Importance of Asset Allocation

Choose Your Strategy

When you choose your asset allocation, consider the following:

• Your Goals - Are you hoping to see large gains in your plan or are you looking to preserve your retirement funds?
• Your Time Horizon - How long will you invest before you begin taking withdrawals?
• Your Risk Tolerance - Are you comfortable with investments that may fluctuate in value?

Review Your Portfolio Annually

It’s important that you review your investment choices at least annually. You may need to adjust your asset allocation as you get closer to retirement, or if you find that your risk tolerance has changed. Your investments may grow at different rates, so you also may need to shift your investments to realign with your original asset allocation strategy.

Try These Helpful Tools

Depending on your plan, these tools may be available to help you:

• Hire ProNvest, an independent money management firm, to actively manage your account for a reasonable fee. (Available only to plans administered by BB&T.)
• Select a target date fund, which invests your money in a mix of mutual fund stocks, bonds and cash equivalents-and automatically adjusts the investments to become more conservative as you near retirement.
• Choose a model portfolio, which uses the funds available in your plan to create a mix of investment options based on your risk tolerance or age.
• Access our Asset Allocator Tool to see a sample asset allocation breakdown based on your goals, time horizon and risk tolerance.