BLOOMINGTON - Wall Street is having a sale and it's looking for buyers. The investment industry is the only one in the world where people will flee from lower prices, said Charlie Norman, branch manager of Wachovia Securities in Bloomington.

But now is an excellent time to play the stock market game, he said Thursday.

"Over time, stock prices do go up," Norman said. "Times like this are not fun, but they do present opportunities."

The stock market has had its share of ups and downs throughout history, with now being one of those down times. Since many stocks have dropped from highs earlier in the year, timing could be right for Central Illinoisans to dive into the turbulent market, as long as they have a long-term scheme in mind, financial experts said.

First-time and current investors should look back on this time in five to 10 years and be happy with a decision to invest now, said Richard Mehall, managing partner of Guthoff, Mehall, Allen & Co., a Bloomington accounting and investment firm.

"It's volatile. There's definitely risks out there. There's also rewards," Mehall said. "There's more risks, so there's also probably more rewards."

To get the most out of those rewards, have a strategy and think long-term, Norman said. To be successful, all investors go through good and bad days, he said.

"No one knows for sure how to get you out of those bad days," Norman said.

Volatility should not deter a young person's start in the market, but even a senior citizen who wants to retire in a couple years needs a presence in the stock market, Norman said. Short-term losses will hurt, but those individuals still can expect to live for decades, he said.

A potential investor's first step should be to decide how much time they have to invest their money, Mehall said.

"If you've got a long enough time horizon, there's opportunities out there," Mehall said. "If it's short-term, you've got to be much more conservative."

For example, if a couple has $10,000 close at hand but their child will start college next year, they should put that money into an interest-bearing account and forget about investing it in the stock market, Mehall said. Likewise, a young couple saving for a down payment for a home should put money into a certificate of deposit instead.

What investment is right varies just as the people involved in the industry are different, said G.N. Naidu, a finance professor at Illinois State University in Normal.

"It's not the one-size-fits-all type of decision," Naidu said.

Knowledge and experience with the stock market come with time, he said. Therefore, the 30-year-old, first-time investor should start with mutual funds and slowly build a nest egg, Naidu said. They should let the mutual company guide them until they have enough knowledge to select specific stocks, he said.

New investors who put away small amounts of money each paycheck should look at index funds - which are often mutual funds and include a variety of securities - instead of banking on a comeback from just one company's stock, Mehall said.

"There's a whole lot more risk in buying one company," Mehall said. "Rather than having all your eggs in one basket, you can spread out your risk."

The 60-year-old investor needs to think in terms of stability and take fewer risks, Naidu said. But a long-term investor also can use his experience to time his investment decisions better - but don't expect perfection, he said.

"No one has ever demonstrated perfect timing yet," Naidu said.

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Risk and reward

Central Illinois financial experts say now could be a good time to take advantage of opportunities in the stock market. The following are their tips for first-time or current investors in this volatile market.

- Have a strategy. Know how much money you can invest, what you want that cash to do for you and what risk you have to take to get that result.

- Consider how much time you have to invest. A long-term approach promises more opportunities, but a conservative approach might be better if you need that money soon.

- Diversify your investments.

- Start early and be disciplined about putting away a certain amount of money every month, first into mutual funds.

- Find good values from companies with staying power.

- Pick bonds instead of stocks from struggling companies until they've recapitalized. You're more likely to get a return from bonds while a company's stock guarantees you nothing.

- Resist the temptation to sell just because stocks have declined in value.

SOURCES: Richard A. Mehall, Guthoff, Mehall, Allen & Co.; Charlie Norman, Wachovia Securities; G.N. Naidu, Illinois State University