You need to stay the course with a balanced global portfolio that seeks growth and value around the world. The global pull back in equity markets has rattled some investors and perhaps made them think twice about a global approach to investing.

Lets put things in perspective. Even with the haircut in international markets, here are the numbers.

During the last 12 months ending last Friday, eleven country-specific iShares that have more than tripled the return of the S&P 500 index:

Brazil (EWZ), +63.8%, South Africa ( EZA), +55.9%, South Korea (EWY), +45.8%, Canada (EWC), +43.2%, Austria (EWO), +41.1%, Japan (EWJ), +40.9%, China (FXI), 40.4%, Germany (EWG), +32.2%, Switzerland (EWL), +29.3%, Sweden ((EWD), +29% and Australia (EWA) +25.9%.

The worst country iShare performer during the last 12 months was Taiwan (EWT) with a return of +15.3%!

Here are the 2006 year-to-date numbers for markets that have returned more than double the 2006 S&P 500 performance - not to mention that the Nasdaq index is in negative territory.

China, +20.6%, Brazil, +17.9%, Austria, +15.7%, Germany, +15.4%, United Kingdom, +14.3%, Sweden, +13.8%, Canada, +12.7%, Switzerland, +11.9%, Australia, +10.6%, Australia, +10.6%, Singapore, +10.4% and Malaysia, +10%

The worst country iShare performer in 2006 was South Korea at plus 3.19%!

And even those countries hit rather hard recently such as India and Indonesia are still up 7.2% and 23.5%, respectively, so far in 2006.

Now some of you may have invested in these markets only recently, did not have risk management steps in place such as trailing stop losses in place, or perhaps did not have a nice blend of these countries in your portfolio.

If you still want to manage your portfolio all by yourself, please take a look at my 8 steps to ETF success (John, please insert link). If you think you need some help in building your portfolios, you might wish to follow our six model portfolios and get updates and advice on markets all around the world.

Or perhaps you would rather turn over the management of your portfolio to an investment advisor specializing in global markets and ETFs. Global Trends Investments, based in Newport Beach, California, uses ETFs to build custom portfolios with a global perspective and a consistent sell discipline.

Whether you choose to go it alone, use the Chartwell ETF Global Advisor, or would be best served by hands on professional investment management, stay the course in building a global portfolio to increase the likelihood of reaching your financial goals.