"Absolutely people are worried right now but what I'm trying to caution people is: Don't confuse short-term volatility in the market with your long-term planning goals," said Patricia Lovett-Reid, senior vice-president with TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

"You may have 10 to 15 years up to retirement and then 20 to 30 years in retirement, so you do have time for the equity markets to come back -- a year from now, two years from now, we will be in a very different financial position and your portfolios will be up if you've got good quality investments and you didn't try to time the market."

"People really have the tendency to want to do something when they're faced with the type of news they're getting these days and that first impulse is something that should be considered very carefully within your overall long-term context," said Roland Chalupka, vice-president and portfolio manager at the Fiduciary Trust Company of Canada.