Options create an incentive for people to work hard. But if they don't diversify, then they have their net worth and their livelihood tied up to the welfare of one company.
I would typically say you could add 15 percent international, put 30 percent in small cap companies and 55 percent in large domestic growth names.
These are for sophisticated investors so the little guy needs to be very careful. What's good for the rich isn't always good for everybody else.
That's in line with the technology weighting on the S&P 500 Index.
Typically when you have people with sudden wealth, they need a long-term plan to protect it from themselves. There's this initial pent-up desire to spend. Cars, houses, and gifts of money for so-and-so. Everyone is going to be your friend.
When you look at his current allocation, it looks like someone who wants to be aggressive and wants to retire. Even for an aggressive investor, that's too much.
There are seminars that can help couples figure out what type of 'spending' personalities they are. What it boils down to are lifestyle issues.
It's been a wild ride, but we're back where we started four years ago.
The time to get your house in order is while you're still employed.
We're focusing on preservation of capital. I'm telling them to be happy with modest returns.
