The JSE is down by about 40 percent from its record close in May and, supposedly, this is the worst we've seen since 1929. On iafrica.com our market updates are, literally, getting more page impressions than ever. It's obvious that South Africans are terrified by what's happening.

If you're one of those checking your investments every five minutes you'd better read on, because if you act on that fear you will screw up your investments in a way that no market crash, no matter how prolonged or severe, can ever do.

If you're investing for the long-term — 10 years or more — and your portfolio is well diversified then, for you, this crisis is nothing of the sort and shouldn't concern you in the least. Even if tomorrow the market plummets by 50 percent it should not faze you. But, why the hell not?

Well, stock markets are volatile — they go up and down. This means that during the course of any given year or three your investments might lose, or gain, some or a lot of value. However, the stock market has never lost value over any ten year period in its entire history. Ever! Over longer terms there is no risk whatsoever that a well diversified portfolio of stocks will lose any value. It is, obviously, possible to suffer short term losses but for those in it for the long run these losses are completely irrelevant.

The stock market is volatile, not risky. Knowing the difference might help you stay level headed and keeps you from making the grave mistake of moving into 'safe' investments like cash.

For the long-term investor the money market is the riskiest investment you can possibly make. How can I say such a thing when your capital is guaranteed and you're receiving a bit of interest? The answer: inflation. The returns you get for putting your money in cash are usually in line or, as is the case now even with our high interest rates, below inflation.

It is very difficult to achieve returns in excess of inflation without investing a considerable portion of your wealth in volatile assets, particularly shares.

Conservative investments are good when your goals are short term and you don't have time to weather the market downturns. If, however, you're in it for long-term placing your money in a bank is foolhardy — it's not that you might lose out, you most certainly will!

Keep your cool and your investments will emerge from this crisis completely unscathed. Not maybe. Definitely. The best thing to do now is to do nothing. If you panic and sell you turn paper losses into real losses. Do nothing and by the time you retire you'll probably have forgotten this 'crisis' ever happened.

What can you do to weather this violent storm with your investments intact? On page two you'll find some tips for turning this economic crisis into a non-event...

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