Louis Fed president James Bullard has been a proponent of varying the rate of asset purchases to reflect the level of accommodation, while in the past Bernanke has said the total size of their balance sheet, rather than its rate of change, determined the level of monetary easing.

FORBES: Move up http://i.forbesimg.com t Move down

Either they will simply buy their properties, since this will now change little on the balance-sheet, and may cost less than the expense that leasing would imply.

ECONOMIST: Commercial property: Lease hurt | The

However, if a company has decided to change strategic direction, then a leveraged recapitalization of the balance sheet is not necessarily the best foundation to retool the enterprise.

FORBES: Dell: The Return Of The Prodigal LBO?

This may of course change in the future but then the volatility of the whole balance sheet would be greatly increased.

BBC: Peter Thompson's speech

The answer seems clear, suggesting financial advisors need to change the conversations they have with clients from net worth as measured by a balance sheet to true net worth, as measured by human capital.

FORBES: How Wall Street Unloads Its Risk On Unsuspecting Savers