Financial advisers are confronting the possibility that nearly six years of a generally rising stock market has given way to a climate far less forgiving of complacency.

Six days of rollercoaster trading after Oct. 8 almost completely erased the S&P 500 index's gains for the year (which, as of last month, were close to 9%) as weak estimates of global economic activity pointed to a naggingly slow recovery from a recession that began in 2008 and still haunts financial markets. Another dose of worry and uncertainty was added as public health officials fought an Ebola outbreak.

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