Nasdaq extends trading hours to 23 hours daily starting December 2026

Moneywise reported that these extended hours pose significant threats to investors nearing or in retirement, citing three primary risks. The Securities and Exchange Commission indicates that day trading is "highly risky" and that traders must "be prepared to suffer severe financial loss." The publication noted that short-term investing presents inherent dangers compared with long-term investing because short-term price movements can be unpredictable and transaction costs can be high. Traders must earn more to cover commissions, fees, and potential capital gains taxes, a challenge compounded by the difficulty of timing the market.

The article argued that extended hours provide more opportunities to trade on breaking news or impulses, potentially leading to questionable choices and outsized losses. Overnight trading is likely to feature fewer active buyers, resulting in reduced liquidity and thinner order books. Consequently, even a small buy or sell order could cause a wide spread between the bid and ask prices, potentially leading to erratic price swings and substantial losses.

Retirees could be hit especially hard because they lack the time to recover from mistakes while relying on their nest eggs to cover costs. Losses during early retirement can have an outsized impact on whether money lasts, as investors may be forced to sell to support themselves before investments have benefited from compound growth. The publication identified this as sequence of returns risk, which can devastate a portfolio if a string of bad trades occurs shortly after retiring. When forced to make withdrawals to cover bills, investors lock in losses, leaving them with a smaller balance to continue growing.

Moneywise suggested that investors do not have to seize the new opportunities and should instead follow tried-and-true investing best practices. The outlet promoted ETF investing as a lower-risk approach accessible to anyone, regardless of wealth. It highlighted Acorns as a platform that automates this process by rounding up debit or credit card purchases to the nearest dollar and investing the difference into diversified portfolios of ETFs. Users can tailor these portfolios to their risk tolerance and add recurring monthly deposits.

The article also recommended adding other assets for diversification, such as commercial real estate, which has traditionally served as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty. It noted that Lightstone DIRECT provides accredited investors with access to single-asset multifamily and industrial deals with minimum investments starting at $100,000. The platform uses a direct-to-investor model aimed at aligning individual investors with institutional owner-operators.

Finally, Moneywise advised seeking advice from a financial professional or using tech-forward tools like Vanguard's Digital Advisor. This service builds personalized portfolios using low-cost ETFs and mutual funds, offering automatic rebalancing and guidance on retirement savings. Vanguard's Digital Advisor has a minimum investment of $100 and offers no advisory fees for the first 90 days. For every $10,000 in an all-index portfolio, the annual fee is approximately $15 to $16.