Although many institutional investors have already jumped at purchasing equities in financial services firms because of the recent subprime fallout, it would be unwise for an individual to enter this market, when everyone is seemingly hesitant to make a commitment towards the direction of the financial sector. Even as bigger firms announce their write-downs, many of the assets held by financial giants are not as actively traded as before, thus increasing the difficulty of proper valuation. An investment in a financial services firm will undoubtedly yield positive returns in the 2-4 year horizon, but any shorter financial time period is subject to the continued volatility that has been the bane of individual and institutional investors alike.
