Growing Rich - Arabictrader.com

Rule 9
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE
POWER OF TECHNOLOGY
Although today Roy Papp preaches the merits of technology, taking
the plunge to buy computer stocks was initially the hardest thing he
ever had to do. Papp used to hate them. He credits daughter Tori with
changing his mind. Although she’s primarily involved in managing
accounts and creating brochures for his firm, in 1994 she began
pushing her dad to start investing in the post-industrial society. “She
was the force driving me to throw my prejudice against technology
out the door,” he says. “She kept telling me it was the right thing to
do. I just didn’t buy computer stocks. I saw them take a bath in 1983
and 1984. They were a disaster and went to hell in a hand basket. I
had seen the high-techs fade out many times before as well. For example,
in 1970 everybody was convinced that lasers would create an
enormous market, and the companies involved with that technology
were selling at 50 to 60 times earnings. These expectations never
panned out, although they are starting to now. Next, everybody said
solar energy was going to be the hot thing, and those stocks went
wild. It never happened. I have seen more technologies that were
supposed to be wonderful but never worked out than I can count.
That’s why I’ve always been concerned about buying this year’s
fashions. But Tori convinced me that the electronics industry truly
was different this time. It was the future. When she got that concept
over to me, I reeducated everybody at the firm. At the time, we all
believed we should stay away from these high-tech stocks. I finally
came down here and told everyone that even though they didn’t agree
with me, we were going to buy tech stocks.”
Still concerned about risk, Papp decided to stick with the biggest
and best technology stocks in their respective fields. Motorola for
wireless telephones, Microsoft for software, Intel for the chip business,