Financial Adviser says Plummeting Stocks are ‘A Blip’ Long Term

As of 2:00 p.m. on Monday the Dow Jones Industrial average had dropped by 767 points to 25,717, reacting to the escalating tariff battle between the U.S. and China.

Financial Adviser with S.G. Long and Company, Bob Seidenschwarz took time between calls from clients to speak with KGVO News.

“We’ve seen this before,” said Seidenschwarz. “This is event driven and is primarily about the tariffs. What we’re seeing is the threat of an additional 10 percent, and what we’re seeing in businesses across the country is that ultimately it will start translating into earnings, job reports and various other economic news. This is being driven primarily by the uncertainty, and I think that’s the key word.”

Seidenschwarz read the ticker as of noon on Monday.

“As I’m sitting here talking to you we’re down over 700 points,” he said. “What that means is that from an index standpoint the S&P 500 is down about 2.8 percent, the Dow is down about 2.8 percent and the Nasdaq is off almost three and a half percent. These are not insignificant moves and you’ll see a little bit of red in your portfolio tomorrow.”

Along with the anxiety of watching their investments lose value, Seidenschwarz said it’s important to think in the long term.

“If your objective if longer term, than this becomes a blip on the screen,” he said. “I’m not minimizing what the implications could be over the next several months, but determining what you can stand when events like these happen. As a consumer, this is a good time to get together with your financial advisor and take a hard look at what you own, what the implications are, and if they’re good quality companies that will be around for a long time.”

Seidenschwarz said the traditional single investor is better off with what is called ‘dollar cost averaging’.

“The simplest way is to take a single amount out of your paycheck and you invest it in your asset allocation that you set up,” he said. “That’s the way that you get through these tough times. If the market’s on sale, that’s your sign that it’s time to buy when these companies are in some cases below valuation. I have no reason to believe that it won’t be in your best interests in the long term.”