Investment Tips for 2011 from Finance Expert Daniel Shaffer

It's been a wild ride. The Dow Jones is clocking in at above 11,000 these days. Just 20 months ago, in early March 2009, the index hovered around the 7,000s. Given the volatility, it's not surprising we average investors are skittish about entering or re-entering the market.

We should be nervous, says Daniel Shaffer, president and CEO of Shaffer Asset Management, financial commentator and author of Profiting in Economic Storms: A Historic Guide to Surviving Depression, Deflation, Hyperinflation and Market Bubbles.

"We are in the eye of the storm," he told WalletPop in a telephone interview. "We need to be cautious."