Dow Drop Taken in Stride at Valley Brokerage Houses

Screams from the wild roller coaster ride on the New York Stock Exchange were barely audible at brokerage houses and financial offices in and around Warner Center on Thursday as the Dow industrials plunged to the third-biggest point loss ever.

Phones were ringing off the hooks but the busy pace was described by insiders as fairly typical of the past five weeks since the Dow hit its record high July 17.

“It’s a bit of a crazy day,” said a broker who was relieving a harried receptionist at one financial firm. “But then this is pretty normal.”

Not that there wasn’t some unhappiness as portfolios plummeted.

“I’m sick about the stock market,” said Allen Jarrick, an Orange County business consultant meeting Thursday with clients at the Hilton Plaza in Woodland Hills. But he said he wasn’t sick enough to skip lunch.

“It’s a big down day,” he said, shortly before the Dow closed with a 357-point drop. “But I don’t plan to sell, even if it goes down 750 points.”

Investment advisor Dwight A. Heikkila, a sales manager for Provident Mutual in Woodland Hills, was philosophical about the plunge, saying the fiscal and political crisis in Russia will have little effect on the performance of American companies, which he predicts “will have the same earnings next year” regardless of the developments in Russia.

“I don’t think we are going into a recession. Nobody has said the ‘R’ word,” Heikkila added. “Companies didn’t get bad overnight. It’s just that people get upset and tend to sell and run for the door.”

Added Heikkila: “Just about everyone is concerned, but I’m not getting any panic calls.”

He attributed the lack of calls to his office Thursday to the nature of the company’s business, which specializes in long-term investing. He said the yo-yo market for the past few weeks has kept some potential investors from entering.

Clicking his computer’s mouse to check the latest figures, Heikkila’s eyebrows rose. “It’s dropped 70 points in the last five minutes,” he said, clicking again to search for the latest news bulletins.

“I don’t like the fast drops. I tend to get a little depressed.”

Despite the heavy sale of stocks, Heikkila said local clients have learned to ride the roller coaster without fear. “After the 500-point drop last October, people can look at [a drop of] 250 points or 350 points and figure it’s no big deal. It’s come back every time.”

Brokers in the 23rd floor offices of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter at Warner Center called the events Thursday “just an average day,” but predict more investors will call today, seeking reassurance.

“People get nervous when their assets go down,” said John Oppenheim, a senior vice president and 27-year financial advisor.

But Oppenheim said there was “very little reaction” Thursday from Valley investors to the stock market fall.

“Most people take the fluctuations in stride now. They’re used to them.”