Episode Details

What happens to your investments when the stock market crashes? And should you sell everything, hold cash, or keep investing? 

In this episode of The Table, Anthony O’Neal sits down with investing expert Courtney Hale to break down 5 stocks and ETFs that could help protect your portfolio during a market downturn. From Walmart and Coca-Cola to dividend and utility ETFs, Courtney explains how defensive investing works, why panic-selling can cost you thousands, and how to start building protection with just $100. They also reveal why missing just five of the market's best days could dramatically reduce your long-term returns, how wealthy investors prepare for economic uncertainty, and why protecting your money matters as much as growing it. The goal isn't to predict the next crash. It's to have a strategy before it happens.

Mentioned Here:

• 📖 Order "Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck" (+$275 in free bonuses): https://www.anthonyoneal.com/book 
• 📈 Start Investing Today: https://www.anthonyoneal.com/invest 
• 🎙️ Have an investing question for Anthony & Courtney? Submit yours for a chance to be featured: https://anthonyoneal.com/ask
• 📺 Learn to invest with confidence! Subscribe to Courtney Hale's Investing Uncomplicated YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Courtney-Hale
• 📈 Join Courtney Hale's FREE Investing Webinar and learn practical strategies to build long-term wealth: https://7figureportfolio.investinguncomplicated.com/

KEY POINTS 

00:00 – 5 defensive investments to help protect your portfolio during a market downturn.

02:15 – Why sitting on cash could cost you more than staying invested.

03:50 – How missing just 5 of the market's best days could cut your returns in half.

07:30 – Why panic-selling your investments is the wrong move.

09:00 – Why Walmart and Coca-Cola could hold up during economic uncertainty.

16:30 – The recovery math: why a 50% loss requires a 100% gain.

17:45 – How XLU, SCHD, and XLP can add defensive exposure to your portfolio.

24:30 – Courtney's $100 investing strategy: splitting it between XLP and XLU.

26:00 – When to shift back toward growth investments and why staying invested matters.

31:30 – How Courtney and Anthony are preparing their families and finances for a downturn.

QUOTES: 

“We have to put defense in place to protect our money. And watch this: that defense then becomes offense because it grows, right?” – Anthony O’Neal

“Although cash isn't moving, prices are still moving, opportunities are still moving, and the biggest risk to your money is not having your money invested when the market goes down.” – Courtney Hale

ABOUT ANTHONY ONEAL:

Anthony O'Neal is a nationally bestselling author, speaker, and host of The Table with Anthony O'Neal. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance & Banking and is a professor of Consumer Economics at Virginia Union University. Since 2014, he's helped millions of people get out of debt, build wealth, and break generational poverty. His mission is to help you maximize