Today’s headlines from Yahoo Finance after the market close:

Could we have any more bad news?  (I added the last three by the way.)

The equity markets (outside of energy) have certainly come down quite a bit in a short time period.  Just a month ago the Dow was near 12,800 and is now below 11,400.  Oil is the party crasher here.  The highs in oil, coupled with the credit issues, have put us on pace for the worst June since 1930.  After Goldman Sachs, “Mia Culpa” last week saying their bullish Financial and Discretion sector call on May 5th was “clearly wrong,” just goes to show even a premier research firm is not sure how to invest in this market.

What does work in this type of market is a focus on goals and objectives.  It is not recommended that you invest in equities if the money will be needed within five years. The allocation made to equities is for long-term growth as well as to outpace inflation. The previous market commentary speaks to this.  Concentration on sector weightings and adjusting as the economy dictates is the best path.  That, along with holding the proper allocation in fixed income investments will provide the risk aversion needed in this tough market.