Evening star., 1961-04-08
How to Get Poor Quicker

'~' ~ 49, WI H@tSNSI
1T is, easy to believe G.. Keith
Funston, president of the New York
Stock Exchange, when he says that one
diSquieting reason for the current near
record volume Of trading in securities
is the effort by lot of people "to get
something for nothing" The objective is
not new one in the history Of human
behavior; and "the stock market"
to use the term generically, often has
served as the stage for this sort Of
economic intoxication.
Mr.. Funston, as a responsible
official of an investment facility that is
essential IN modern capitalist econ
,omy, Is quite right in being disturbed
at what he sees, at what he considers
improper use of the facilities of the
investment community" and in speak
ing out about it. 1t is in this category
Of the markets activity that he refers
to- "Would-be- investors (Who) are
attempting to purchase shares Of COM
panieS whose names they cannot
identify, whose products are unknown
to- them, and whose prospects are, at
are listening, it is to these that he
addresses his advice that they should
exercise the same care in selecting
securities as they would in purchasing a
house, or car or in making any other
major investment"
Coincidentally, the Securities and
Exchange Commission is addressing
itself to the same area OF foolhardy
peculation-although it's attack is
directed at the peddlers who encourage
1t rather than at the buyers themselves
in proposing new rules to curb
deceptive and sometimes fraudulent
advertising by various types of advisory
services, investment counSellors and so
forth. The theme of these, in brief, is
how to get rich quick, merely another
way of saying it is possible to get some
thing for nothing.
Even so, it is very far from the
purpose of Mr.. Funston, or the S. E. C.
either, to discredit the stock market or
its associated services, or even to charge
that the present level of market
activity per sc is necessarily evil. Mr..
Funston, for example, describes this
heightened activity as "a natural part
of the fabric of an expanding economy"
and there are valid reasons why there
is a high volume Of security trading
at this time. .. r.. 81.
In the past nine years, for example,
the number Of persons owning shares
in publicly held corporation has risen
from 6.5 million to IS million and there
has been comparable growth in stock
ownership by investment companies,
pension funds and other financial in
Stitutions-many of which once limited
their investments to other types of
alone, the number of shares listed has
more than doubled, to 6.5 billion, in the
past six yearS-a development that
makes for broader markets. Too, there
is widespread feeling, supported by both
Government and private economists,
that the latest recession has "bottomed-
out" and that an upturn will bring
better corporation earnings and divi-
dends. And finally, regardless of how
much the issue is debated on politico-
economic grounds, there is little doubt
that many individuals, and perhaps
many institutions, are convinced that
the monetary imitation which has been
present in the economy in varying
intensity during the past 20 years or
more will continue, and that common
stocks offer one of the best and most
conveniently available hedges against
this pressure. , -...
Genuine investors are responding
to these forces, and are not in the market
for killing. Those who are had better
ponder Mr.. Funstons advice, before they
lose their shirts" along with their
money