People have avoided huge losses by holding old-fashioned, well-balanced investments, an approach our columnist is banking on for the future.

The mood has darkened in the U.S. stock market, and no wonder. Pessimism about the Trump tariffs has set off painful declines.

But the picture has been less dire for people with investments outside the U.S. stock market. Holding plenty of bonds and including stakes in international stock markets were keys to stability and, maybe, even modestly positive returns in the first three months of the year. While there is no guarantee that this approach will work as well in the future, it has held its own over many years and is, I think, a sound strategy for most people.

Just look at what we’ve recently experienced. The quarterly numbers from Morningstar, a financial markets research firm, show that old-fashioned diversified investments like those favored in retirement accounts posted much better returns than

Keep reading this article on The New York Times Your Money.