This wasn't "how to keep your shirt" - this was "how to keep your shirt if you have the resources to start your own fund. oh, and you'll basically be screwing your investors- so just don't tell them."
I would really like to see some useful investment advice. For the time being I've dumped all my various investments into a fixed return fund (3.3%). But there's got to be something else I can do...
Lewis writes in a tongue-and-cheek style, but he's so deadpan, people think he's being serious.
Compare this article with "This is what happens when you lend money to poor people" (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=a5lh...) , and the Hacker News reaction (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50853).
It's just somewhat... amazing? I guess would be the word. Amazing (although, truthfully, not that shocking) that there really are many wall-street types that would behave this way.
There's a grain of truth even in dedpan/satire/etc.
1) Reduce your portfolio delta. If you're exposed to the long side, you can pick up some shorts, buy some puts on existing positions, or sell vertical calls to overlay.
2) Collar your positions. That involves buying a put and selling a call at the strike. This should be a net gain which reduces your risk (and reward) to the market.
3) Diversify into non-correlated investments. That means expanding out of one asset class (in your case fixed income) into several others that may not necessarily move with the market. That can include some inverse ETFs.
4) Go cash until you have a plan.
Disclaimer: Use at own risk. Due diligence is your friend.
Unfortunately I have a ton of money in 401k type investments where the selection of investment vehicles is limited (and all are performing poorly). It's hard to know whether to cash out and take the tax hit assuming the portfolio loss will be higher- roll over to funds/management that offers more choices/etc. Or one of the other myriad of options.
I'm a programmer, not a financier- so it's hard to find good objective advice with limited exposure to the field. It's hard to figure out who is trying to make a quick buck with their advice on offer, or to actually help "regular" investors like me.