As the nation's money managers return from their summer respites, they're finding that Hurricane Katrina has left a host of questions marks within their portfolios.
This is a traditionally the week when investment professionals tweak their portfolios for the industry's final quarter, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, but this year they might have to rethink their strategies. Before Katrina rocked the Gulf Coast, the industry knew what might impact equities: the
The industry's contrarians, meanwhile, are banking that rebuilding effort in the South will boost the markets in the long run. Consumption will surely rise, as will investment in new equipment, and the Fed will likely suspend any further short-term interest hikes, they think.
"This is changing a lot of the thought patterns that I had 30 days ago," said William Dwyer, president of Baltimore-based
Others aren't so sure.
"The negative consequences resulting from Katrina, whether they are economic or political, may hang around a bit longer and cut a bit deeper than is now anticipated," said Gordon Fowler, chief investment officer at Philadelphia-based
For the record, the
"I don't see this causing a recession," said Chris Conkey, chief investment officer at
Henry Herrmann, chief executive at the Overland, Kan.-based fund complex
New York-based
The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.