This is guest host Andrew Horowitz, author of the disciplined investor.

And today on Money Girl, I'll be discussing the importance of asset allocation and how it alone can shape your financial future.

Do you want to start, but don't know where to start? Are you already

investing but think that your portfolio has too much volatility? A listener writes in, I have a

401k plan, a few bank accounts, mutual funds, and some real estate.

It seems that all of my investments are going down on a regular basis and I hate to open the mail when it's statement time.

Hmm. How do I put together a plan that I can stop worrying about?

It is really starting to get to me.

Well, thanks for that question.

It's a great one and very timely.

Okay, let's start off with one of those fancy financial terms,

break it apart, and then figure out

how we can make it work for your situation.

The term, asset allocation.

This is probably one of the most important parts of the portfolio planning process.

Your portfolio needs to be a mix of several different asset classes, many different

investment vehicles, and different types of industries

these can include things like money markets bonds stocks real estate precious metals

luxury items and maybe even foreign currency

if we roll up our sleeves a bit and delve even deeper into

the portfolio logistics we can further separate each asset into classes by

size, maybe large cap, mid cap, and small cap, as well as style such as growth blend or value. What is in your

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