There's no point in making investments that will keep you awake at night. You have to balance the return you want to achieve with your personal comfort level. Some people are more safety-conscious than others. You need to understand your own feelings about how much risk and volatility you're willing to tolerate - and how much you need to accept - to achieve the returns you desire. To see where you fit in terms of your investment personality, take this quiz and then take the Risk Tolerance Quiz.

Source: Dead Cat Bounce: The Skinny on E-vesting By Gail Vaz Oxlade (Prentice Hall, 2001)