The firm moved one-third of clients' money out of money market funds that don't invest in government-backed debt and into funds that hold only Treasury securities. Clients want a safe, liquid place for their cash, he said, and they are far less concerned these days with how much they earn on that money.
This week, Chapin Davis has fielded fewer calls from nervous investors. When the House couldn't agree on a bailout package, Alderman heard from a few clients who watched the deal fall apart on CNBC.
"They wanted to commiserate," he said. "It's almost like, 'I can't believe what they just did to us.' "
A few calls came from those itching to jump back into the market now that prices are lower. Alderman advises them to get in gradually: Invest one-third now, another third after the election and the rest at the end of the year.
Broker Alexander P. Brown III said he received one panic call as the market plummeted Monday. The client wanted to sell.
"I told her that I feel she had good companies and I didn't think this was the right time to sell," he said. "But if she felt that concerned about the risk factor, my philosophy is just sell down to sleeping level, which is sell enough securities so you can sleep at night." The woman didn't sell.
As the stock market rebounded yesterday, one client called Brown to check up on his account and verify that the brokerage was fully insured in case of failure. The Dow closed up 485 points at 10,850.66, a 4.68 percent gain from the disastrous Monday.
Allan Mead, 73, has been a broker for nearly 50 years. He said this week's stock plunge is not nearly as shocking as the crash of 1987 when the market dropped more than 20 percent in a day.
Still, Mead has been calling clients lately to reassure them.
"I try to tell them this in time will be behind us and not to panic," said Mead, whose office is decorated with pictures of his alma mater, Washington and Lee University. "Most cases the call is pretty unnecessary. I just want them to know I'm not deserting them."
Sometimes clients can't be consoled."This is the hard part for me," said broker Jeff Plesser, remembering a phone call from an upset client a couple of weeks ago.
"You have to do a lot of hand-holding," he said. "It's rough. You don't leave this job when you leave this office. You take it home with you."
A broker's job can be stressful, Plesser said, but less so than his part-time job as a nurse in labor and delivery, with life-and-death situations.
