Another reason we ask about company stock has to do with asset allocation. Most financial planners strongly suggest that you limit your company stock investments to no more than 10% of your total portfolio. If the information you give us during Step 2 suggests you own a higher percentage than the recommended level, we will issue a warning. At that point, if allowed by your company, you can choose to lighten up on company stock by electing a lower target percentage. You can also designate this change by using the What If? Tool in Step 3. The reduction will not take place all at once, but over a period of years determined by the selloff rate.

We show both dollar and percentage because our program's methodology is designed to compute contribution amounts in a predetermined format. If the amount is provided in a different format, we simply convert that value to the format used by the program. We may show you two separate values, but the program uses only one for its calculations.

Another reason we ask about company stock has to do with asset allocation. Most financial planners strongly suggest that you limit your company stock investments to no more than 10% of your total portfolio. If the information you give us during Step 2 suggests you own a higher percentage than the recommended level, we will issue a warning. At that point, you can choose to lighten up on company stock by electing a lower target percentage. You can also designate this change by using the What If? Tool in Step 3. The reduction will not take place all at once, but over a period of years determined by the selloff rate.

We show both dollar and percentage because our program's methodology is designed to compute contribution amounts in a predetermined format. If the amount is provided in a different format, we simply convert that value to the format used by the program. We may show you two separate values, but the program uses only one for its calculations.

We show both dollar and percentage because our program's methodology is designed to compute contribution amounts in a predetermined format. If the amount is provided in a different format, we simply convert that value to the format used by the program. We may show you two separate values, but the program uses only one for its calculations.

Why are we so adamant? The investment recommendations provided by ClearFuture are designed to create a diversified, high-quality portfolio of investments, and they have been created with your personal information and needs in mind. Individual investments made in a brokerage account, on the other hand, are often made based on faulty or incomplete information; moreover, if you purchase only individual stocks in your account, your portfolio will probably be undiversified, volatile, and very unpredictable.

That's not to say that there isn't a place for investing in individual stocks or using brokerage accounts. But we think that should be a small piece of your overall portfolio, and outside of your retirement accounts. Your employer retirement plan should be designed with long-term goals in mind, and ClearFuture's recommendations are geared to help you reach those goals. To keep future contributions going to ClearFuture's recommended portfolio, choose 'No' to the question below.

Once you have found the correct security, you will need to highlight that name in the middle box with the cursor, then click 'Add.' This is true even if only one name appears in the box. Once you have clicked 'Add,' the fund or stock name should appear in the last box on the screen. If you accidentally add the wrong security, you can remove it by simply clicking 'Delete.'

Once you have entered all of your securities, select 'Next Step,' and you will be taken to a new screen. There you can enter the current dollar amount you have invested in each mutual fund or stock. After entering the amounts, select 'Done,' and you will be returned to the original 'Investment Balances' page.

Think in terms of today's dollars and your home's current appraisal value when making your estimate. We will take future increases in home value into account. And this is only an estimate, so don't worry about coming up with an exact figure.

Once you have found the correct security, you will need to highlight that name in the middle box with the cursor, then click 'Add.' This is true even if only one name appears in the box. Once you have clicked 'Add,' the fund or stock name should appear in the last box on the screen. If you accidentally add the wrong security, you can remove it by simply clicking 'Delete.'

Once you have entered all of your securities, select 'Next Step,' and you will be taken to a new screen. There you can enter the current dollar amount you have invested in each mutual fund or stock. After entering the amounts, select 'Done,' and you will be returned to the original 'Investment Balances' page.