American Hellenic Institute

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AHI Business Network Seminar Offers Expert Investment Advice for 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: GEORGIA ECONOMOU
February 20, 2007—No. 9 (202) 785-8430

AHI Business Network Seminar Offers Expert Investment Advice for 2007

WASHINGTON, DC—The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) Business Network hosted a seminar and luncheon on “The U.S. Economy in 2007: Where Are the Investment Opportunities?” in cooperation with Euclid Financial Group, Inc. on February 1, 2007 at the Capital Hilton Hotel. The seminar, which was attended by more than 60 professionals, featured expert panelists from the financial industry who covered a range of topics and offered advice on investment opportunities in the year ahead.

Topics and expert speakers for the seminar included:

  • “The Market Outlook for 2007”—John G. Krimigis, Second Vice President and Wealth Management Financial Planning Specialist, Citigroup Smith Barney
  • “Economic and Housing Outlook”—Andreas Pericli, Ph.D., Chairman, CEO and CIO of Euclid Financial Group, Inc.
  • “Cyclical Investing and Sector Rotation and Investment Opportunities in Equities (Stocks) for the Year Ahead”—Andreas Christofi, Ph.D., Chairman of the Department of Economics and Finance at Monmouth University

The luncheon speaker was Steven Abrahams, Senior Managing Director and Head of Global Liquid Product Strategies at Bear Stearns, who discussed “The Global Market for U.S. Debt”.

“As with everything in life, in order to have success going forward, you need to know where you’re coming from,” said Krimigis, outlining some of the most profitable investment areas in the year 2006. These included the telecommunications sector, economically sensitive stocks such as energy, and the emerging markets sector.

Krimigis also discussed the panic/euphoria model, which gauges investor sentiment. When in panic mode, it is a good time to invest and, conversely, when in euphoria mode, it is a good time to sell. According to Krimigis, “We are still close to the panic stage…. So what that means going forth, along with a lot of these other indicators, is that 2007 is going to be a good year to invest,” recommending also that large cap stocks is where investor money should go.

Pericli provided an overview of the overall status of the U.S. economy, paying particular attention to trends in the housing market. “Not only will the U.S. economy not slow down in 2007, which was [Euclid’s] forecast…but it may transition to near-trend growth very quickly before the second half of 2007,” he noted.

The housing market was a drag on the economy during the second part of last year, and subtracted nearly 1 percent from the GDP growth during that time period,” said Pericli. Furthermore, he forecasted that “We now strongly believe that the housing market will stop being a drag on the U.S. economy before the middle of 2007. That’s one of the major factors that leads us to believe that the U.S. economy will begin to accelerate to near-trend growth by second half of 2007.”

Christofi provided an overview of the various “headwinds” and “tailwinds” on the U.S. economy. Based on these positive and negative influences, and by examining different market indicators, it is possible to better determine areas in which to invest and when it is best to sell. For example, “The stock market will tell you what the real estate will do about 12 months in advance,” said Christofi, further noting that investors “also want to be patient with [the housing] market for 11 ½ months to see what’s going to happen…. This market takes time to show its real colors.”

Concluding the day’s events, Abrahams overviewed the various conditions that make investment in U.S. debt attractive to overseas investors. For example, he noted that one strong factor is “the international role of the dollar, both in central banking and in global commerce…. With two-thirds of the world’s foreign reserves in dollars, the world has a tremendous stake in the stability of that currency.”

Abrahams also offered some investment pointers to seminar participants: “My advice right now would be to make hay while the sun shines. Money is cheap. If you’re a borrower in any form, within reason, this is a great time to be doing it.”

The moderator for the seminar portion of the event was James L. Marketos, who is AHI Chairman and Attorney at the law firm of Berliner, Corcoran and Rowe, LLP. Providing welcome and closing remarks was AHI Executive Director Nick Larigakis.

(L-R) James Marketos, Andreas Pericli, Andreas Christofi and John Krimigis.

Luncheon Speaker Steven Abrahams, Senior Managing Director and Head of Global Liquid Product Strategies at Bear Stearns.

About the Event Sponsors:

Euclid Financial Group, Inc. is a private investment company headquartered in Washington D.C. Founded in 2002, the firm is building a diverse client base, including high net-worth individuals, family offices, financial institutions, insurance companies, pension funds, public funds, trusts, and endowments, both in the United States and abroad.

The AHI Business Network is a division of the American Hellenic Institute, initiated in 1989 to reach out to the business experience of Greek Americans and to put it to work helping other Greek Americans. Its purpose is to share business information and contacts. Its concept is people helping people by sharing experience, knowledge and ideas.

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For additional information, please contact Georgia Economou at (202) 785-8430 or georgia@ahiworld.org. For general information regarding the activities of AHI, please view our Web site at https://www.ahiworld.org. For general information regarding Euclid Financial Group, Inc., please refer to https://www.euclidgroup.com.