A lot of people are saying not to panic and change your 401(k) allocations in this time of economic uncertainty because you are passing up an opportunity for large gains. I agree that you should not reduce your contributions (especially if you get matching amounts) or reallocate funds that are currently down, but I am not so sure that I can abide by not changing your allocation of new funds into the 401(k). The reason is that despite the mantra of “don’t try to time the market”, a 401(k) investment is the antithesis of smart investing in a volatile market. In these days where the Dow might be up 700 points one day after falling 500 the day before, you are in a weak position if you have no control over when the funds are credited to your account, as in a 401(k). As a result, until the volatility of the market calms, I have decided to focus my new contributions out of equities and into a stable money market fund. Maybe this will bite me in the ass an I will miss out on the opportunity for some big gains on “down days”, but I think I have maximized my risk tolerance for the time being.