If you have a variety of accounts — for
instance, a 401(k) or
similar employer-sponsored retirement plan, an IRA, and
a separate taxable account — you'll want to consider
not only how to allocate the assets within each account,
but also how your different accounts can work together
to help you meet your financial goals.
For example, if your employer-sponsored retirement plan
and IRA are invested primarily in stock and stock mutual
funds, you may want to seek balance by allocating a larger
percentage of your taxable account to tax-exempt municipal
bonds and Treasury
bills.
Guaranteed income
Another consideration is whether you'll be eligible for
a guaranteed, fixed-income pension when you retire. If
that's the case, you may be in a position to assume greater
risk in your own investment portfolio, with the goal of
achieving higher returns. That might mean weighting your
asset allocation more heavily towards stocks, as opposed
to fixed-income
securities.
Professor
Roger Ibbotson, Yale University, chairman and founder
of Ibbotson Associates
Professor
Roger Ibbotson, Yale University, chairman and founder
of Ibbotson Associates 
