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If the Enron and WorldCom scandals have taught investors something, it is that betting your future solely on a single company's stock is a massive error.

In reality, speak to any economic adviser and the mantra these days is diversify, diversify, diversify. But to typical investors, that is not so simple. What exactly does that mean and how do they go about doing it?

Asset allocation signifies spreading out your income across diverse asset classes (such as stocks, bonds and cash) and within every single asset class (not getting just one type of stock, bond or mutual fund). The thought is that when a single asset class falls, one more may possibly rise, which cushions the portfolio.

"At minimum, a moderate investor would most likely want to hold five asset classes: big-capitalization stocks, modest-capitalization stocks, international stocks, bonds and money," mentioned Roger Ibbotson, chairman and founder of the asset allocation firm Ibbotson Associates and finance professor at the Yale School of Management.

But diversification is not constantly effortless or low cost. About 75 percent of mutual funds have minimum investment requirements of $1,000 or far more, according to the Investment Company Institute. For a moderate investor, developing a diversified portfolio can mean a big initial investment.

"A reasonable allocation may possibly be 38 % huge-cap, 7 percent modest-cap, 15 % international, 30 % bonds and ten % money," Ibbotson mentioned. "But if the minimum investment is $1,000 per mutual fund, you would require far more than $14,000 to invest in these proportions."

But worry not, there could be a easy remedy: a fund of funds. Generally named lifecycle funds, lifestyle funds, target maturity funds or balanced funds, these investment goods are complete diversified portfolios. Investors can choose a fund of funds based on time horizon (when you happen to be going to retire) or how significantly threat you can tolerate.

With 1 acquire, investors can get access to a diversified portfolio designed by specialist income managers such as Old Mutual, Pioneer Investments and AIG SunAmerica, who have partnered with Ibbotson Associates to assist develop these fund offerings. Funds of funds can be believed of as 1-stop shopping for your investment dollars. - NU in english