(MONEY Magazine) – The small investor is a jittery kind of guy. One whiff of market trouble and he's ready to dump the safest of blue-chip stocks. The professional, by contrast, is a cool hand. Drawing on deep knowledge and experience, he's unfazed even when the markets are in turmoil.

Or, at least, so go the stereotypes--and the reasons why many of us hand over our investments to money managers. But are we really protecting ourselves from panic by going to the professionals?

The evidence, it turns out, has lately been suggesting the opposite: When the stock market suffered tremendous losses in the wake of Sept. 11, individual investors reacted with more calm than the pros. Even as skittish institutional investors dumped blue chips, small investors generally held tight, making them, said the Wall Street Journal, "the market's stalwarts throughout the past five jittery weeks."

The distinctions between pro and amateur investors have been breaking down for some time now. This has mostly been for the good, inspiring millions to take an active role in shaping their financial future. But we've also seen it taken to excess, especially during the height of the bull market: Anna Kournikova urging us to pick our own stocks; hapless day-traders armed with level-two stock screens; Stockjungle.com's ill-fated investor-guided Community Intelligence fund.

As the bull recedes, however, the pendulum may be swinging to the opposite extreme. Gone are the strident calls for individual-investor empowerment. Many of the financial service industry's new ads feature vistas of sun and sea and little mention of stocks and bonds. The message, sometimes in the subtext, sometimes explicit: Investing can be nerve-racking and mysterious--so hand over your money and trust us.

In tough times it may look tempting to cede financial responsibility back to the wizened old pros. But judging by the fortitude and calm that individual investors showed in the recent crisis, my guess is that stereotype's not going to sell.

--ARAVIND ADIGA