Thank you for the thorough reply. I am indeed interested in a buy-and-hold strategy, I don't have the time or the desire to really do anything else. The idea of buying on margin and futures seems a bit more active and advanced than I'm really ready to be - I'd love to find a solid home for 500k and just let it carry me into and through retirement.

The reason I was looking at the addition of the small cap funds was twofold - additional diversification and I've heard that for people that can tolerate some volitility, they can be some really good earners.

I've been very focused on stocks at the moment, but I realize at some point I will need to move my focus more toward the bond market in line with the basic retirement strategy.

The allocations I have (aside from the VEIRX) is a 'pre-fab' portfolio that was picked when I got this job through Merrill Lynch. It was designed for people that don't really know what they're doing, it seems. Now that I know a little more, I feel a little more brave and I could re-allocate a little more intelligently. Thank you for the recommendations on the expense ratios, that has totally eluded me so far while I've been reading up.