Investment expert weighs in after omicron variant rattles markets

Rochester, NY (WHAM) - The arrival of the omicron variant came with a hit to the stock market, as investors tried to predict what kind of impact the variant would have on the economy.

Brighton Securities chairman George Conboy says investors are most concerned with the uncertainty the new variant creates.

"Whether there will be lockdowns and what those lockdowns might mean for the local or global economies," says Conboy.

Conboy does say there's not as much fear as when coronavirus first appeared.

"Now financial markets are considerably higher. so there's an inclination of some people to lock in gains - if they're afraid those gains might be short-lived," says Conboy.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, consumers saw prices rise while shopping for dinner items. That's due to inflation, which in turn created higher interest rates.

"Inflation will chew up your paycheck - will eviscerate your social security payments, and if we maintain high rates of inflation for any period of time, interest rates will go higher," says Conboy. "You'll pay more to buy a home, you'll pay more to buy a car, you'll pay more to buy a home and appliances. and those are impacts on our economy that investors are very concerned about."

But small-time investors should consider a few things as the year comes to an end.

"We're still actually having a pretty good year. The other thing to remember is, if you have a month, a few months before you need to spend, you're near retirement, certainly, there are some concerns," says Conboy. "But if you have a long time before you need the money, what else would you do with your money? Because investing longer-term in good quality companies tends to provide higher returns than any other form of investing you can do."