Ten or twenty years from now, when the editors of the Palisadian-Post look back on the history of this new financial advice section, we’re sure of one thing: they’ll have an easy time referencing the week that Dollars and Sense debuted. We began editing this section on Monday, September 29, when the Dow 30 plunged a record 777.68 points, joining October 29, 1929, and October 19, 1987 as the bleakest days in Wall Street history. On Tuesday, when we sent the section to press, the Dow surged upward by 485 points, giving everyone’s 401(k) plans an encouraging, quarter-ending boost. On Wednesday’well, we can only hope that the market continued rallying while awaiting action by Congress. Whatever happens this week, and in the weeks to come, we trust that the 10 articles in this section can provide useful investment, insurance, tax and mortgage advice as we all try to weather these turbulent, rather scary times. On page 24, Palisades native John Petrick of Perennial Financial Services assesses the government’s bailout campaign, revisits the similar emergency plan to resolve the savings and loan crisis in 1989, and interprets what this all means to investors today. ‘Stick to your investment plan and don’t allow your emotions to control your decision-making,’ he advises. On page 25, David Fried of Palisades-based Fried Asset Management, warns: ‘It’s not just hard to time the stock market, it’s impossible, so we strongly advise that you don’t attempt it.’ He advocates staying the course with one’s stocks, and ‘if you are out of the market, perhaps you should consider going back in now.’ On pages 26 and 27, look for tax news from Anne Vogel, insurance counseling by Bob Jeffers (the town’s current Citizen of the Year), Trish Bowe and Nicholas Karilas, and an article headlined ‘The Truth about the Mortgage Market’ by Greg Roberts, who describes the nationwide mortgage woes and advises what this means to people buying and selling homes. All of these experts live right here in Pacific Palisades. There’s also stock-market advice from a third local source, Palisadian Dan Fillinger of Edward Jones, who cites nine stocks for a well-balanced portfolio. He also notes, ‘Historically, the U.S. stock market performs very well after a bear market,’ which is where the market is at the moment. On page 28, The Gissell Group/Morgan Stanley writes about how a credit shelter trust protects a married couple’s assets while serving as ‘a tax-saving, estate-planning tool’to maximize the wealth they transfer to their beneficiaries.’ And on page 24, check out the timely column by Palisades resident Gregory Alper titled ‘Maintaining Emotional Stability in Times of Financial Turmoil.’ Yes! We thank the many advertisers who made this section possible, and we look forward to their continued involvement in the issues ahead. The next Dollars and Sense section will appear in January as we strive to provide interesting and valuable financial advice for 2009. Story ideas and feedback are welcomed at: editor@palipost.com.
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