Only you can answer that, because you are the only one who can make investment decisions for your retirement plan account. But keep this in mind: when you invest in your retirement plan, you’re investing for the long term. During the time that you’re invested in a fund, the price of that investment will go up and down, based on market conditions.

While, from time to time, it may be a good idea to sell a certain fund that you’re not happy with, be sure to examine your reasons carefully before proceeding. Here are some common reasons why investors may wish to consider selling their interest in a particular fund:

• They may be looking to lighten their allocation to funds that invest primarily in stocks or a particular type of stock (such as a foreign stock fund);
• They may have performance-related concerns about the fund (particularly if they feel the performance issues have spanned more than one investment period); or
• They may have concerns because the fund company has generated adverse headlines.

Regardless of the reason for moving money out of a particular fund, be sure to consider moving the proceeds into another similar fund—one that aligns with your current investment strategy. Of course, this might be a good time for you to assess whether or not your long-term investment objectives have changed.

Financial experts agree that asset allocation—spreading your money across different asset classes (stocks, bonds, and cash equivalents)—is a good way to help manage some of the risks of investing. And taking that a step further by diversifying your investments within each asset class (large-cap stocks, small-cap stocks, long-term bonds, short-term bonds, etc.) can potentially stabilize your investment returns while decreasing your investment risk. That’s because different investment types tend to move in different cycles; when one kind of investment is up, another type may be down. Having a variety of asset classes in your portfolio—and a variety of investments within those classes—will enable you to better weather the rough spots in the market.  Keep in mind, however, that the application of asset allocation and diversification concepts does not ensure safety of investments.  It is possible to lose money investing in securities.

The mix of investments for you will depend on your age, your time horizon, your investment objectives and your risk tolerance.