Wednesday, January 16, 2002
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Wednesday, January 16, 2002 |
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Enron is not the only disaster waiting to happen to Fayette investors Folks in Fayette County, like the rest of the nation, have become more dependent upon future retirement incomes that are tied to 401-Ks, IRAs, SEPs, and the like. The Enron debacle may seem like a far-off Texas problem but believe me it isn't at all. There is more out there to worry about than just Enron, and Enron just could be the most blatant example of a trend. And that trend is that analysts working for, and representing, major brokerage houses, that highly recommend a stock as a "buy" or "strong buy" to small individual investors when there is either no real reason to do so, or even ample reason NOT to do so. Remember, one of the main problems with the Enron situation is that 13 analysts from major brokerage companies rated Enron as a "buy" long after all the corporate officers, directors, and other insiders had dumped the stock. If you have followed the story, the stock was in the $33 to $34 a share range in October when the CEO said on national television that the company "had never been stronger" and the stock was "at least $20 a share too low." Now it is under $1! There seem to be more and more companies out there whose officers and directors have dumped stock (which is information available to all brokerage analysts) while the brokerage company analysts are recommending the stock to you and me as a "buy," and we are blissfully buying based on their "informed advice," and we only find out what "they" knew long ago, only when the company finally gets whacked like Enron! And to make matters worse, in comes the fact that the situation gets more complicated because many of the brokerage houses are in the same corporate structure, ownership (family so to speak) with big banks, who are the primary lenders to those very companies! Sound like a "conspiracy theory"? It's not just Enron, folks, and it's not just people in Texas! There are people right here in Fayette County, Ga., who have lost their retirement savings on things just like this. Now what is the purpose of this letter? Don't question the President on the Enron debacle. Don't question other officials in the Administration. Don't question the Republican Party. Don't even question the Democrats! Instead, question the Congress at large. Question the regulatory agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission. Question your "investment advisor" or "financial consultant"! Let's all try and get to the bottom of what is really happening to our collective retirement investments! Barry Bartlett Tyrone
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