There are three aspects of investing that contribute to investor results. First, you must save. Saving over time helps build financial success. Second, spread risk across asset classes. Third, maintain good investment behavior. Without prudent investment behavior, you can buy the best stocks and bonds in the world and still end up with poor results. Investing means that you’re focusing on a long-term reward. Growth takes time. Good investment behavior often feels unnatural. Prudent investment behavior starts with understanding that tough decisions are often uncomfortable. Two factors that often prevent investors from making wise decisions are fear and greed. Understanding how both these forces can wreak havoc is important. Back to the basics: An example: if your portfolio is invested 100% in the S&P 500, and the S&P 500 goes down 25%, then you’ll also go down 25%. Conversely, if you have a portfolio of 50% in S&P 500 and 50% in bonds, and the S&P 500 goes down 25%, you would only be down 12.5%. The inverse is true if the market is up. A more aggressive portfolio like 100% S&P 500 will experience