How to Diversify??

[Anonymous]

I think DH and I are doing relatively okay. The majority of our portfolio in property. We have a rental property in addition to the house that we live in. We are 40 years old. So here is our household info.

Properties: $1 million (net)
Stocks: $150k
Bonds: $5k
Retirement: $600k
529 for 2 kids: $50k

Cash: $80 k (this includes emergency fund)

So I have been putting money into a Vanguard 500 index fund. That is about 80% of our stocks. Do you think I need to diversify more? I don't think I need to meet with a financial advisor because the fees alone are pretty high. I just don't think we are at the point in which we have so much money. We are pretty frugal. Our HHI including the rental propertiy is about $300k. We are increasing the 529 contribution for the kids. But my question is mainly what else can I invest in to diversify our holdings. I know for now we are heavily in housing. Which mutual fund would you consider investing in besides the 500 Index fund?

The Emergency fund is enough to cover us for a year if no income from either DH, me or the rental property.

[Anonymous]

The Vanguard total stock market fund will give you the S&P 500 plus a small piece in smaller companies (small and mid cap), which many people think is a good idea (although truth be told the difference in return is probably not huge).

You might want to look at putting somewhere between 20-40% of your stock investment into international stocks, like vanguard international. That would give you some add'l diversification.