Higher energy prices are real, they do matter, and they can lift inflation while pressuring consumers and profit margins. They even move the price of Gold. The most important question for long-term investors is not whether the headlines are uncomfortable. The question is whether this environment changes the basic disciplines of planning, diversification, and staying invested, or is it, in many cases, an opportunity to analyze carefully, reallocate, adjust, and position yo

Last month a long-time client stopped me after a review meeting and said, "this finally feels good again" . . . and that is what worries me.

A client once told me about a covered wooden bridge near his childhood home. Each winter, fierce storms would shake it and rattle every board. Yet it never collapsed. As he grew older, he learned the secret. The bridge was designed with flexible joints that allowed it to bend under pressure instead of breaking.