Stocks took a nosedive on Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave every indication that the central bank would continue raising interest rates to combat inflation.

Investors with a weak stomach for volatility may be wondering if its better to stay in cash during these volatile markets. In continuation of our series, "What to do in a bear market," Yahoo Finance asked the experts if holding cash is wise given how inflation eats away at savings.

Do you recommend holding cash during these volatile markets, even with levels of high inflation?

“Even with these volatile markets coupled with high inflation, we believe investors should stay invested. Cash is difficult to perfectly time, since the market is difficult to perfectly time," Greg Bassuk, CEO of AXS Investments in New York, told Yahoo Finance. "Put another way, if the market nosedives, investors may wish they held more cash, whereas if the market catapults higher, they regret holding cash."

Bassuk pointed to the July rally as an example of the cash-holding dilemma. With U.S. stocks rising 9% in July, one of the all-time best months for equities, "cash allocations were a source of investor remorse. Solution? Stay invested."

Some strategists highlight the continuation of higher interest rates poised to send the markets lower in the months to come. Cash on the sidelines could be used for a lower entry point.

“We’re continuing to stay very defensive, with a lot of cash. We want to see what direction they’re [The Fed} going in,” Eddie Ghabour, managing partner at KeyAdvisors Group, recently told Yahoo Finance Live. “Our money is betting that they tighten higher and longer than what the market is actually positioned for. And then we’ll have a better entry point in the 4th quarter to dip back into the equity side."

At the end of the day, one expert stressed, investors should hold a portfolio well matched to their financial objectives and personal tolerance for market volatility.

“For investors with relatively short time horizons, such as retirees, some level of cash holdings can make sense," said James Solloway, Chief Market Strategist at SEI. "The same might be true for investors with relatively low tolerance for market volatility, but that comes at a cost given that cash tends to be the lowest-returning class of financial asset over any meaningful period of time."

Solloway add that any decision to exit the market "has to be relatively well-timed and requires a subsequent and similarly well-timed decision to reenter the market. And once you take into consideration that actual market peaks and troughs are only identifiable well after the fact, it should become apparent that attempts at market timing are far more likely to impose a net cost on an investor’s portfolio over the long run."