Over the past year, Federal Reserve officials have opined that as additional economic growth occurs, the central bank should be ready to curtail quantitative easing, or the practices of buying $85 billion in securities each month to stimulate the economy by keeping interest rates—including those for mortgages—low.

Fears that tapering will cause a spike in interest rates have caused many investors to grow skittish and to pull out of equities, thereby creating considerable market volatility. Yet, so far, Fed comments on tapering have been countered either by additional statements that such actions will be done cautiously to prevent dampening economic growth, or by disappointing data that has suggested that the economy isn’t strong enough for the central bank to make policy changes.

Either way, the volatility from tapering fears and questions over how much longer the ongoing bull market can continue are causing some investors to want to ditch equities. No one, of course, can forecast equity market performance with utmost certainty, but advisors’ may potentially help their clients by encouraging them avoid making rash decisions that involve rushing into bonds.

After all, equities have historically outperformed bonds and many investors will need long-term capital appreciation from stock investing to reach financial goals, such as retirement or funding college tuition for children. Advisors should keep that in mind, and seek ways to encourage their clients to stay the course. In doing so, here are a few points that advisors can share with clients:

• Bond performing is hurt by rising interest rates, so investors who jump into fixed-income investments in anticipation of the Fed scaling back quantitative easing may be setting themselves up for failure.

• At the same time, cash and most bond investments are earning less than inflation, so investors may see the value of their capital eroded over time if they overweight fixed income securities.

• Corporations have been conducting large share buybacks and increasing dividend payments, which is supporting equity valuations. Strong corporate fundamentals, including sizeable cash balances on businesses’ balance sheets, suggests that American companies may be well prepared to deal with increases in interest rates and are capable of continuing to increase their dividends and stock buyback programs.

• Investors can help manage risk by maintaining diversified portfolios and sticking to their target asset allocations. At the same time, concerns over the impact of tapering quantitative easing may make this a good time to add alternative investments, or hedged funds, to an investors’ asset allocation. Such funds may underperform during market rallies, but they can be appealing because they may lessen the impact of large market declines by engaging in short sales. Over time, they may actually outperform traditional equity funds because they may have less ground to make up after bear markets end.

Clearly, growing fears over the future of quantitative easing and the sustainability of the current bull market are causing angst among many investors. At such times, however, advisors can earn their keep by helping their clients maintain a level headed approach to investing. While doing so may help strengthen relationships with clients, it may also help clients who charge asset based fees as over the long term, sticking to a designated asset allocation may potentially result in assets increasing in value.