(NAPSA)—When it comes to retirement planning, it’s important to identify investment strategies that can help an investor reach desired goals. However,it’s just as important to recognize a bad investment strategy. Here’s what to look for and how to protect yourself from investment strategies that can threaten your retirement nest egg: * Too much of any onething. Overconcentration in any single investment or type of investment can be hazardous, exposing your retirement savings to far too much risk. Solution: Diversify in a variety of investments across the financial spectrum. * Too much short-term thinking. If you are focused on daily market movementsor theperils and fortunes of a single stock, sec- tor or economic event, you may miss out on the benefits of a balanced portfolio that can weather the daily ups and downs of the investment markets. Solution: If your investment horizon is a few decades away, think long term and invest accordingly. Investing according to someone else’s agenda. You are unique. You have your own investment time frame, risk tolerance and your own setof financial goals. Solution: Use your own circum- stances to guide you in creating and maintaining the asset allocation that’s right for you. * Viewing all risk as bad. All investments carry some degree of risk. It can be disadvantageous to be so afraid of risk that you set- Investors who are focused on daily market movements may miss out on the long-term benefits of a diversified portfolio. tle for lower long-term returns in a “too safe” low-yielding fund. Solution: Allocate your retirement savings across multiple asset classes and diversify within the investment types available in your retirementplan. Confusion or lack of information. Retirement planning and investing can often be complex and sometimes confusing. Solution: Take the time to learn more about investing so you can make informed decisions. For help in creating or correcting your own investmentstrategy, it can be wiseto call on the advice of an expert. Since circumstances will likely change over time, experts at Diversified Investment Advisors recommendthat investors periodically review their investment strategies to make sure they continueto reflect their currentsitua- tion. To learn more, visit the Web site at www.divinvest.com.
