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PHIL CAPONE: 67, retired, Hudson
By Times Staff Writer
Published January 29, 2006
How did you get started in investing?
I started investing because at one time I worked for Western Union. They had an excellent buy into their stock. Later, I started investing on a weekly basis, probably around 1970.
What is your best investment so far?
A couple of times, I had some real winners. The original Auto Train - I'd buy it, double my money, sell it, buy it again. This was the Auto Train before it came under government supervision, around the late '70s.
What is your worst investment so far?
Bar none, Hechinger's, a building supply company in the Washington area that also owned shopping centers.
What have you learned about investing that you think all investors should know?
I would say this: Talk to a pretty good financial adviser and let him give you some good direction. Then you can choose which way you want to go. Mutual funds are the way to go.
How would you describe your approach to investing?
I'm a little more conservative, now that I'm older. When I was younger, I was strictly a stock guy. My advice to any young person is a Roth IRA.
What do you find the most difficult about investing?
The history of the past doesn't necessarily mean the future. Disaster can always strike. It's a gamble, regardless of the situation. The gamble is that in the back of your mind, you always have thought that it can take another dive.
How are you invested now?
Eighty percent into mutual funds, 10 percent in stocks, rest liquid.
What changes, if any, have you made in your investments in the past year?
In the past two years, I've gotten a little more into conservative stuff like midlevel mutual funds.
Do you think now is a good time to invest?
I think it's a great time to invest. I think the economy . . . is booming. Jobs are up. All the salaries are up.
What is your goal for your investing?
To hang onto the nut of what I've got and make a little off it - 5, 6, 7 percent.
What is your biggest money concern right now?
Nothing, really. Just what if the whole economy drops and stocks take a hit like after 9/11. But you can't worry about that day to day.
Where do you get your investment tips?
I read Kiplinger's magazine and Forbes. I read the business sections of both papers. If I have questions, I have an excellent financial adviser.
[Last modified January 24, 2006, 20:17:02]
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