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Like Everyone Else, Chicago Investor Tries To Remain Calm

CHICAGO (CBS) –- Among the worried investors locally are Chicago's Stratton family of Roscoe Village.

The head of the household, Jason Stratton, has an extensive portfolio of stocks and bonds. Like millions of others on Thursday, he and his wife Nikki took something of a hit.

On the New York Exchange, all the gains of 2011 were wiped out. It was the biggest one-day drop since 2008.

Now the Strattons wonder about tomorrow.

Jason Stratton says he's typically an optimist. Typically.

"I've started to get a little worried, to say the least. But I think we have to all be patient," he told CBS 2's Mike Parker.

In a similar vein, financial adviser Chris Long says investors shouldn't make big decisions based on emotion.

"Making a knee-jerk reaction to jump out of the market to avoid a loss means you actually lock in that loss," Long says.   

Sooner or later, he says, the market will rise again.

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