Business World

Bob Wamhoff tries to be accessible to his clients. He’s a financial adviser; one of the few places he asks not to be interrupted is on the golf course. But he broke that rule last fall when he got a call from a panicked client, just as the stock market began its sharp descent.

The psychologist’s role Wamhoff plays has been especially important in these rough economic times. The hardest part of his job, he said, has been helping investors remember that the cyclical nature of the stock market indicates that even this downturn will pass. That need to provide a feeling of security is part of why he talks so frequently with clients.

The only other time Wamhoff is unreachable is when he’s working with schools he helped to build in Honduras. Shortly after his wife visited with a church group in 2003, the couple began supporting a small village by helping provide proper nutrition and building schools and homes. Wamhoff visits about six times annually to do philanthropy that he said is more of a privilege for him.

What were your first years in business like?

Business is rough. When I went into business for myself, I sold my home. Took the equity out of my home and moved into an apartment. I borrowed $5,000 from my mother. I was 26. I started the business in 1975.

The initial years were interesting. What happens when you’re starting out in business is you make a deposit, you make a withdrawal. I used to keep the check registers to show I put $150 in and took $100 out to survive. So the first few years are tough. You’re young, and back then I looked young so it was very difficult for people to take me seriously. With my own father it took a couple of years before he (asked) me to do his taxes, and he had the utmost confidence in me.

What’s your most difficult job as a financial adviser?

My most difficult job, when the stock market is going down, is holding their hands and telling them its going to be OK. That’s the toughest part because you’re dealing with emotions. And you also have to deal with your own emotions. If you go back to October 2008, the stock market is crashing, I’m losing money for my clients. The clients are calling; they’re concerned. And even somebody like me starts to doubt — do I believe what these people are saying on TV? That’s the difficult part totally free credit score.

But we hold their hands and tell them its going to be OK. And 98 percent of our clients held in and this year we’re up 15 percent through (late July). The people who got out in October don’t have that 15 percent and they’ll never get it.

Is there a difference in your strategy with the swing from the hot stock market of a few years ago to today’s stock market?

I tend to be contrary. I still diversify and do the proper things. … But when the market is hot, I’ll underweight the stock market, because I feel that what goes up will go down. So from 2003 through 2007, the market was up and I was saying to my clients, "Take some money off the table. Let’s put some money into real estate and … other investments." Now, what I have been saying since November 2008 is, "The market is way too low. Get your money in now."

Does that mean your business tends to do better in poor markets?

No, 2009 is going to be a worse year (for my business) because I can say (buy) all day long, but clients sometimes won’t respond because they’re scared. They’ll hear me and they’ll stay the course. But will they put new money in? Most of them will not. They’ll put it in when everything goes up.

You invest quite a bit in your volunteer work in Honduras. What do you feel you get out of it?

Everybody says you’re the greatest person in the world for doing this. I say I’m the luckiest person in the world to have this.

I can raise money … but then I can see the end result. I can see these kids smiling. I can see their grades up. I can see the children (who get scholarships) have a chance (for further education). Nobody gets to do that, so I’m the luckiest guy in the world.

I have to give the credit to my wife. Would I have stood up and said I’ll do that? I don’t know if I would have had the courage.

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