TEXARKANA — A tough week for stock markets is no cause for investors to panic, according to local financial adviser and podcaster Joe Saul-Sehy.
Stock prices rallied Friday after a steep dip Thursday, but all three major indexes will be down on the week due to new tariff threats and mixed inflation news, the Wall Street Journal reported. The decline was inevitable after recent record growth, Saul-Sehy said.
“We’ve had such a great run,” he said. Tariffs turned out to be what would “finally pump the brakes a little bit on stocks,” but a downturn was due anyway.
Saul-Sehy, creator and host of financial advice podcast “Stacking Benjamins,” said he has seen some panic selling.
“Unfortunately, part of my job is to spend a good part of my day online, and I see people do some really, really dumb stuff.”
Selling stocks when prices are low means betting they will go even lower, and stocks go up 70% of the time, he said.
“When you find yourself in a spot where you’re hoping the market goes down more, so you have a safe way to put money back in, so you don’t lose money, it’s such a difficult game. I just wouldn’t play it.”
Diversified stock funds and real estate are two asset classes that over long periods of time have beaten inflation consistently, he said. And what government does is not the only influence on stock prices.
“No matter what has happened in Washington, your results are truly more based on the overall economy, and that’s going to be based on more than just what happens in Washington or at the White House.
“There are smart people running these companies that are always trying to figure out what to do next,” he said. “I mean, their paychecks are based on it.”
