Kass: The Lion's Share

As a result, there appears to be no real trend nor is there likely to be one over the short term and into the fall. Instead, as I recently mentioned, a range-bound market confined between 1,300 and 1,420 on the S&P 500 seems to be a reasonable expectation for the balance of the year. (Friday's close of 1360 is a relatively balanced reward relative to risk.)

My strategy has been to be 20% to 30% (long or short) on either side of market-neutral, depending on my assessment of the near-term outlook.

In the trading-sardine market I envision, I plan to continue to trade the range and rent with a nimble, albeit conservative, short-term view over the next few months, rotating into sectors, as we recently did in the Market Vectors Oil Services ETF (OIH) , and into individual securities as the opportunities develop.

More serious money is typically made by investing rather than via short-term trading. But, for now, as I look at the investment portion of my portfolio, I plan to be patient while waiting for the right pitch.

Even though there are, no doubt, conspicuous lions and less visible lions in the grass, as we move closer to the election, there will likely be more clarity and a meaningful trend will hopefully fall in place later in the year.

That trend might even produce an eating-sardine market and a good backdrop for investing.

Hopefully, at that point in time, we will have the courage to be the king of the investment jungle.