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Investors Should Stay The Course, Experts Say

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By JENNIFER LEIGH | News Channel 8

Published: March 4, 2009

LAKELAND - With the Dow below 7,000, many investors are wondering whether they should keep their money in the market or make a run for it.

Financial experts continue to offer the same advice: Stay the course.
That can be easier said than done.

Ellen Simms, owner of Fast Frame, a small framing business in downtown Lakeland, must sometimes cash in on investments to keep things afloat. She left corporate America to pursue her dream of owning her own business.

"In the real world, if you get into a cash crunch you don't have any choice but to sell your stock and cover your costs," Simms said.

Many investors face the same dilemma either out of necessity or out of fear. Certified Financial Planner Morgan Christian, who works for James I. Black in Lakeland, says needing liquid assets is one thing, but panic shouldn't dictate whether investors stay in the market or cash out.

"You seal your fate if you bail now," Christian said.

There are several risks to getting out of the market now, according to financial experts. First, the losses become real when investors bail out of their portfolio. Second, getting back in with enough time to recoup some of the money is virtually impossible.

"If you think that you're going to be able to get back in if you're on the sidelines when these things turn … before you know it you've left 35 to 40 percent on the table that you otherwise would have regained in your portfolio," Christian said.

Christian offers this advice to investors:

Don't go it alone - seek professional input on your portfolio.

Stick to your plan - don't change allocations based on the market's daily ups and downs.

Don't panic - history shows there will be a rebound.

"Oddly enough, the worse it gets the greater it hastens the end of it, and recovery is just around the corner," Christian said.

News Channel 8 rpeoprter Jennifer Leigh can be reached at jleigh@wfla.com.

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