With a shaky global economy and a public debt crisis in the U.S. and Europe, investors are dealing with a level of uncertainty they are not used to seeing, according to Vic Sullivan, financial advisor and branch manager of Wells Fargo Advisors in Albany.

“Investors have always had a variety of issues to worry about but the list today seems longer and more profound,” Sullivan said.

“The federal budget issue worries me the most. Politicians have overpromised to taxpayers and now people are used to getting $1 of services, but only paying 60 or 70 cents for it. It can’t go on indefinitely.”

Uncertainty around U.S. and European sovereign debt has created significant volatility in equity and fixed-income markets. Yet Sullivan believes difficult markets can create opportunities for investors.

“If your assumption is that politicians will address the budget issue, then today’s excessive concern could be unwarranted. In that case, investments made now could prove to be highly rewarding,” Sullivan explained. “The market will usually reflect an expected change six months before it occurs, which means it will reflect its view of the 2012 election results well before next November.”

Wells Fargo Advisors is a the third largest full-service provider of retail brokerage services in the U.S. Born out of the Wells Fargo & Company's 2009 acquisition of Wachovia Corporation, the brokerage business has nearly 16,000 financial advisors and $1.2 trillion in retail client assets. Sullivan leads the Wells Fargo Advisors Albany office.

Manage Risk, Not Reward

Wells Fargo Advisors helps investors determine how much risk they need to assume in order to achieve their financial goals. The firm offers a proprietary program that builds detailed financial projections based on each individual’s goals.

“We can determine what rate of return each client needs to achieve,” Sullivan said. “Investors often take on more risk than they need to. Alternatively, some have all their assets in a savings account and that won’t work either.”

Sullivan also helps clients realize that a variety of investment options exist beyond the stock market. The alternative investment space, in particular, offers performance that doesn’t correlate with movements in the equities markets. As a result, Sullivan believes alternative investments can help cut the downside risk profile for an equity portfolio without reducing long-term potential returns.

“Managed futures are a great example. Most investors have no exposure to it but it is a market that is larger than the equities market and it offers the ability to structure investments around movements in commodity prices or currency rates,” he explained.

Other alternative investments include hedge funds and long/short funds. Previously these types of investment strategies were available mostly to large institutional investors like foundations and endowments. According to Sullivan, small investors can now take advantage of these more sophisticated strategies to reduce risk in their portfolios.

A Believer in the Possibilities for Southern Georgia

Sullivan has lived in southern Georgia all his life and has a firm belief that the area has tremendous opportunities. He cites the area’s strength in agriculture, its low cost of living, its strategic location near the international shipping port of Savannah and its strong exposure to the military.

“I think we need to recognize the many strengths we have in Albany and the surrounding area and work together to capitalize on them. If we do, our future can be very bright,” Sullivan said.

More information on Wells Fargo Advisors is available at www.wellsfargoadvisors.com or contact Vic Sullivan at [email protected].