President's Letter by Dr. Dennis K. Barker
Quantifying the Rollercoaster of Change

Someone once said, “opportunities are never lost, someone will take the ones you miss.”  I certainly hope this isn’t true of you and you don’t miss out.  In these fast changing times, it’s easy to become paralyzed into complacency.  I have long believed that real opportunities only come with change. 

There is definitely a progression of thinking and a unique set of emotions that accompanies change.  I believe that the stock market is an excellent example.  Let’s take a moment to go through the most probable thought process over the last few years regarding your investments.  When the market was going straight up, there was tremendous excitement and anticipation of more to come.  Then market changes took hold and investment markets began to tumble.  We later found out that Lehman Brothers was gone and Merrill Lynch was purchased by Bank of America.  At the very same time, thousands of homes were facing foreclosure across the nation and one of the strongest companies in America, General Motors, was now in bankruptcy.

 The typical emotions include shock, followed by mourning or sadness with the indecision on “flight or fight” as your net worth began tumbling.  Should you stay invested and wait it out or sell stock to cash?  As disoriented feelings and confusion set in, you can’t help but remember the “good old days.” 

With turmoil comes rage and indignation.  “How can those politicians do this to us? Our Government has let us down.”  Anxiety and guilt show up and the blame game turns from others and we feel personally responsible.  The reality of the situation brought on depression.  You began to soul search and realized that you need to distance yourself from your investments.  So with a clear head, you decided that things need to change.  Before you know, it seems as if things are starting to get back to normal.  But the real value was learning that we cannot only live by the minutes and hours, but by the change that time has brought. Remember, with investing as with life, “Everyone wants to live on the top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.”

We have all ridden a roller coaster of emotions over the past few years and learned that in new markets, you need new strategies.  Anchor Capital has been blessed with the opportunity to serve both private and institutional investors in this new frontier.  We have been fortunate to be the informed choice and look forward to the many opportunities in the future.

Here's to that future!

Dr. Dennis K. Barker, CFP
President

Anchor Capital Management Group, Inc., is a Securities and Exchange Commission Registered Investment Advisor. Opinions expressed are not to be construed as a solicitation to buy nor sell securities. *Anchor Capital utilizes a tiered fee schedule that offers lower management fees to accounts with higher balances. Any investment returns presented are calculated gross of fees utilizing actual accounts which represent a model strategy. Individual returns may vary substantially from those presented due to differences in the timing of contributions and withdrawals, account start dates, and actual fees paid. Past performance is not a guarantee or indication of future results. Presentation is for informational purposes only and no guarantee is made as to the accuracy of this information by Anchor Capital Management Group, Inc.