Heard the adage about not putting your all your eggs into one basket? The same concept applies to managing your investments. Diversification essentially means allocating your investment dollars strategically among different assets and asset categories to help manage risk. Here are three ways to do it.

1. Spread your risk

If you invested all of your money into one company’s stock and it plunged, you'd lose some if not all your money. If you put all of your money into a single bond and the issuer declared bankruptcy, you'd lose some if not all your funds, too. Diversification helps mitigate the risk to you about such scenarios by choosing different investments and types of investments. Diversification doesn’t guarantee investment returns or eliminate risk of loss including in a declining market.

2. Diversify across asset classes

A well-diversified portfolio combines different types of investments, called asset classes, which carry different levels of risk. The three main asset classes are stocks, bonds, and cash alternatives. Some investors also add other investments, such as real estate and commodities, like gold and coal, to the list. Stocks generally carry the most risk of the three main asset classes, but they also offer the greatest potential for growth. Bonds are less volatile, but their returns are more modest, and cash alternatives are generally considered to carry the least risk but with the lowest returns. Each asset class tends to perform differently under similar market conditions. Asset allocation, or splitting your assets among categories, helps to balance your portfolio. Investors typically choose a percentage they want to invest in each asset class based on their risk tolerance, years until retirement, and other factors. A person just a few years from retirement might shift money out of stocks and into bonds or cash for a more conservative allocation.

3. Diversify within asset classes

Once you’ve diversified by distributing your investment dollars among stocks, bonds, cash, and possibly other categories, you may need to diversify again.

For example, when it comes to stocks, the possibilities for diversification are vast. You can diversify by the size of the companies (large-, medium-, or small-cap stocks), by geography (domestic or international), and by industry and sector, for example. If you want to diversify among stocks but don’t have the time or inclination to do so, consider mutual funds or exchange-traded funds. These funds generally hold shares in many different companies. There are also funds that shift their asset allocation away from equities as it approaches a certain target date. These target date funds are geared towards retirement planning where the target date approximates the retirement date of the investor.

Your diversification strategy should be tailored to your personal financial goals and tolerance for risk. If you’re uncertain about how to diversify, consider seeking the guidance of a Financial Advisor.