What's more, most professional financial planners advise their clients with an asset allocation framework in mind. Asset allocation decisions grow in importance as your portfolio grows in value and as you near retirement age. Fortunately, asset allocation models are usually fairly simple. You can get as sophisticated as you like regarding what you put in each of those pockets. Allocation models require periodic rebalancing.
Some experts say once every six months is sufficient.
Others say annually is fine. Larger portfolios tend to need more maintenance. That, in fact, would have been a very wise move because, in 2000 stocks slumped and bonds came on strong. This simple model that everyone on Wall Street knows about predicted the future. The model can't predict the future, but it does rely on the fact that performance of various assets tends to average out over time.