Morningstar's 2022 Portfolio Tuneup

Despite the ongoing pandemic, rising inflation, and supply chain woes, 2021 was a good year for investors in U.S. stocks. It's tempting to leave well enough alone.

But even though a policy of benign neglect for a portfolio invariably beats one that's too active, it is possible to be too hands-off. That's a particularly big risk given that the stock market has climbed for more than a decade. Left untouched, portfolios can become too stock-heavy, which tends to amp up volatility and can lead to sequence-of-return risk for soon-to-be and new retirees.

Investors can also grow complacent in their savings habits, assuming that strong market returns will continue to do the heavy lifting for their plans. And portfolios can get unwieldy: Investors often end up with more accounts and holdings than they really need. That's particularly true given that our portfolios are typically tethered to our employment situations, and the average American has 12 jobs in his or her lifetime.

Morningstar's 2022 Portfolio Tuneup is designed to help troubleshoot those problem spots and put your portfolio on track for the year ahead. We tackle the key steps to take to tune up a portfolio and share model portfolios for retirement savers and retirees. And be sure to tune in on Wednesday, Jan. 26, for my portfolio tune-up event.

Check on Your Portfolio's Viability

Accumulators: Is Your Retirement Plan on Track? Rules of thumb won't cut it for this important question; how to customize based on your own situation.

3 Simple Ways to Bump Up Your Savings Rate Small changes add up.

Do You Really Need to Save That Much for Retirement? We take a look at popular retirement savings estimates.

Are You Behind on Saving for Retirement? There's a path forward, no matter when you start your retirement-plan contributions.

How to Play Catch-Up With Retirement Savings Here are some strategies to consider whether you're behind at age 40 or beyond.

How to Set Your Retirement Withdrawal Rate Why calculating your spending rate isn't a one-and-done project.

Gauge Your Asset Allocation

How to Allocate Assets for College Savings Families must contend with competing challenges: steep glide paths and high inflation.

The Bucket Investor's Guide to Setting Asset Allocation for Retirement Use anticipated spending needs and probabilities of a positive return over your time horizon to back into the right mix of cash, bonds, and stocks.

Invest for Short- and Intermediate-Term Goals For goals that are close at hand, how do you balance loss aversion with return potential?

Are You an Asset-Allocation Outlier? From pensions to small-business ownership, how to know if your mix of stocks, bonds, and cash should not look like the others'.

Assess Your Asset Allocation for Retirement Tips for customizing your own glide path.

You Probably Need to Rebalance If it's been a while since you looked at your portfolio weightings, it might be time to adjust.

How to Set and Invest Your Emergency Fund Here's how to figure out how big your emergency fund should be and how you should invest it.

Can Your Portfolio (and You) Weather Volatility?

Special Event: Tuning Up Your Portfolio for 2022 Join us on Jan. 26 at noon CST as we discuss the steps to take when tuning up a portfolio, how to think about inflation and interest rates in 2022, and more.

Can Your Portfolio Withstand Volatility? How to determine how durable your portfolio is and strategies to tame stock market risk.

A 7-Point Risk Drill for Your Portfolio The right amount of risk to take in your portfolio depends on two key variables: your risk capacity as well as your risk tolerance.

Your Inflation Tool Kit How to think about inflation, your money, and your investments.

Evaluate Holdings Quality

Find the Right Investments for Your Retirement Portfolio Your knowledge level, desire to be hands-on, tax status, and tolerance for short-term volatility can help you identify the right investments.

The Best Core Stock Funds These mutual funds and exchange-traded funds blend growth and value large-cap stocks and earn Morningstar Analyst Ratings of Gold.

The Best Growth Funds These growth-focused funds all earn Morningstar Analyst Ratings of Silver or better.

The Best Value Funds These value-focused mutual funds and ETFs all earn Morningstar Analyst Ratings of Silver or Better.

The Best Foreign Stock Funds These international mutual funds and ETFs all earn Morningstar Analyst Ratings of Gold.

The Best Taxable-Bond Funds Here are the highest-rated mutual funds and ETFs across a series of Morningstar's taxable fixed-income categories.

The Best Municipal-Bond Funds Here are the highest-rated mutual funds and ETFs across a series of Morningstar's municipal-bond fund categories.

Model Portfolios for Retirement Savers and Retirees

The Bucket Approach to Retirement Allocation The ins and outs of using a bucket approach in retirement.