Jerry Korabik doesn't know what overall direction the stock market might take.
But Korabik, a financial adviser with the Geneva office of Savant Capital Management, is sure there will be plenty of zigs and zags in coming months. And for those who make their living helping others invest their money, that is not a discomforting notion.
"The thing about the market is that it always appears predictable in hindsight," Korabik said. "But going forward, we know that there will be up weeks and there will be down weeks.
"We're at a point now where people can refocus, and say, realistically, what are my goals?"
For the last few months, those still invested in Wall Street have enjoyed a relatively placid ride.
In March, the Dow Jones Industrial Average – an index used to gauge the condition of the stock market – hit 6,440. That represented the lowest the market had fallen since 1997.
It also would represent the bottom for the market crash that began in 2008, when the market had stood at more than 14,000.
In the months since, the stock market has rebounded well, as the Dow Jones has risen through the summer to hover since late August at just below 10,000.
And while the Dow is widely expected by many observers to cross again the 10,000 threshold in coming days or weeks, the actual achievement likely will mean little beyond providing a psychological boost, local financial advisers said.
David Brady, president of Brady Investment Counsel of Geneva, said crossing 10,000 does not mean the market will rise to new heights or fall again. Overall, he believes the stock market is still undervalued, compared to the earnings of the companies whose stock is being traded, meaning Dow 10,000 likely will be a non-event.
He said he is counseling his clients to re-enter the market which, while it has risen since March, still stands at a good point for re-entry for many investors who fled through the fall, winter and spring of 2008-09 and have remained cautious or firmly on the sidelines.
"What's important is when these investors get their statements in the mail, and they are surprised, and pleasantly surprised at that, with where they are now compared to March or even a year ago," Brady said.
Korabik echoed that sentiment, noting that many of the local investors with whom he works have begun to move back into the market, though with revised strategies.
"We're a long way from recouping the value of the investments lost," he said. "But long-term there are again good opportunities for growth."
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