Smart planning for your retirement

When you're retirement planning, stocks should represent the bulk of your retirement investing portfolio -- up to 75% or 80%. But not all that money should be in the same fund. Divvy it up like this: 40% in large-company U.S. stocks, like an index fund; 20% in small U.S. companies; and 15% in an international fund. If your plan has a good emerging market fund, you might even put a token amount there. For the other 25%, you might put 10% in a bond fund, 5% in cash -- or a money market fund -- and the rest in a hedge fund like a natural resources fund, a real estate fund or an energy fund. Using some commercially available retirement planning software can help you be your own retirement planner, or at least keep track of your growing nest egg.