Yet the remedy Circe prescribed for Odysseus was as applicable to financial advisors then as it is today, and will no doubt continue to be in the future. "Pass these Sirens by," Circe advised Odysseus. "Stop your men's ears with wax that none of them may hear." She told Odysseus to have his crew lash him to the mast so that he could listen but would be unable to respond. The more he pleaded with them to unleash him, the tighter they should bind him. It worked. Odysseus escaped the destruction to which the Sirens were luring him.

You and your clients need to stay fixed on your investment course. On your journey through the investment world, the compass should point to a course in which you will follow the right asset allocation for your clients and rebalance as the markets move. Don't listen to the advice of those who will tempt you to stray from your target by promises of wealth untold.

Those who listened to the Sirens' song and poured all their money into stocks as the Russell 1000 rose to 813.56 on March 24, 2000, found themselves dashed on the rocks when it reached 448.05 on July 23, 2002. If only they had not strayed from their target asset allocation course, they likely would have survived the rough waters in reasonable shape.

The Sirens' song is different these days. It tells how sweet it is to keep all your money in fixed-income and other investments that will preserve your capital. Avoid stocks, it says, for they are dangerous and will continue to be forever. Get out the wax-and the rope. Steer straight so your clients avoid chasing performance in good markets and bailing out in tough ones. Stay the course.

Warning No. 2: Sacrifices must be made to navigate treacherous waters.

Once he had avoided the Sirens' song, Odysseus faced a more daunting challenge. He had to sail a course through the narrow waters between the whirlpool of Charybdis, which would destroy him and all his crew if he were to be caught up in it, and the multi-headed Scylla, who would grab and eat at least six of his men as he went past. The problem was that the width of this channel was about as far as one could shoot an arrow. The key, Circe explained, was to avoid the whirlpool, which would lead to certain destruction. He should hug the Scylla side and drive his ship past as fast as he could.

"Is there no way," bemoaned Odysseus, "of escaping Charybdis and at the same time keeping Scylla off when she is trying to harm my men?" Today's financial advisors will recognize the same dilemma as they try to guide their clients through the narrow channels that at times characterize the markets.

You know the need to keep your clients' investments diversified among asset classes. In this way, they may not see excessive gains during a bull market, but they will be protected in a downturn. You know, too, to keep some of your clients' portfolios invested in stocks during a market downturn when others might seek to protect all their capital in the money market, because your clients will be positioned to reap benefits should the market turn strongly upward again.

You know, above all, that to "follow the crowd" and invest only in growth stocks in a bull market and to flee totally to the money market in times of distress invites being sucked eventually into a whirlpool from which you likely won't recover.

Yet, by advising your clients to stay with an appropriate asset allocation in good times and bad, you might end up with dissatisfied clients during strong bull and deep bear markets. You may be tempted to adjust your advice to retain all your clients, particularly when they compare their experiences with those of some of their friends. They will likely complain about how little money they are making in a bull market and how much they are losing in a bear market.