Back to Basics: CornerCap's 10 Investment Principles to Follow, Whether Times Are Tough or Lush

/PRNewswire/ -- With so much volatility in the market and fears about the economy's outlook as the nation moves into a period of new national leadership, CornerCap Investment Counsel President James C. Carr outlined 10 Commandments of Investing he believes should ensure success, whether the times are 'tough' or 'lush'.

The full text of Carr's 10 Commandments, along with additional commentary on each, is published in the Winter edition of the firm's news letter. It is also available online and may be downloaded at no cost from www.cornercap.com/library/Newsletters/n2009win.pdf .

The 10 Commandments of Investing

1. The minimum investment horizon is 10 years. "If you don't stay in the market for 10 years, don't get into it at all," Carr says.

2. Have a disciplined and consistent investment philosophy and process.

3. The asset allocation in an investment portfolio controls most of the volatility in your investment returns. According to Carr, asset allocation has everything to do with personal goals, income needs, risk profile and the ability to accept risk. It has nothing to do with stock selection, market timing, or strategy to vary with market conditions.

4. Do not attempt to time the market or strategically allocate your investment mix because of what you think the market might do. "One thing is absolutely certain," Carr notes, "the market is dominated in the short term by hope, greed, and fear! There is commonly a disconnect between a company's valuation and the current market jawboning."

5. Don't tinker. "Stay with the plan once you have established your asset allocation and your investment horizon," Carr counsels.

6. Have a clear view of what financial success means to you.

7. Control your emotions. "Human emotions can cause you to do exactly the wrong thing at the wrong time," Carr advises.

8. The home repair industry gets most of its revenue from those at home who try to fix it themselves. Carr recommends getting an expert to help you implement your investment objectives. Know the four critical P's for selecting an investment advisor. They are People, Process, Philosophy and Performance.

9. Do not retain an investment advisor who doesn't fully agree with and implement the commandments set forth here.

10. Having done all of this, the key to success thereafter is benign neglect.

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Private Equity Leaders Confident of Full Economic Recovery

/PRNewswire/ -- Over half of private equity leaders are confident that the full recovery of the market is no more than 18 months away, new research commissioned by Celerant Consulting reveals.

A survey of more than 220 senior executives across Europe and the United States, carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit, reveals that 53% of private equity leaders believe that the market will return to its pre-credit crunch levels within 18 months. The findings showed that US executives are more optimistic about the future than their European counterparts, with 62% of US respondents believing that a turnaround would occur within that time frame. As noted, the global sentiment was a bit more pessimistic, with 36% of UK and 32% of German respondents predicting a full recovery would take longer.

Paul de Janosi, Managing Director of Private Equity, Celerant Consulting, said: "Despite the optimistic viewpoint of a majority of the survey respondents, we feel that it will be a few years before we see pre-credit crunch levels of activity again. We expect the roots of early recovery to begin in the second half of 2009, leading to broader activity by mid-2010. The GP's will not be static though, as there is significant amount of portfolio remediation work and this type of market down-turn typically yields strong buying opportunities."

Yet to hit rock bottom?

Despite the long-term optimism, many of those questioned still felt that the market has further to fall. The vast majority believe both the volume and value of deals will reduce over the next year (78% and 81% respectively), whilst two thirds (66%) say they intend not to invest at the moment and would instead wait for more attractive deals.

Change is necessary, but how?

The survey also found that private equity leaders from around the globe are united in the belief that the credit crunch and subsequent recession will transform the industry, with 96% agreeing that PE firms will have to change. However, there is no consensus on what the sector will look like when the credit crunch has passed, highlighted by the fact that 16% acknowledge that there will be a need to change but they are not sure how.

One fifth thought that the industry would need to find a completely different financing model -- unsurprising given that the reduced levels of available credit in the marketplace means that the days of massive leveraging are a thing of the past. Almost as many, 19% globally and 29% US, expect the credit crunch to lead to consolidation within the private equity sector itself.

What to do in the meantime?

Nevertheless, despite acknowledging the need for change, only 20% are planning to scale back activity in the next 12 months, and a mere 2% intend to shed jobs. Rather, the optimistic long-term prognosis is illustrated by the fact that 26% of those questioned are prepared to take on new staff.

Paul de Janosi continued: "The credit crunch means that easy refinancing is a thing of the past, yet the private equity industry is still optimistic about the future. In the short term private equity companies have already begun to shift their focus from investment to improvement. They need to concentrate on their existing portfolios to ensure that they are both maximising their operational efficiency for short-term survival, and guaranteeing long-term growth."

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Triple Crown Media, Inc. Announces Nasdaq Staff Determination Letter

PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- On April 15, 2007, Triple Crown Media, Inc. (NASDAQ:TCMI) (the "Company") received an initial notification from The Nasdaq Stock Market that the Company had not maintained a minimum market value of its shares of common stock in accordance with Marketplace Rule 4450(e)(1) and would be required to regain compliance by July 14, 2008.

On July 16, 2008 the Company received a follow-up notification from The Nasdaq Stock Market that the Company has not regained compliance in accordance with Marketplace Rule 4450(e)(1). Accordingly, its securities will be delisted from The Nasdaq Global Market. Trading of the Company's common stock will be suspended at the opening of business on July 25, 2008, and a Form 25-NSE will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which will remove the Company's securities from listing and registration on The Nasdaq Stock Market. The Company's securities will continue to be quoted in the pink sheets under the symbol TCMI.

With the S&P 500 Having Gone Nowhere in 9 Years, CornerCap's Chief Investment Officer Offers Comments to Answer the 'What Next' Question

PRNewswire -- Some remember the 1970s when the stock market index was flat for an entire decade. Due to the OPEC oil cartel driving energy prices way up while inflation was simultaneously ratcheting up, the market went sideways.

"Now, thirty years later, we appear to have circled back for a repeat of that disappointing decade," says Thomas E. Quinn, the chief executive officer and chief investment officer of Atlanta-based CornerCap Investment Counsel, in a recently published commentary.

"Over the nine years between 1999 and 2008, a period many have referred to as the 'Lost Decade,' the S&P 500 stock index was down 6.75 percent or -0.8 percent annually and, like the 1970s, energy costs are once again skyrocketing, crowding out consumer purchases and contributing to fears of inflation," Quinn notes.

Noting that CornerCap's equity returns during this period were well over the averages of the Lost Decade, Quinn says a disciplined investment process that recognizes the booms and busts of the short-term market swings is the key to avoiding long-term pain.

"There is no magic," Quinn says. "Beating the averages over time requires a consistent philosophy and strict adherence to a buy / sell discipline which keep the probabilities in your favor."

The full text of Quinn's commentary is available online and may be downloaded at no cost from http://www.cornercap.com/library/Articles/07_15_08a.shtml .

According to Quinn, fear appears to be rampant now, with many investors selling their stock holdings. But probabilistically, Quinn says, broad selling now makes absolutely no sense.

"We can realistically observe the behavior of other investors," Quinn says. "We can objectively quantify when their behavior overpower the facts. In the long cycles, we can take advantage of those infrequent, but really extreme, investor obsessions. In the short cycles, we can continually rebalance our portfolios," he says.

"Simply stated, if we pay attention to probabilities rather than the pundits, we may lose a few small hands but we should ultimately win the game," Quinn says.