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How to Invest

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“Diversification... One from column A, one from column B.”

Choose diverse foods from a menu and you’re an adventuresome diner. Choose diverse investments and you’re just plain smart. Investors are diversified when they have money invested in at least three investment classes – Stability of Principal, Bonds, Asset Allocation, Balanced, Large Cap Value, Large Cap Growth, Small/Mid/Specialty, and Global/International. View the asset class categories. Here’s how diversification works and why the pros recommend it.



Diversification in action

You allocate a percent of your plan contributions to different investment classes.
Your investments perform based on factors such as interest rates, industry trends, economic conditions, the value of the dollar, etc. The same factors (for instance, rising interest rates) may affect different investments differently.
Results in one sector tend to offset those in another. For example, when growth investments do well, income investments may lag.
Overall, diversification helps cushion extreme swings in account value and may give you upside potential, no matter the market.

Diversification as part of your investment strategy neither assures nor guarantees better performance and cannot protect against loss in declining markets.



“You can get too much of a good thing.”

Most people just love ice cream, but a entire half-gallon can make you sick. Same, too, with investments. Do you crave the thrill and growth potential of stocks? Or, have you bought too much of your employer’s stock? If you’re not diversified, you may suffer the consequences when stocks drop.

 


© 2008 ING North America Insurance Corporation. All rights reserved.
Advisory services provided through ING Financial Advisers, LLC (member SIPC).
This information is not intended to be tax or legal advice. ING does not offer tax or legal advice. Consult your own legal or tax advisor regarding your specific situation.
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