'First, a collection of past geopolitical shocks since 1939 suggests that the median market drawdown from geopolitical events is only -5.6%, lasting only 16 days. Second, markets tend to snap back quickly. Sixty percent of the time, the S&P 500 Index erased losses within a month of the trough, and within two months 80% of the time. The outliers are usually shocks that lead to or coincide with a recession, or persistent inflation that kept the fed funds rate elevated, such as the oil embargo of 1973.

Third, the median return 12 months after a geopolitical shock was 14%, well-above the annual average S&P 500 return during "normal times".'

In other words, to quote the experts from Payden & Rygel: 'Unless you are expecting a recession or the Fed hiking in the next 6 to 12 months, adopt a long-term perspective and look beyond the near-term volatility.'