Investors try to cope with huge drop

A young person who suffered major losses.

A middle-age man who sees opportunities in beaten-up stocks.

And a 75-year-old who likes American Express now but doesn't care for President Bush.

These were just a few of the people seen Friday in a stock broker's office after a turbulent week on Wall Street.

"It's been very nerve-wracking for the clients," said Schwab branch manager Gale Northrop Friday, as the Dow Jones industrial average shed another 128 points to 8,451.19. That comes after Monday when the Dow dropped 369 points, 508 on Tuesday, 190 on Wednesday and a breathtaking 678 points on Thursday.

"Monday was a day that more people were frazzled than I think we've ever seen," said Northrop, who runs Schwab offices in Summerlin and Henderson. "It was kind of actually quiet on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday was a shaker."

By Friday, she was relieved to see the pace slow as investors made a few changes in their portfolios for the week.

Some clients were still feeling the pain at the Schwab branch in Summerlin, however.

"I lost everything. I don't want to talk," said a young woman at a personal computer screen, who declined to identify herself.

At a nearby computer, a man wearing a sleeveless shirt methodically noted prices on a long list of stocks.

Johannes Tiebie, 67, a retired oil company inspector and former Dutch citizen, was enjoying the action as he sat in front of a large-screen television showing a stock market program.

"This is the greatest opportunity there ever was," Tiebie said about the opportunity to buy depressed stocks.

A couple of months ago, Tiebie said he had 85 percent of his liquid assets in cash. Now, he's buying stocks with a vengeance as Wall Street offers what appears to be a sale on stocks.

He said he was gradually building positions in energy and banking stocks.

The retiree figures that sovereign wealth funds have trillions of dollars sitting idle that will move back into the market at some point. He said mutual fund managers are being forced to sell good stocks with the bad in order to satisfy investor redemptions.

Tiebie doesn't consider himself a risk taker, saying his strategy is "common sense."

Schwab shows clients a table that indicates the average return in the first year after a bear market is 47 percent. If an investor keeps cash out of the market for one month after the bear market ends, he would get an average gain of 33 percent gain. Wait for six months, and the average gain for the first year is 11 percent.

Northrop acknowledged that some clients are too close to retirement to hold stocks while waiting for a recovery.

Mae Margio, 75, a retired beauty shop owner from Pennsylvania, said she has adequate retirement income and will continue to buy stocks.

"I may buy American Express. That's pretty far down," she said.

Margio said she is concerned that the government won't make money from the $700 billion bailout package.

She expressed little confidence in President Bush.

"He hasn't done anything since he's been there but put his boots on the desk," she said. "We need brains down there (in Washington, D.C.) Get (Berkshire Hathaway Chairman) Warren Buffett down there."

She said she wants retribution from the former chief executive officers of big financial companies: "I feel they should arrest these people, take their money away and make them suffer, because they caused (the credit crisis)."

Contact reporter John G. Edwards at jedwards@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0420.