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Vancouver, B.C. (January
3, 2001): Take a deep breath and count
to 10. That's the advice to jittery New Year's
investors from Vancouver-based investment counsel
and financial advisor Adrian Mastracci
of KCM Wealth Management. Mastracci warns
that a nervous investor who "dumps" stocks in
the wake of short-term market fluctuations, such
as this week's sell-off of technology and communications
stocks, isn't doing their portfolio any favour
in the long-term.
"Anyone who is looking to build
up a solid investment portfolio, the kind that
pays off with good long-term results, has to take
a deep breath at times like this, rather than
rushing in to unload stocks at fire sale prices,"
notes Mastracci. "When it comes to solid long-term
investment results, patience is more than just
a virtue, it's a way of life. If not, you'll always
be buffeted by the ups and downs of the markets,
which happen week in and week out over the course
of the year."
Over the past week, stock markets
have taken a beating as technology, communications
and banking stocks fell, driving markets across
the continents downward.
"Jumping in and out of the markets
is no way to build a solid portfolio," said Mastracci.
"Often, when clients first start with us, they
want to hold on to a portion of their investment
portfolio because they want to 'play' the market.
However, within two or three years, they are usually
quite happy to return their 'play money' back
into their long-term investment portfolio."
"You see, no one can consistently
predict the market. As a result, investors who
get caught up in day-to-day peaks and valleys,
not of their making, are in danger of damaging
their portfolios and placing their financial futures
at risk with knee-jerk reactions to the markets.
Frankly, you need to take the long-view because
long-term results, over an extended time horizon,
deliver better and more rewarding results."
Mastracci's philosophy of managing
money begins with "What is important about money
to you?"
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