Stock Exchange
Chad White’s tennis opponents might notice more velocity on his first-serve these days.
Blame it on the stock market.
White, an executive at a Providence brokerage firm, says he’s turning to the tennis courts more frequently in recent weeks to relieve stress after a string of hellish workdays caused by Wall Street’s roller coaster ride.
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"It’s better than drinking," said White, executive vice president of Barrett & Company.
Stock brokers, financial planners and most everyone involved in the investment sector are facing heavier workloads, as they try to quell investors’ fears.
White said the mood at his downtown office has changed with the market.
"There is no laughing or joking like there was for the bull market," he said. White added that what’s been particularly exhausting for his staff is how the market is losing ground.
"The days feel a lot longer when every day it’s down two to five percent. The slow grinding decline in the market is much worse than a 1987-type crash, because at least during the crash you got things behind you and you had a base to build upon," said White.
Most of the brokerage and financial planning firms contacted said the volume of calls from clients have more than doubled in the last three weeks. Most are asking to reallocate their funds, while others are looking to take advantage of the bust by gobbling up stocks.
"Our first responsibility during times of turmoil is to our clients, so that means longer days," said Andrew Wunsch, senior vice president and resident manager of the Providence office of Advest, Inc., a Hartford-based brokerage firm.
To respond to the needs of clients, Advest decided a month ago to extend hours on Mondays to meet with clients and review portfolios.
For Jill Schlesinger, it’s not only clients who want her ear.
Schlesinger, a fee-based adviser with Providence’s Progressive Financial Strategies LLC and host of a personal finance talk show on WHJJ, is getting more media requests for interviews than ever.
"Last week, I was on Channel 6 three times and Channel 10 three times," she said. "I told the TV people that you never want to talk to me during the good times. It just shows that fear sells newspapers.”
