Asset Allocation

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Fundamentals of Investing |

Asset Allocation

Your overall asset allocation plan - how your portfolio is invested across stocks and bonds, growth and value stocks, etc. — is one of the most important decisions you can make as a long-term investor.

That's because asset classes typically rise and fall over time and generally take individual securities with them. So it's your portfolio's "big picture" — not the smaller decisions about specific stocks and bonds — that you should devote the lion's share of your attention to over the long term.

Dreyfus can help. Call 1-800-DREYFUS for a free portfolio review today.

The first step in planning your portfolio is to figure out how to allocate your assets. What is your time frame? What are you investing for? How much risk are you willing to assume? Can you handle the ups and downs of the market, or do you get nervous whenever the market drops in value? Are you looking to make large gains and tolerate significant risk, or are you comfortable with more modest gains and less risk?

Factoring in your personality is crucial to deciding how to allocate your investments. Even though you may have a long time horizon and could withstand market fluctuations, you may prefer lower risk investments because you can't stand seeing your accumulations rise and fall each quarter. Or, you may have a short time horizon and are thus suited to a conservative portfolio, but you seek a riskier investment for the chance at higher gains since you have other assets to draw on in retirement.

A financial advisor can help you create a customized plan that can work toward your goals. If you don't already have one, call us at 1-800-896-2645 for assistance.

Consider these model portfolios as a general guideline to see which one matches your investment style most closely. And remember, Dreyfus or your advisor can help you with asset allocation decisions and planning.

Form your asset allocation strategy carefully, keeping in mind that to maximize its effectiveness, it needs to be custom-designed and updated regularly, and you'll have to stick with it over time. Get started with a Dreyfus investment program that makes asset allocation easy.

Dreyfus Managed Asset Program^SM: Together with an advisor, you'll analyze your current portfolio and make any necessary modifications. Then, Dreyfus Managed Asset Program^SM performs ongoing, automatic analysis and rebalancing to make sure your portfolio is still following the plan you originally developed.