When Your Portfolio Needs a Role Model

If you're fed up with the subpar returns most mutual funds provide, there is an alternative: model portfolios. And you'll find them all over the Web.

Model portfolios contain a collection of stock or mutual fund picks. But don't confuse these with the tips you find on the Web's myriad stock-picking sites. Usually the stocks or funds in a model portfolio are designed to balance one another out. You're told what stocks to buy and what percentage of your total portfolio should be allocated to each. Also, like mutual funds, model portfolios usually aim to achieve a particular investment objective, such as aggressive growth or income.

Some model portfolio sites are pretty bare-bones. At Index Fund Investing (www.indexfund.com), for example, you'll find three model portfolios designed for conservative, moderate or aggressive investors. But there's little explanation other than that. You have to go to a site like Morningstar (www.morningstar.com) to track the performance of the recommended funds, then decide for yourself if they make sense. ...