OK, I am finally going to do it. I am going to make a prognostication. I am going to predict the future.

People always ask me what is going to happen. Here it is: In three years, no one will remember Lady Gaga.

Dan Sullivan, author of "The Chartist" investment newsletter has five cardinal rules of success in the stock market.

• You must have an investment plan and you must follow it.

• Do not attempt to guess market tops and bottoms.

• Do not wait for perfect market conditions.

• Understand investment risk is an important part of your overall strategy.

• Give the investment time to work.

I would wager that most of you do not have a plan.

I'm not talking about a financial plan; I am talking about an investment plan. I believe a good managed account has a plan.

The second thing is the risk picture. Many of us equate the "growth" part of the portfolio as the risk part.

I try very hard to get my clients to understand risk. Risk is not a four-letter word. You take risk every time you cross the street. You never know if some clown is going to run the light and bust you. That is risk.

You cannot eliminate risk, but you surely can control some of it. You should look at those five rules above. If you can do that yourself — very few can —then fine. If not, find someone who understands those rules to help you. You need to understand what is going on.

We have been talking about employment and what it is going to take to see some significant upward movement. Area fund manager Ron Muhlenkamp of the Muhlenkamp Fund said this in his quarterly letter dated June 30:

"Job creation requires two people in partnership: an employee who's willing to work, and an employer who's willing and able to pay him.

"Today, potential employers are facing increases in taxes, regulations, and health insurance costs, each of which decreases their ability to pay wages."

Anyway, employers who I know are very hesitant to hire because they are not sure what is coming down the pike. They may well be in great financial condition and actually have the money to pay the wages, but they are not going to take a chance. And, I understand that, don't you?

As I write this, we are headed down the slope. August is here and snowflakes and Christmas are right around the corner. This year is just ripping by, already seven months are gone. Corporate earnings have, by and large, been good. The stock market is doing nothing. Interest rates are low, inflation, according to our government, is under control and profits are fairly good.

Markets normally do well in that scenario. In my view, it is all about confidence and where is the next hit coming from? I'm pretty cool, stocks seem reasonably priced to me. The market is just blah.

An old friend always tells me, "Howie, don't sell a boring market." We shall see.

As I write this on Aug. 4, the markets are still hanging in there with all sorts of bad news out there.

The Dow Jones industrial average is down 2 percent, the S&P 500 is actually up one-half of a percent. And the Nasdaq composite is up 0.6 percent.

Folks, boys and girls, I'm telling you, this is not bad. Having said that, September is historically the worst month of the year for the markets.

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My wife and I were having another one of those discussions the other day when it almost became heated. She said she wanted to fix the coffee for our morning beverage.

I told her that I would continue to do it. She said "But I like it better when I make it because you make it too strong."

I said, "But in the Bible it says that men should prepare the coffee."

She huffed, "Where does it say that in the Bible?"

I grabbed a copy of the New Testament, which I keep around for just such occasions, and pointed out to her that at the top of several of the pages it says "HEBREWS."

She didn't think that was funny.

Howie Pentony is a Saxonburg client portfolio manager.