How Quickly Attitudes Change

Three months ago clients were asking me if they should sell everything and buy gold. Others were shopping for a nice cave in the foothills to live in after the impending economic collapse. This group mentality has shifted back to near normal with astonishing quickness.

The "Credit Crisis" has calmed, and "The End of Civilization as We Know It" has been postponed. Being in a stubborn recession doesn't seem so bad by comparison. There's nothing like a stock market rebound to calm investor fears and help recoup some of the startling losses of 2008 and early 2009.

On March 3rd, the Standard and Poor's 500 Index sank to 666, its lowest point since 1996. This index is at 909 as I write this. That's well below its peak of 1313 in August of 2008, but this index has climbed 36% in just 10 weeks. However, my impression is that many investors don't realize how well the market has done lately.

When everyone is panicking, there is always the temptation to bail out of the stock market and find SAFETY. Unfortunately, if the stock market totally collapses, so will the rest of the economy. Having your money in cash or an FDIC insured bank account or even gold may not provide safety either. Panic is rarely a good strategy.

Fear has subsided and the worst may be over. It's too early to start singing "Happy Days are Here Again" (written in 1929), but maybe we can start rebuilding our portfolios now and hope for a brighter future.