Shaping Events

With every path a person takes, there are certain events that shape, mold and make a person into who they are today.  These unique learning episodes become part of the foundation; absorbing the lessons and being able to evolve through them.  We are, as the saying goes, “the total sum of our own experiences”.

The following is a chronology of historic events during Kay’s career.

• October 19, 1987 – Black Monday
  • Following five days of intense selling, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped 22.6% in one day. It was the single largest one day drop in history.
  • By December 31, 1987 the DJIA recovered to post a 2% gain for the year
• The late 1990’s – “Dotcom” bubble and burst
  • Rapid rise of internet companies and related stock prices. Too much speculative and fad based investing.
  • March of 2000- panic selling drove market down 10% in a few weeks. By end of 2001, a majority of Dotcom companies folded.
• September 11, 2001
  • Terror attacks- markets were closed to avoid panic selling
  • The markets re-opened Monday, September 17, 2001 – markets declined 7.1%. By Friday that week, the market was down over 14%.
  • By October 11, 2001 all major indices were at or above 9-11-01 levels
• Enron Fraud
  • Financial reporting fraud lead to the largest corporate bankruptcy in US history
  • Caused the liquidation of Arthur Anderson & Co who, at the time, was the largest public accounting firm in the world.
  • Many criminal convictions and jail sentences were the downstream effect of all of this.
  • Employers and investors incurred major losses
• Late 2007- March 2009 – The Great Recession
  • Real estate bubble
  • Unemployment peeks at over 10%
  • The stock market bottoms out on March 9, 2009
  • Financial institutions fail
  • One year from the stock market low, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 60%
• May 6, 2010 – Flash Crashes
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average drops 1000 points in minutes.
  • Attributes to “computer program selling” and some foreign investor fraud
  • The US Securities and Exchange Commission implements “circuit breakers” to prevent this from happening in the future

Navigating through these events shaped and molded Kay and her clients but one thing remained constant was the priority Kay placed on meaningful relationships with her clients and doing the best thing for them.  This includes staying the course, keeping an eye on the long term, avoiding fads and “do not panic”.