A couple of weeks ago, I took a quick poll of 15 financial analysts who cover various sectors in North
America. The main question asked of them was – “Has the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a bottom?
Every single analyst answered “NO, this is not the bottom.”
The analysts were evenly split on where they saw the bottom being. Half saying in the 8000’s on the Dow, the other half saying in the 7000’s.
While it seems that the market has paused over the last week (some may even say the market has slightly rebounded) it’s interesting to note the overwhelming thoughts of the so-called experts.
I bring this up because the fourth quarter tends to be when investor relations professionals start (and in some cases conclude) their planning for next year.
Calling the direction of the market in 2009 will be challenging. Calling the direction of your IR department in 2009 shouldn’t be challenging. Don’t sacrifice the ever important planning phase of the IR cycle because of market uncertainty.