Note: This article appeared in Charlotte Observer 7/30/11

By Eleanor Kennedy

Are you getting nervous about your investments as debt ceiling negotiations drag on? Some local financial advisers say there’s nothing to fear—yet.

Most Americans see falling markets and think, “Oh no, the world is collapsing,” said Bill Baynard, director at Charlotte-based Novare Capital Management.

“This is a bump in the road,” Baynard said. Investors with diversified portfolios – money in stocks, bonds and cash reserves – should be able to weather the storm, he said, adding that intense media coverage has “blown up” fears of default.

“The debt is still the most widely held, far and away … the most risk-free asset in the world,” Baynard said. “That’s not going to change overnight.”

Even if lawmakers fail to reach a deal next week, local money managers generally seem to be advising their clients to stay the course and not worry.

“Whether the so-called deadline is met or not met, whatever negative reaction we have will only be temporary,” said Bill Staton, a chartered financial analyst at Charlotte’s Staton Financial Advisors.

Jim Hansberger, vice president of UBS-Investments with The Andover Group in Charlotte, says that while “there is a palpable anxiety among individual investors, we continue to expect a budget agreement and an increase in the debt ceiling.”

In the end, he said, while the initial reaction to a credit downgrade “may be dramatic, we do not expect it will be as much of a watershed moment as many have predicted.”

Debbie Peterson, president of the Charlotte-based Money Counts, put it this way: “The markets will respond well when they see some action.”