Hair On Fire

For those of us who did not live through the Great Depression, there has never been more economic uncertainty. With an scorched earth economy behind us and multiple land mines before us, betting on trends is harder than ever. For example, half of the soothsayers say that gold is ready to double, while the other half say it is headed for a plunge. Half say that our bond portfolios will be ravaged by impending inflation, while the other half say that deflation will make our bonds more valuable. John Bogle declared, “I’ve never seen a more difficult time to invest, with the specter of these enormous deficits hanging over us, and with the global economy teetering a great deal more than people think . . .”

Add to Bogle’s comments radical yet opaque tax reform, QE2 efforts backfiring, and the 18 member deficit commission recommendations that we take a serious look at changing even the most sacrosanct Government institutions. To make our point, we bring you a small sample of these topics from last week’s news. As Yogi Berra once said: “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”

Those of us with a nestegg to protect truly face unnerving times. We have a recurring nightmare that grabs us by the throat and drags us, though protesting, into a House of Horror-like carnival ride where we “retire” as an 82-year old Walmart greeter (no offense, but not a fate to which most of us aspire).

That’s why elite endowments, billionaire family offices and sophisticated investors focus on their global asset allocation strategy. We bring their methodology to every investor and allow those who follow our lead, not only survive the madness, but find growth through our uncertain future. Exposure to bonds, TIPS, emerging markets, foreign developed stocks, US large, mid and small cap equities, gold, and energy makes for a secure portfolio.

Stay the course with your allocations and enjoy peace-of-mind.