I've been under the weather over the last week and have had lots of time to sit and read. Thank goodness I've had other things to read besides the newspapers, otherwise I'd be going crazy right now.

For a few weeks now, the papers have been full of prognostications as to what is going to happen in 2007. How the market indices are going to perform. What mutual funds look good. Everyone's stock picks for the year. What asset classes might perform well in 2007.

For the most part, these predictions are coming from very smart people, many of whom I know and respect.

But you know what? All these annual predictions aren't worth the paper they're printed on. They don't amount to a hill of beans. Nothing. Nada. Less than nada.

I know the media needs the content around year-end, so I understand why it happens (I even did a tongue and cheek one for the Globe... Predictions are Easy - on Anything but the Market, that is). But I hope investors aren't making any decisions based on this stuff.

I say this because nobody knows what's going to happen over the next 12 months. It's too short a time frame and there are too many variables at work. As a result, trying to position your portfolio too finely to fit the year ahead is a mugs game.

I'm not saying individuals can't make some bets. Certainly, I nibble around the edges based on my view of valuations in the market. But it has to be done in the context of a long-term asset mix.

On the other hand, most people don't have a view of the world ahead. For them, a regular re-balancing regimen is the way to go. In conjunction with this posting, my partner Scott Ronalds has posted a supplementary piece on re-balancing and recent industry fund flows.