Nearly two-thirds of Americans are unaware of the impact of rising interest rates on their investments according to a new survey. Unless balanced properly, inflation can eat away at a portfolio. So what is an investor to do especially in a time when the bond markets are extremely active?
(Read more: Why saving for retirement is harder)
CNBC's Sharon Epperson sat down with three top financial advisors; Rich Coppa, managing director at Wealth Health, Geri Pell, president of Pell Wealth Partners, and Tim Maurer, the director of financial planning at the Financial Consulate, to get their best advice and tips on where you should be putting your money.
And it begins by knowing where your money is right now.
"If two-thirds of people aren't even aware that they're rising and so much of America has money in 401(k) plans, you need to look at where you're invested in your 401(k) plan in the bond portion. And if you're invested to pull into shorter-term bonds, doing that will greatly decrease your risk of losing money in bonds," said Pell, adding, "What people really need to know is that with long-term bonds right now, you can risk losing a lot of money."
(Read more: Millionaires' secrets for retirement planning)
In the special round-table discussion for FA Playbook, the three brought up several key points including; the importance of having a well-diversified portfolio in stocks and in bonds, investors may want to consider allocating a little more to dividend-paying stocks, and this silver lining for these uncertain times; you may see a greater return on the cash in your portfolio.
(Read more: BlackRock's Kapito on the best retirement portfolios)
—By CNBC's Gloria McDonough-Taub.
