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Two weeks ago, Wall Street Journal headlines said: “Mounting Fears Shake World Markets” and “Worst Crisis Since ’30’s With No End In Sight.” On Sept. 30, the headline was: “Bailout Plan Rejected, Markets Plunge.”

We continue to talk about diversification and alternative investments within your investment portfolio, and the recent performance of the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index drive that point home more eloquently than we ever could have dreamed to.

The reason we want to have our wealth in several different investment pockets is to avoid the bludgeoning that people are taking in a 1,000-point freefall of the Dow. The news is all bad and getting worse. To sort out the mess will take a very long time. One problem: What are the assets within these companies worth?

How do the potential buyers of Morgan Stanley or the federal government determine the value of a portfolio within these companies? What is Wachovia really worth to Citigroup? The questionable portfolios within these companies are made up of credit default swaps, collateralized debt obligations and other derivatives that should at least be worth what the previous seller was able to borrow on them. But many of them went from AA ratings to “junk” overnight. No matter how insulated we feel, this will affect all of us.

Getting back to my point. Your investment portfolio is like a pie. A banana cream pie. We need to make sure that a few bad bananas do not kill the rest of the pie. What? OK, let’s start over. Forget about the bananas and the pie.

Very simply put, we need to protect our wealth and our savings. By diversifying our investment portfolio, we mitigate risk. Investing is not about home runs. It is about wealth preservation. And if your idea of diversification is owning stocks and a 401(k), you are not diversified. Your 401(k) probably contains the stock of at least a few of the companies making headlines.

It is never too late. Talk to your financial adviser; ask for different ideas of how best to diversify your investment portfolio. History shows that the stock market has always come back. Most times, roaring back. But why wait? I am not talking about taking all of your money out of equities. But why sit idly by? What is wrong with making money in other areas while you wait? Look at alternatives like commodities, private equity, exchange-traded funds and real estate. Even today, I have clients putting money into private equity with a 12 percent return. The opportunities are out there, and ultimately you are responsible for your future. Do not count on Congress bailing you out or writing you a check for even a part of $700 billion.

My advice is this: Do it today, remember that there is “no end in sight,” and now let’s get back to that pie.

Daniel Ochylski represents commodities trading, private equity and real estate firms. To reach him, send an e-mail to dano@growthfp.com.