By Scott Ronalds

First it was swine flu. Now it’s fragile economies. Seems like pigs can’t catch a break these days. The southern European nations of Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain (PIGS) are garnering plenty of attention in the media, as investors fear these countries may default on their debt obligations, with Greece at the forefront.

Reminiscent of the global credit crisis of 2008/09, emergency bailout measures have been proposed to curb another financial fallout. Not surprisingly, we’ve seen an increase in stock market volatility and overall nervousness about the events transpiring across the pond.

As our name suggests, we are encouraging investors to maintain a steady hand on their portfolios. Knee-jerk reactions to negative short-term news and uncertainty are often ill-timed and later regretted. That said, it would be irresponsible to simply turn a blind eye to the state of affairs in Europe.

So, what exactly is happening? Best to turn to the source, Edinburgh Partners (the manager of our Global Equity Fund). Tom is making a trip to Scotland next week, coincidentally, to visit the team in Edinburgh and will report back with an update on the portfolio and EP’s views on the economic situation and investment conditions in Europe. In the meantime, investors interested in details on the recent bailout package may find Bank of America’s latest report useful.

If you have a specific question you’d like answered by the manager, email us and we’ll send it along with Tom (and his golf clubs) to Edinburgh.