Financial advice to live by

Experience is very underrated by those that do not have any!

Needless to say, these past few years have been a time that provided many lessons to those of us that have been in the financial services business a long time (too long to mention) as well as those that are still wet behind the ears. There is an old saying on Wall Street that goes as follows, “investors make money during bull markets and learn during bear markets.” That said, we thought now might be a good time to reflect on some of the lessons we have learned over the past few years.

An investor buys perceived potential and sells a lack thereof. What did you do when the stock you bought ran up to ludicrous levels? Or, what did you do when the stock you purchase began to tumble as the potential for future growth declined? Have strict buy and sell disciplines. The most important lesson that we have learned from past bear markets is that a sell discipline is more important than a buy discipline.

Don’t chase hot stocks. Look for stocks with solid, long-term growth potential.

When investing, don’t look to get the final ten percent of a stock’s move upward or believe that you can buy within ten percent of the bottom. Rather look to capture that middle eighty percent. Regarding the domestic stock market, we believe that at current levels there remains opportunity.

“Stay on the offensive. Always look for good ideas and push out the mediocre ones. If every week you find a couple good things and say, ‘stock number thirty-one in the portfolio is okay, but these are better. Sell number thirtyone.” (Peter Lynch, legendary former manager of the Fidelity Magellan Fund). Don’t fall in love with a particular stock or sector! Continually challenge your ideas among yourself as well as your peers.

Change when it is appropriate. Don’t carry negative baggage around!

We know that it is impossible to be right all of the time. We just want to be right over time. Recognize that there are many times when you may be wrong! Remember, a .300 hitter is in the hall of fame. However, that batter gets out over seventy percent of the time. The key is when you make a mistake, sell and move on.

Excessive optimism doesn’t yield stock prices at attractive levels, excessive pessimism does. There exists a lot of skepticism about the current rally in the stock market. That is good. The markets climb a wall of worry. Remember during 1999 when excessive optimism reigned? Look what that wrought! Now, there is adequate pessimism! We believe that this pessimism as well as solid economic fundamentals bode well for the market over the next 12 to 18 months.

“I did so by never becoming too confident in having made the right decision.” (Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, upon his retirement and in response to the question of how he lasted so long) As

the importance of Opportunity Programs in the SUNY colleges comes from the increasing need to adapt to what best suits students. Programs are found throughout the SUNY network, with the Empire Promise Program being the newest in the lineup. Presently, only a handful of SUNY colleges statewide do not have any Opportunity Programs. It is Malatras’s goal to first close the gap and bring that number to 0, and then to increase the number of Programs available at each school.

“What you’re finding is, just getting into college isn’t enough,” Malatras explained. “There’s different needs, and you need a flexible program like this to meet those needs.”

To learn more about SUNY Empire’s Opportunity Programs, including the Empire Promise Program, visit https://www.esc. edu/admissions/eop/.