ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 7, 1997 TAG: 9704070129
SECTION: MONEY PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: VIVIAN MARINO/ASSOCIATED PRESS
BARBARA SILBERSTEIN learned at an early age that a little patience can yield big dividends when it comes to playing the stock market.
Her father kept his cool after the 1929 crash and eventually recouped enough of his losses, and then some, to retire to Florida years later. Silberstein held tight during the 1987 crash and has since accumulated a sizable portfolio.
Now, the retired tax preparer from Columbus, Ohio, and her daughter, Doreen Hulsey, a 33-year-old software engineer from St.Louis, are resisting the temptation to bail out from the latest downturn that took 7 percent off the Dow Jones industrial average since its mid-March high.
``My father used to say, `If the fundamentals of your stock are good, take two aspirin and go to bed,''' said Silberstein, 70. ``I've told my daughter the same thing.''
While some nervous investors may have been fleeing the market the past few days, interviews with financial professionals nationwide suggest most people share Silberstein's family philosophy, at least for now. A poll conducted by Money magazine that will be published in the May issue found 99 percent shrugged off the recent market decline and stayed fully invested.
``Phone inquiries are up, but we've had very little redemptions ... maybe between $15million and $20million,'' said Robert Doll, director of equity fund investments for New York-based Oppenheimer, which manages 60 mutual funds with assets totaling $65billion.
Other big mutual fund companies report similar activity.
``So far, it's been a fairly mild reaction,'' said Steve Norwitz, a spokesman for T. Rowe Price Associates in Baltimore. He said that some stock investors are switching into bond or money market funds but that more money is still coming into stock funds than is leaving.
At Janus in Denver, the ratio has been 5-to-1 in favor of purchases, said spokeswoman Jenni Pieratt.
Financial advisers say small investors - many of whom buy stocks for retirement, college or other long-range goals - are better off sitting tight, focusing instead on the fundamental financial health of the companies whose stock they own, such as whether sales are strong or management is capable.
Market fluctuations, the experts say, are just a normal part of investing - and there have been many over the years.
In fact, over the last seven decades, there were losses in 20 calendar years, but during that time, stocks doubled in value on average every seven years, according to market researchers Ibbotson Associates in Chicago.
``It's not a matter of timing the market. It's time in the market,'' said Hank Madden, who runs Madden & Associates Financial Consultants in Jacksonville, Fla. He said the key to making money at any time is in diversifying investments.
``My father decided not to sell in the '29 crash, but everyone else did,'' Silberstein said. ``It took him years to make it back, but he did.
``He taught me the value of investing. Instead of buying each other birthday presents, we gave each other 10 shares of stock.''
In 1987, Silberstein followed in the footsteps of her father, J.E. Trubenbach, a leather company executive. Not only did she stay put, but she saw the crash as a buying opportunity for her investment club.
Her investment portfolio has averaged double-digit returns ever since. (She declined to reveal how much it's worth.) Her investment clubs - she's in four right now - have assets in the six figures.
``If you're going to sell when everyone else sells, you're going to end up losing money,'' said Hulsey, her daughter, who is looking at buying more stocks of high-tech and small-capital companies. ``I'm staying put. I welcome a drop in the market, actually.
``Stocks were so overpriced.''
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS. Barbara Silberstein follows thisby CNBadvice her father gave her years ago: If the fundamentals of your
stock are good, take two aspirin and go
to bed.''' color.