Fear.

When the stock market moves sharply down, there is an overwhelming desire to DO SOMETHING.  The market is grinding lower day after day; you think, why should I just watch?

Channel the urge for movement based on panic in other directions. Cut investment fees. Consolidate accounts. Simplify. Gaining a sense of control by making concrete improvements will help you get through rough times emotionally and financially.

My New Year’s resolution has been to streamline and improve my family’s financial life in much the same way I counsel my clients to do. The recent rapid depletion of asset values (stinky stock market) has helped to spur this desire.

I realize that in the short run, cutting expenses with lower-cost investments is a drop in the bucket compared with recent market declines. But I am also cognizant that in the long-run, cutting fees is likely to have a much greater impact on our net worth.

My wife and I had Roth and Traditional IRA accounts spread out among multiple brokerage firms. These accounts were invested in an array of mutual funds, stocks and exchange-traded funds. I was able to track all of this with the help of account-aggregation software, but I believed the picture could be made clearer, simpler and cheaper with no real downside.  So we undertook to consolidate most of our accounts into one Roth and one Traditional IRA apiece.

We went a step further and invested most of our retirement money in a single low-cost fund that is divided into different types of stocks and bonds. The aggressiveness of the fund will gradually lessen as we approach retirement. This type of vehicle, known as a target retirement-age fund, is commonly seen in 401(k) and other workplace retirement plans.

I know that the vast majority of our returns will be determined by fees and the asset classes in which we are invested, rather than specific investment choices.

If I were to be completely honest with myself, I would also acknowledge that the less I touch my accounts the better off I will likely be in the long run. This is especially true with respect to my retirement accounts, which don’t afford the opportunity of tax-loss harvesting.

Having long-term money invested in target-date funds that rebalance automatically reduces the temptation for me to engage in market timing (attempting to get in and out of investments at seemingly opportune moments). It also keeps my focus on my clients.

Besides saving fees and creating a (small) barrier between myself and action (selling), owning shares in target retirement-age funds offer another advantage: It will be easy for beneficiaries to see and understand the accounts. If I die before her, which is statistically likely, my wife will be able to add my retirement account assets seamlessly into her own. I can put a summary of our accounts on a single 4- by-6-inch index card.

Another way we are gaining control – tracking our spending – also should yield tangible results. When we saw how much money is going out the door in food costs, we hastened to sign up for an introductory meeting at the Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn, NY.

Now, we just need to keep from plowing those savings into even tastier meals. But I guess either way I come out ahead.

Not all target retirement-age funds are the same and this type of investment may not be suitable for you. The investment mixes vary from company to company and fund to fund, which all involve risk. Consider reviewing investment alternatives with a fee-only financial planner.

Recent media quotes:

Retirement investing through the decades: What to do in your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s  Bankrate.com

Roth or Traditional IRA – What’s the Difference? Fox Business

Investing for beginners: Do it yourself, hire an adviser or use a robo-adviser?  Bankrate.com

RIAs Shouldn’t Fear the Robots Institutional Investor

Investment advisory services are offered through Garrett Investment Advisors, LLC, a fee-only SEC registered investment advisor.  This communication is not to be directly or indirectly interpreted as a solicitation of investment advisory services to residents of another jurisdiction unless otherwise permitted.