By Daniel A. Barnes

A few years back there was a very neat movie called “Once,” which highlighted the album “The Swell Season” by Glen Hansard and Marketa Orglova.

“The Swell Season” and the movie “Once” were about heartbreak, love and redemption. Universal themes of conflict and betrayal, rebirth and reawakening were interlaced. As I sit here today and contemplate what portfolio changes could be made in the wake of Southern Europe’s (I mean Greece’s), impending default, I am reminded that spring rains will bring forth a summer bursting with flowers and fellowship.

Sovereign debt (debt issued from governments) has defaulted in the past and will default again in the future. Just because your neighbor goes bankrupt doesn’t mean he’s not fun to hang out with, just because your sister goes through divorce doesn’t mean she means any less to you, and just because the global markets and governments can’t balance their books or pay their debts doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t carry on with our lives.

Just as I don’t trust marriage as a “sure” lifetime “thing,” I don’t trust sovereign currencies either, and neither should you. Just as there’s no way to know if your daughter is dating or marrying the right guy, there’s no way to position your savings and investments in a foolproof way either. But, in investing, we’ve got an advantage over the nuptials: At least we can diversify our bets.

As some sage said, “May you live in interesting times.” I think we are living in interesting times, and I can tell you that any bet in just stocks, or just bonds, or just dollars, or just yen or renminbi, or just gold, or just oil, is a fool’s bet. But bets in all of them just might get you through the spring swells and lead to the survival of some of your net wealth in the summers ahead.

To engage more in lively discussion about life, money, nuptials or dreams, call me at 925-284-3503.

Looking forward to the summer season, Daniel A Barnes, CFA

Barnes Capital is a Registered Investment Advisor located at in downtown Lafayette. With RB Capital Management, Barnes Capital develops custom tailored portfolios for its clients. Specialized in retirement income portfolios, financial planning in an integral part of our process. Call 925-284-3503.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 1st, 2010 at 6:15 pm and is filed under Monthly Column. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.