Is it wise to have a minimal portfolio (stocks, bonds, etc.) right now?

I wouldn't focus on "hopeful" stocks, whatever that means. I would stick to index funds. But as long as your investment horizon is greater than 15 - 20 years, then you should be buying stocks now. We've had an extended down market and stock prices are still cheap. Whatever stocks do in the near term, they'll be a heck of a lot more valuable in 30 years than they are now.

If you are investing and will need to withdraw your money in a short time span, say within the next ten years, then you might reasonably think that stocks are too risky. In that case, treasury bonds would be a good idea, or possibly money markets or laddered CDs.

All long term savings should be in the stock markets but not all in the US. Volatility is only a problem for active traders (which I am not) and if you need the money in the near future. The market has returned an average of 6% a year since 1870 after adjusting for inflation while houses, gold and most things people buy instead has barely kept up with inflation, and gold is even more volatile than stocks. People forget to add in the effect of dividends and only look at Index values but reinvested dividends doubles the return. http://visualizingeconomics.com/2011/01/11/effect-...

I have a (pre-tax) allotment that comes directly out of my paycheck to invest in mutual funds. I honestly do not know a whole bunch about economics, but I attended a seminar with a couple of other guys not long after I joined the Army about saving and investments and I decided to go with it.

It has been a small growth (bear in mind I am an E-3 and make crap money) but it is still enough to make me think I made the right decision.

As goofy as the market has been the last 4 years, or for that matter since 2000, the companies are probably the only things capable of maintaining or creating value. I'm with Buffet on this. Buy good companies and hold them for a long time.

Provided you've done your homework and know the track record of those companies in which you plan to invest. Fidelity Contrafund mutual fund is doing relatively well through all of these ups and downs (paying about 12% annually). When you look at a mutual, look at their track record over at LEAST the last 20 to 30 years. How well did they perform during the last economic "crisis" or two? The best predictor of future behavior is to look at past behavior.

A week after Obama announced the stimulus I invested over half my portfolio in gold and it had more than doubled since.

Life is not too bad.

Gold and foreign stocks with better dividends in Hong Kong, Scandinavia, Singapore, and Australia.

If you invest in the US stocks, pick one that pays good dividends.

Gold has been steadily rising for 10 years.

Not necc, I know a swing trader become day trader whose mantra is Volatility is your friend.

And he does very well.

these are the same people who said the housing market was fundamentally sound....

get out while you're only a little behind.

Guns & ammo.

Best investment there is.