Kiplinger: Our advice has been on target

Knight Kiplinger, the editor of the personal finance magazine that carries his name, writes Tuesday that past advice the magazine has given would have helped readers today.

Kiplinger wrote, “In the July 2002 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, while the Dow was continuing to fall toward a bear-market low of 7286 in October, I published a column, ‘A Strategy for All Times,’ that laid out the investment concepts we’ve preached for 60 years. It made the case for continuing to own — and adding to — quality stocks when many investors were shunning all equities.

“If I have some credibility during bear markets, perhaps it’s because I’m not hesitant to sound a warning about overheated bull markets. On March 10, 2000, with stock indexes at all-time highs, I wrote in our weekly Kiplinger Letter that the dot.com boom was a ‘dangerous speculative bubble, as foolish as any in history.’

“I issued another warning last year, when I compared the capital markets to ‘the Wild West’ and suggested that stock investors capture some of their gains and build up cash. I couldn’t understand why — given the economic problems that were beginning to unfold — the Dow had hit 14,000 in July 2007 and then returned to that level a few months later, with a brief swoon in between.

“In a November 2007 column, ‘Market Timing the Right Way,’ I explained why I had lightened up on U.S. stocks in some of my family’s investment accounts — those that have nearer-term objectives — while leaving other accounts as is.”

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