Where should you be investing your hard-earned money in 2016?
CNBC.com recently turned to three financial advisors and — not surprisingly — received three different takes on the best investment tacks.
David Carter of Lenox Wealth Advisors advised following the "profits and valuations" in equities, and right now that points to European markets. However, "whenever you buy European equities, you're taking some currency risk," Carter said, so he advises owning European equities but hedging the currency back to the U.S. dollar.
"Our view is, we think the dollar will continue to go up as the euro goes down," Carter said.
Stocks have been strong since early 2009, said Chad Carlson of Balasa Dinverno Foltz — so strong that "investors that have been complacent probably have too much in stocks."
The alternatives — bonds — offer "maybe not the most attractive returns" but do act as critical "ballast" in investor portfolios, he noted. Carlson advised investors to remember to buy "a lot of different types of bonds," including, preferably, some that offer "global involvement."
For his part, Jon Yankee of FJY Financial said his firm's belief in the efficiency of the market and the efficacy of portfolio diversification remains unshaken.
"So we aren't putting our clients' eggs in certain baskets based on what we believe is going to happen in this coming year," he said. "Rather, we're focusing them on what they can control, which is continuing to save ... to stay on their plan ... and ... to educate themselves."
— By Kenneth Kiesnoski, associate editor, CNBC.com
