Determining how to manage your portfolio can be confusing unless you are a student of investing. Information is everywhere, from 24-hour TV financial stations, dozens of magazines, Websites offering updated articles many times during the day, and of course, your friends.

Here are some strategies that you can use depending on your needs and the factors discussed last month:

- No strategy - Hopefully, this isn't your style, but simply depositing your paycheck into a checking account until it is spent won't get you very far ahead.

- Cash and cash equivalents only - The goal of this portfolio is principal preservation with little or no volatility. Funds can be left in checking, savings and money market accounts as well as certificates of deposit (CDs).

- Cash and fixed income - There are many types of fixed income securities, including cash and cash equivalents as well as individual bonds and bond mutual funds. Bonds come in all shapes and colors depending on your risk tolerance, tax situation and rate of return goal. Even though bonds pay a set interest rate, you can make money as wells as lose money if you don't hold them to maturity.

- Stocks - Equities can be purchased and sold anytime during market hours. You can rely on just a few companies that you are familiar with or invest in companies in many different sectors such as energy, retail and health care. Picking individual stocks can take hours of research, and if you don't have the time or inclination, try stock mutual funds or ETFs (exchange traded funds).

Real estate and other real assets - Touted as inflation protectors, hard assets such as real estate or commodities or stocks in companies that invest in these sectors are available. For more control (and lots more work), you can invest in individual housing or commercial rental properties.

- Derivatives - These are financial contracts whose prices are "derived" from an underlying security. The banking crisis was caused by derivatives called credit default swaps that still pose a threat to banks' health.

- Currency trading - This involves buying and selling dollars and other world currencies attempting to pocket a profit based on currency fluctuation. Many fund managers will attempt to hedge against currency losses when buying foreign securities.

Many investments require specialized knowledge and are best left to the pros. You can certainly have access to all of these securities through mutual funds and other professional investment managers without attempting to invest on your own. The fund managers will do all the trading and research based on the fund's objectives.

Investing around the world is common as the United States only makes up 46 percent of the world stock markets. Japan and the United Kingdom follow with 11 percent and 8 percent of the world market, respectively.

Diversifying is a good idea! No one has the ability to predict what will happen tomorrow or next year, even though everyone tries. You can mix and match cash, fixed income, stocks and real assets in your portfolio to provide cash flow, growth of assets, inflation protection and security.

Connie Brezik is a Casper investment advisor and financial planner. She can be reached at connie@asset-strategies-inc.com