(Host) As nervous Vermonters watch the stock market, brokers say they haven’t fielded many calls from panicky investors. Shawn Hadwen is with the Edward Jones office in Fair Haven. Hadwen says he’s encouraging his clients to stick to long-term investment fundamentals, and to stay calm:
(Hadwen) “I’m fielding questions, but I haven’t run into a whole lot of disgust or disdain for the market as it is right now. Everybody realizes that this is what happens from time to time.”
(Host) Burlington investment advisor Eric Hanson says short-term investors and people at retirement age have been hit hard by current market conditions. But Hanson says it’s also a time of high anxiety for normally steady-as-she-goes long-term investors. Hanson says emotion, more than reason, is driving the market right now:
(Hanson) “My favorite definition of the stock market is: the stock market’s only indirectly related to economics. It’s a function of human fear, greed and apprehension all overlaid on a business cycle.”
(Host) Hanson says he hasn’t had seen a surge in calls from people wanting to pull their money out of the market, but he says investors may react differently next month when they receive their July statements.