[5yellowchips]

Should I include diversified assets in this number e.g. if I buy shares in a property company do I call that DE or real estate?

[jduck1979]

There isn't any right or wrong answer I guess....... after my first 2yrs of investing in shares via HALIFAX sharebuilder I think I hold shares in at least 50 different companies bought between £5 to £20 a pop las time I tried counting them...... some worked out (one hit 250% in profit today last time I looked), while others bummed out big time (over 80% loss).This is my favourite article in on investing in shares:http://www.fool.co.uk/school/2006/sch060130.htmAnd further on, where it tells you about some of the world's greatest investors (e.g. Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, etc). Here's the page on Warren Buffett:http://www.fool.co.uk/school/2005/sch050930.htmAnd here's a quote from him on this:"If you are a know-something investor, able to understand business economics and to find five to ten sensibly-priced companies that possess important long-term competitive advantages, conventional diversification makes no sense for you. It is apt simply to hurt your results and increase your risk. I cannot understand why an investor of that sort elects to put money into a business that is his 20th favourite rather than simply adding that money to his top choices - the businesses he understands best and that present the least risk, along with the greatest profit potential. In the words of the prophet Mae West: 'Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.'"So, going by that (and personal experience) I'd say try sticking with shares in no more than 10 different companies & gradually build your holding in them over time.... perhaps 5 stable & established big name companies for getting good dividend payments (such as RBS.L, LLOY.L, HBOS.L, SVT.L, KEL.L)... the rest for trying to get good growth out of them (research them at http://quote.fool.co.uk and take your pick.... ADM.L + SNCL.L don't look too bad at the moment).