I am relatively new to active investing -- I only started paying close attention to my 401k and mutual funds in April of last year, when I set up a simulation account at Investopedia to practice before (possibly) doing it for real myself.

I studied several different strategies, read up on the pros and cons of investing in different types of companies, from blue chips to emerging markets, and different industries, and learned what I could about how different financial advisers make their picks to sell or buy or hold.

I then "purchased" $100,000 worth of stock from 10 companies from a well-diversified list of "expert" picks. I'd say my portfolio was just this side of conservative, with four or five solid blue chips, and the rest a mix of emerging market, small-cap and mid-size stocks.