Hi there. There is no question we could see further downside because of geopolitical events and inflationary pressures. The issue is we don't know how much, when, or if we even see more downward pressure at all.
If you were to make decisions strictly on a historical basis, very often after interest rate hikes the markets close the year green. But, this is truly a unique situation right now so it's hard to judge. If you're looking for preservation of capital, I would say the equity markets will be a very rocky experience right now. They're moving in either direction pretty swiftly based on headlines.
If I had a lump sum amount of cash and was looking to get into the markets, I would be looking to average it in. I certainly wouldn't be looking to deploy 100% of my capital in one go, the markets are just too volatile. Instead, I'd probably average in over the rest of the year.