What's Your Goal?

Protection or production? That is the key question for most investors' portfolios. According to a new report from a global research and consulting firm Cerulli Associates, more than three-quarters of investors explicitly state that they would prefer a protection-focused portfolio versus one that outperforms.

The desire for protection is very strongly correlated with age, although not necessarily the way you think it might be. The report finds that a protection mindset is highly concentrated among investors who are 60 and older - and among affluent investors under 30 years old.

There are similar strata involved for different wealth tiers. The highest concentrations of the protection-focused mindset are among those investors with $250,000 to $500,000 (83 percent) and greater than $5 million (80 percent).