Active drilling in the Marcellus shale is going to solve the United States’ economic problems, and Janney Montgomery Scott knows why.

Not only Janney, but other large financial planning firms, banks, businesses and even the housing market.

Trickle-down.

That, at least, was the consensus of Thought Leadership in the Shale Gas Industry held recently at the University of Pittsburgh.

The conference, presented by Janney Wealth Management, called on bank managers, investment strategists, business professors, lawyers and landowners to promote the business opportunities that exist in a natural gas drilling environment.

The panel discussion centered on employment growth and energy independence.

“Oil, like natural gas, is a commodity that is subject to migration and movements predicated upon investor speculation,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist for Janney Montgomery Scott. “This can help to be a game changer in the United States.”

The idea is basic Reaganomics: Large companies find their industry in a region, they relocate, they hire and they spend. The money trickles down from the CEO to the local driller, who then goes on to buy a house, a car, coffee in the morning. This local driller becomes a consumer, making and spending money, to stimulate everything from General Motors to Dunkin’ Donuts.

“Some of the obvious companies that are going to benefit would be Exxon Mobile,” Luschini said. “Today, about half of the reserves under Exxon Mobile (property) are in natural gas. Perhaps less obvious are those companies that are making the equipment that are being sold, explored and produced. Names like Halliburton, Enterprise Partners (which is a pipeline company), even companies like Lincoln Electric in Cleveland, Ohio.”

So, it’s not just the oil industry that becomes the consumer, Luschini said. It’s potentially everyone. This includes financial institutions that are in the Marcellus shale geography. Their benefits will be long-term as a result of more substantial deposits, loan growth and an overall increase in market capital.

Still, members of the panel recognized concerns of keeping this developing capital local. Pat McCune isn’t just the president and CEO of Community Bank, he is a landowner in Washington County. He sees leases being signed and wells going up regularly. McCune said he is urging communities to be informed because, as he put it, the industry isn’t going anywhere.

“While the industry matures and bigger companies move in, it may not be quite as easy for the local vendor to come in,” he said. “But in my mind, (it’s) too big to fail. There is too much of it, too close to market, it is too valuable, and it will continue. So my advice is: Get educated, adopt an open mind, and get involved. I think there is plenty of opportunity for us to get involved and help our community.”

But if you aren’t receiving royalty checks from a drilling company, Luschini said, you probably aren’t seeing the economic stimulation that has been promised.

“Long-term benefits are undeniable,” Luschini said. “But the progress isn’t going to be linear. It is going to be driven by supply and demand, regulation and tax.”

This helps explain why local industry has yet to see the expected boom, delayed in part by the remarkably mild winter of 2011-12 that kept the price of natural gas low.

“But since energy represents a substantial portion of the stock market, there is an opportunity to avail yourself to companies that have exposure right there in the Marcellus Shale,” Luschini said. “This hopefully will be a win for us in western Pennsylvania, a win for the nation, and a win for your investment portfolio.”