Ailing stock market leaves doctors' retirement funds anemic

High-risk investors feel the financial pain when stocks are hurting. Some physicians may have to delay the end of their working lives.

By Cheryl Jackson, AMNews staff. Aug. 19, 2002.

Accountants for Roland Molinet, MD, told him to diversify his investments. But the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., internist didn't listen, letting his retirement plans ride on the lofty tech stocks of the 1990s.

As a result, he has lost more than half the value of his IRA -- more than $1 million -- over the past two years. Now 69, he had planned to retire when his contract with North Broward Hospital District ends in two years.

That plan will likely change. "This is my life savings that I've lost. All in the market. Everything was in the markets."

Dr. Molinet's story is typical, financial planners say.

With stock prices down over the past 2 1/2 years, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting a five-year low last month, many doctors are taking a closer look at their retirement schedules, asking if they're still on track to get out of a profession that has them stressing over slow and low pay, increased hassles from insurers, and higher costs for liability coverage.

"For the clients coming in the door, most of them have given up hope that they can manage their portfolios themselves. Most have made major errors with regard to allocation to technology stocks and large-cap stocks," said certified financial planner Louis P. Stanasolovich, CEO and president of Pittsburgh-based Legend Financial Advisors Inc.

"Many went from thinking about early retirement to thinking about perhaps working longer."

Physicians traditionally have been aggressive in the market, financial planners say. Many have more of their money invested in equities, subject to recent massive losses, said Ralph Heffelman, founder and president of International Capital Management Corp. in Dallas. [...]