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Money Panel: Sam Lasley, 76, retired, Clearwater

By Fred W. Wright Jr., Times Correspondent
Published April 22, 2007

How did you get started in investing?

When my last child graduated from college, about 1976, I started investing. With five children to put though college, not a lot of discretionary income before that.

What is your best investment?

Proctor & Gamble. It's split so many times.

What have you learned about investing that you think all investors should know?

I think every investor should be responsible to do his or her own research. I spend about four hours every day doing investment research and I trade about 150 times a year.

What do you find the most difficult about investing?

Knowing when to sell. I don't get emotionally attached to my stocks, but it's difficult to watch a good stock go down and you're reluctant to pull the trigger, and sometimes you should.

How are you invested?

About 75 percent in equities, about 20 percent in tax-exempt municipal bonds and about 5 percent in cash.

What is your goal for investing?

To leave enough money to my children and my grandchildren so they don't have to work so hard.

Where do you get your tips?

I read Barron's, Investor's Business Daily, Smart Money, Wall Street Journal, Value Line. I look for double confirmation on anything before I buy it.

[Last modified April 20, 2007, 18:48:55]