Iran conflict drags on but there are openings amid the market turmoil. This is what advisors need to know

The Iran conflict may have sparked turmoil in the markets, but it could also spell opportunity for advisors and their clients.

The war, which is now in its 24th day, has caused massive disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial transit point for global oil supplies.

“Investors who are cash-heavy may consider being opportunistic during this time of peak uncertainty in markets, as some of the best buying opportunities tend to come during times of negative market sentiment,” said Clark Bellin, president and chief investment officer of Bellwether Wealth, in a statement.

Underlining this volatility, on Friday the small cap-focused Russell 2000 index became the first of the major U.S. benchmarks this year to enter correction territory. The economically sensitive index has been hugely impacted by soaring oil prices as a result of the Iran war.

However, the S&P 500 index has not suffered the same fate, despite slumping almost 6% in since Feb. 23, 2026. “The S&P 500's geopolitical-driven declines over the past month have been gradual and orderly, and we have not yet reached correction territory, or a 10% drop from the index's late January peak,” said Bellin. “While further downside is possible, we are likely getting closer to the end of this correction, even if the Iran conflict continues, since stocks tend to price-in these events, and eventually move onto other things.”

“We do not need an end of the Iran war in order for stocks to recover from these recent declines,” he added.

In the war’s latest twist, President Donald Trump said Monday that he is postponing all strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five-day period, citing “very good and productive” conversations with Iran over the last two days. Writing on his Truth Social network, Trump said that the conversations regarding a “complete and total” resolution of hostilities in the Middle East will continue throughout the week. On Saturday Trump had given Iran a 48-hour ultimatum to fully open the Strait of Hormuz or the U.S. would “obliterate” he country’s power plants.

Set against this backdrop, stock futures are rising Monday, with S&P 500 contracts up 2%, as are Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures.

In his annual letter to investors, which was released Monday, BlackRock CEO and Chairman Larry Fink stressed the importance of long-term investing. “We are living through a period where things that would've defined a decade have become routine: wars with global repercussions, trillion-dollar companies, a fundamental reordering of international trade, and the advent of the most significant technology since, at least, the computer,” he wrote. “Too often, this gets filtered through a short-term lens.”

But Fink argues that, over time, staying invested has mattered far more than getting the timing right. “Over the past two decades, every dollar invested in the S&P 500 grew more than eightfold,” he wrote. “Miss just the ten best days, and you would have earned less than half. And some of the market’s strongest days came amid the most unsettling headlines.”

Earlier this year the world's largest asset manager hit a record $14.04 trillion in assets under management.