Ask Matt: Is it time to get aggressive with stocks?

Q: Is now the time to get more aggressive with stocks? 

A: Investors looking for a green light to jump into the market, might feel like they finally got it. The market's major advance following the election sounds like it's lighting up your animal instincts.

But don't let market volatility distract you from your long-term investment plan and turn you into a speculator. Successful investors know major stock market wealth is built over time. Boosting your appetite for risk when you're feeling more confident about the market is a bad idea. It's often best to determine how much risk you can tolerate when the market is falling and testing your resolve.

Most brokers, financial advisers and mutual fund companies offer surveys that help you determine your taste for risk. Take one and stick with it. Understanding how much volatility you can handle in your portfolio, during good times and bad, is essential to allowing you to hang with the stock market no matter what it hands you in the short term.

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That's not to say risk appetite never changes. Big life changes, such as a marriage, new job, retirement or child, can boost or decrease how much risk you can reasonably handle. These are reasonable times to dial up or dial down your risk. But don't let the ups and downs of the market do it for you.

USA TODAY markets reporter Matt Krantz answers a different reader question twice a week. To submit a question, e-mail Matt at mkrantz@usatoday.com or on Twitter @mattkrantz.