiment. True market discipline is never based on timing the market but rather, ensuring that one sector change will not effect your long-term financial security. — Abhishek Pareek, Founder & Director, Coders.dev
The IV (Implied Volatility) Crush problem
Most retail traders buy right before earnings and get destroyed by IV crush [IV stands for Implied Volatility.] The fix is simple and counterintuitive: buy early, ride the momentum build-up, and sell before the call.
The IV Crush Problem
When you buy close to earnings, you’re paying peak implied volatility. The moment the announcement lands — beat or miss — IV collapses. That crush eats your position even if the stock moves your way. You’re fighting a built-in headwind.
Before earnings, IV is low. As the date approaches, it builds. That rise in IV causes traders to buy calls, hedge with stock, and push the price up. Get in early and you’re riding that wave for free.
The Strategy: 1-45 Days Out
The sweet spot is 1-45 days before earnings. Early entry means lower premium, more time to build position, and you’re selling into pre-earnings momentum before the IV crush hits.
Filter for:
Analyst score 76+
Elevated IV
Short interest above 5%
AI or high-growth sector
The Exit Rule: Sell Before the Call
This is the non-negotiable part. You exit before the earnings announcement. The pre-earnings momentum is the trade — the earnings event is what ends it. Never hold through.
Real Trades
Snowflake showed up 9 days out with a strong analyst score. IV was elevated. Pre-earnings momentum built as the date approached. Sold before the announcement and captured the move cleanly: no IV crush, no guesswork on the beat.
Innodata was a similar setup that played out well. Both followed the same pattern: scanner flagged the setup, momentum built as the date approached, exited before the call.
Risk Management
10% hard stop on pre-earnings entries. Extended hours must be ON — stops only trigger during market hours by default, which means gap moves can pass them right by if you’re not protected.
The Bottom Line
Pre-earnings momentum is real and tradable. Get in 1-45 days out, let the IV drift carry you, and sell before the call every time. Systematically filter for strong analyst setups, apply a hard stop, and don’t be in the market when the announcement hits.
For those tracking upcoming AI earnings setups, a free daily scanner covering the next 14 days is available at aismarketcap.com.
aimarketcap.com — daily AI pre-earnings scanner — Tyler Cochran, Senior Investment Advisor, Ais Market Cap
“The closer you are to needing the money, the more you want assets that hold value through chaos rather than bets that swing wildly.”
Retirement investing during war, inflation fears, and AI-bubble jitters isn’t my field, I run search visibility at Scale By SEO, not a portfolio. But I’ll give you something useful, because the instinct that drives smart investors in volatile markets is the same one that drives smart business owners: you don’t react to noise, you build durability before the storm hits.
Here’s how I think about uncertainty, and it translates. When everything’s volatile, the people who win are the ones who already did the unglamorous work. In our world, that’s technical SEO and consistent content, assets that keep compounding whether the market’s euphoric or terrified. A blog post we published this quarter still pulls traffic two years from now. That’s the “commodity” of digital marketing: durable, owned, and not dependent on you outguessing the next headline.
The parallel to a near-retirement investor is diversification and not chasing the hot, volatile stuff, the chip and memory names everyone’s nervous about, when you can least afford a drawdown. The closer you are to needing the money, the more you want assets that hold value through chaos rather than bets that swing wildly.
The bigger lesson I’d offer any audience: research before you act. Before we ever give a client public guidance, we dig into the data, pressure-test the assumptions, and make sure we’re not just repeating what’s trending. When resources or attention are tight, we prioritize the moves with the most durable payoff over the flashy short-term play. That discipline is what separates panic from strategy.
So my honest take: caution this summer isn’t about hiding, it’s about owning resilient assets, avoiding the volatility you can’t recover from near retirement, and making decisions from research instead of fear. For the actual rebalancing and commodities hedging specifics, talk to a licensed financial advisor, that’s the expert your readers deserve on the numbers. — Wayne Lowry, CEO, Scale By SEO
