[mrwinalot]

And what do you recommend for your mathematically inclined friends? Any books you recommend for asset allocation and rebalancing principles?

[n72]

Yup, I've written a brief primer to accompany my will: https://github.com/nickgieschen/investingguidelines

[toephu2]

None, just put your money in an S&P 500 fund. I doubt you will be able to beat that in the long run anywhere else (Even though there are flaws w/ how the S&P 500 is run now [1]).

[1] http://www.joshuakennon.com/sp-500s-dirty-little-secret/

[n72]

You can do better by diversifying more. By picking asset classes with a low correlation, you can reduce risk while increasing return. Hence, you can eek our more from a simple mix of say:

60% US 30% Int'l 6% REITs 4% Gold

All of this can be bought with low cost mutual funds.

http://thismatter.com/money/investments/portfolios.htm