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Brighter days ahead, according to money manager

By: Anne Braly
(Contact)

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Chris Hopkins

Chris Hopkins, vice president of investments at Barnett & Company, said his clients' No. 1 question when facing today's recession is: Will it get better soon?

His experience tells him: Yes, it will. And it may happen sooner than many think, he said. Mr. Hopkins sees a turnaround beginning the first quarter of next year.

"Actually, we're beginning to see signs of recovery already," he said.

Mr. Hopkins moved to Chattanooga from California in 1988 when deciding on a location for his business, Hopkins Manufacturing and Engineering. In 1988, the Scenic City was still ripe for manufacturing, Mr. Hopkins noted.

"Now we're more diversified," he said.

Later, he became a stock broker for Merrill Lynch, then an investment manager for G.R. Rush & Co. before moving to Barnett & Company in 2004. He now manages more than 100 personal portfolios. He said while many investors have been nervous about the stock market, people are now beginning to focus more on how they should position themselves for the future.

"And those who got out of the market are now asking how they should get back in," he added.

In the 10 years that Mr. Hopkins has worked in financial services, his role has changed. Originally a broker who gathered assets for someone else to manage, he now makes decisions about what to buy and sell.

"From that perspective, my job is much different," he said. "But things have changed from a decade ago when there were unrealistic expectations of 12 percent annual returns as far as the eye could see. That was never realistic.

"Then we went through the Internet boom. We learned some lessons from that but not enough. In 2005-2006, unrealistic future expectations happened again with real estate values. But I think we're becoming more realistic now. We're in a 7 percent to 8 percent return environment now."

So how's his stress level at the end of the day?

"As a discretionary manager, you have so many decisions to make taking care of other people's money," he said.

"You have to take it seriously enough when clients have a fear or concern, even on Sunday afternoons. You have to answer them. But you have to have outlets to be able to leave it behind to a degree."

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