by Elizabeth Oulette

The local financial consultant, who will become the president of the Somerville Rotary Club in July, spoke to the April 15 contributors meeting of The Somerville News held in the backroom of Davis Square’s Diesel Café.

Despite the impression given in the popular media, he is telling his Somerville clients that the economy is strong and growing, since the end of the six-month recession in 2001, said Rod Laurenz, who is a registered representative for the St. Louis, Mo., based Edward Jones brokerage firm.

For two years, Laurenz said he worked out of a small office on College Avenue, but April 7 he opened his new office suite at 1692 Massachusetts Ave., next to the Temple Bar in Cambridge.

It important to understand that time in the market is more important than timing the market, he said. "If you’re sitting on the sidelines you’re missing out."

Proper allocation of funds is key to a long term approach, even during the Great Depression, if an investor had 50 percent in stocks and 50 percent in bonds the investor would have withstood the market variation with no loss, he said.

Those who lost everything were fully invested in the stock market, he said.

The debate over how to reform Social Security has made people more aware of the need for better planning, he said.

Laurenz said Social Security is in desperate need of restructuring, and that private savings accounts should be part of the solution.

The advantage of private accounts is that they are actually owned by the contributor, therefore accumulated monies can be left to heirs, he said.

When Social Security was established in 1935, there was one retiree collecting benefits for every 17 people workers making payments. Today, today for each retiree there are three workers, he said.

Combined with the today’s longer life expectancy, the program is in trouble, he said.

Laurenz said he helps his clients look over the long term, assess their risk potential, diversify their holdings and make retirement plans.

One option is the Roth IRA, established in 1998 on which taxes are collected when the account is opened and then grows tax free, he said.

Roth is the only tax-free retirement account that allows investors to withdraw funds, under specific guidelines, for non-retirement purposes without creating a taxable event, he said.

Laurenz’s customers consist of retirees, college students, grad school students rolling their 401K’s into IRA’s, preferably Roth for a lower tax while their income is low and dot commers. "I work with individuals and that can mean everybody," he said.

Laurenz said the city’s economy would receive a huge boost from the extension of the Green Line through the city, bringing new growth and opportunity.

The current Union Square revitalization, the recent purchase of the Assembly Square Mall by national developers, are positive signs that the city economy has a good future. "That’s going forward and that’s a great thing," he said.

Laurenz received his MBA at Michigan State and was a vice-president at Dow Chemical before joining Edward Jones. He sits on the board of directors for the Somerville Kiwanis, the Chamber of Commerce, the Somerville Elder Home and Dreams for Youth, he said.