A practical guide for Triangle-area investors wondering what to do when markets hit new peaks
If you've checked your investment accounts lately, you might have noticed something: the S&P 500 is sitting at all-time highs. Again.
For context, the S&P 500 (short for Standard & Poor's 500) is an index tracking 500 of the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S.—think Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and hundreds of others. When people talk about "the market," this is often what they mean.
For some investors, these record highs spark celebration. For others, anxiety. "Should I keep investing when prices are this high?" "Is a crash coming?" "Did I miss the boat?"
These are natural questions. Let's unpack what all-time highs actually mean for your money—and more importantly, what you should (and shouldn't) do about it.
Here's something that surprises many people: the stock market spends a surprising amount of time at or near all-time highs.
Think of it like stairs. You can't climb upward without periodically standing on the highest step you've reached so far. The S&P 500 has hit hundreds of all-time highs throughout its history—and many of those highs were followed by... more highs.
Consider this: in 2025 alone, the S&P 500 hit numerous record highs. Investors who stayed on the sidelines waiting for a "better entry point" often found themselves watching from the bleachers as the market continued its climb.
The uncomfortable truth? All-time highs are not predictive. They don't signal an imminent crash any more than they guarantee continued gains. They're simply what happens when you invest in assets that tend to grow over time.
Why does buying at all-time highs feel so risky?
It's loss aversion in action. Humans feel the pain of losses roughly twice as intensely as the pleasure of equivalent gains. When you buy at what feels like a peak, your brain immediately starts imagining the regret you'd feel if prices dropped next week.
But here's the problem: waiting for the "perfect" entry point usually backfires.
Research consistently shows that market timing is a loser's game. Even professional fund managers fail at it more often than they succeed. The investors who build real wealth over time are typically those who stay consistently invested, not those who try to dance in and out based on headlines.
If you have a 401(k) or similar retirement account, you're probably already practicing the best strategy without even knowing it: dollar-cost averaging (DCA).
With DCA, you invest a fixed amount on a regular schedule—say, $300 every month—regardless of what the market is doing. When prices are high, that $300 buys fewer shares. When prices dip, it buys more. Over time, this smooths out your average cost and removes the stress of trying to "time" your purchases.
The beauty of DCA? It takes emotion out of the equation. You don't have to decide whether "now" is a good time to invest. The decision is already made.
All-time highs are a good reminder to peek at your portfolio allocation—not because you should sell everything, but because you might need to rebalance.
When stocks run up, they can become a larger percentage of your portfolio than you originally intended. If you targeted 70% stocks and 30% bonds, the recent rally might have pushed you to 80/20. Rebalancing (selling some winners to buy more of the underperformers) keeps your risk level where you want it.
There's a common temptation to sell when markets are high and "lock in gains." The problem? You then have to decide when to get back in—and most people wait too long.
Remember: you only need the money when you actually need it. If you're investing for retirement that's 10, 20, or 30 years away, today's prices are just a blip on a much longer timeline.
Markets don't go up forever. Corrections (drops of 10% or more) happen about once every couple of years on average. Bear markets (drops of 20% or more) happen periodically too.
The question isn't if the market will decline—it's when. And the best preparation isn't selling in anticipation; it's making sure your portfolio can handle volatility emotionally and financially:
If the answer to either is "no," that's what to fix—not your equity exposure because the market is at highs.
The S&P 500 at all-time highs is neither a buy signal nor a sell signal. It's simply information.
For long-term investors—and if you're reading this, that's probably you—the recipe doesn't change:
The investors who build lasting wealth aren't the ones who perfectly timed every market swing. They're the ones who stayed in the game, through all-time highs and all-time lows alike.
Have questions about your investment strategy? Book a free review—I'm happy to help fellow Triangle residents navigate their financial journey.