Advice includes adjusting portfolios, monitoring cash

By Dave Choate, Seacoast Online (July 16, 2008)

PORTSMOUTH — While discussion over a shaky economy continued on Capitol Hill Tuesday, a pair of local financial experts said the public should exercise patience and avoid panicking.

The grim outlook was evident on Wall Street, where stocks slumped Tuesday over concerns about inflation and the banking industry. The Dow Jones industrials closed shy of 11,000 for the first time in two years.

While the economy is certainly on the minds of many Americans, Constantine Harris, branch manager for Wachovia Securities of Portsmouth, cautioned against panic from rising energy prices or the general economic downturn. He said that, for those really losing sleep over the market, Wachovia generally advises some slight portfolio adjustments, incremental movement of funds from the stock market to less volatile bonds and other funds. Consumers can also take advantage of sales on many items in the current economy, he said.

Most importantly, Harris said, consumers should avoid making financial decisions in haste or based on fear. The economy, he said, is bound to cycle downward.

"Emotion-driven decisions are often exactly the wrong thing," Harris said. "This is not the last time the market will have a rough patch."

Jill Boynton, principal of Cornerstone Financial Planning in Newington, said investors should talk to financial advisers about their proposed course of action and echoed Harris in advising the public not to panic. She said she recognizes that the downturn could be more serious than the average down-cycle, but said residents should simply make sure they have enough cash and not bunch all their investments into a single commodity.

"We work with most of our clients on an ongoing basis, so education is part of the process," Boynton said. "It's important to know that this is not going to last forever."