Media & the Market
by
Gregory Grant
Back when television was in its infancy, there was barely a hint of financial news available. Now, it seems it's everywhere, 24 hours a day.
Jerry Siani is a publisher who works out of his home-based office with his wife Lorry. He follows the market in the newspaper and on TV, but takes a cautious approach to what he sees.
"I'm interested in what the financial experts have to say, but I try to rely on the advice of my broker, since I think that by the time it's on TV, it's too late to get in on any good investments," says Siani.
The experts agree, and warn clients not to rely too heavily on the media.
"The risk of making your investment decisions based on the media is that you are then making decisions based on what the media thinks is important to them," says Robert Steck of Merrill Lynch. "And maybe they think it's important to the general public but they do not know that it's specific to your situation."
While it's the media's job to keep its audience up to speed on Wall Street, it may make the viewers want to hit the trade button a little too quickly.
"The effect that the visibility of a stock ticker every trade being in the media I think that has a negative effect on peoples perceptions of what investments really are," says Steck. "It will absolutely make investors focus on short term second by second swings in the market."
The almost instant visibility of market transactions and financial dealings provided by the media can sometimes allow investors to trade for the moment, and lose sight of what's most important, focusing on their long term investing goals.
In recent years, companies have flocked to the web to set up dot.com sites. Initially retail companies caught the attention of investors and consumers alike.
When to sell a stock is as important as when to buy a stock. The investor that goes beyond just looking at the financial pages will find that this kind of in-depth research will pay off in helping to make wiser investment choices.