The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards site provides 10 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Financial Planner . You might also want to look at Jay MacDonald's story on picking a financial planner , or Laura's Bruce story on checking out a financial planner . Delainno Dilemma Dear Delainno, Initially you should concentrate your investments in a diversified mutual fund rather than diversifying your investments in concentrated funds. That's because most mutual fund families charge an annual account fee for each mutual fund that you invest in. The fees aren't much money, but as a percentage of your investment balance it really eats into your return when you're just starting out.
Asset allocation is a good place to start thinking about where to invest.
Investments in financial assets are often categorized as investments in stocks, bonds or cash. The further away your financial goal, in this case retirement, the more money you should have invested in stocks. But take a holistic approach to portfolio management. The default investment is typically a stable value fund or a money market fund. You're not likely to lose money in these investments, but it will be difficult to achieve any real growth either, and growth is key to accumulating wealth for retirement.