No doubt, you’ve all read countless news and opinion stories about how Dubai does or does not matter to your portfolio. In today’s column, I talk a bit about how it does matter but not quite now. Basically, I suggest that one more scare like this will put the market over the edge and send the bulls running for the exit doors – which are very small.

There are a few other articles on my beloved Barron’s Online about this, too. One of them discusses the value of hedging. This is what we are doing in our fund (see info to the right –>) and I am doing personally. Don’t worry, my personal moves were made after the fund moves.

A colleague, Scott Fullman, suggested “stock replacement therapy.” That means selling a good portion of your stocks, booking your profits and then buying in the money options to stay long. Other people’s money, as it were.

Personally, I own volatility.

Whatever method you choose, just keep in mind that we’ve been on this road before. However, it does seem to be different than it was in June/July. At least nobody was blowing up back then.