Mrs. Lieberman's portfolio consists of stocks and mutual funds valued at $18,000 to $90,000, and an individual retirement account valued at $63,000 to $405,000.
Ms. Collier, who has remained chairwoman of a New Hampshire firm that manages a group of socially responsible mutual funds valued at about $1.7 billion, said it was outrageous for critics to suggest that she and her colleagues are simply interested in making a quick fortune and walking away.
So aside from buying an ETF or mutual fund with value in the name, which is not always a foolproof method of buying value, how do you put together a portfolio of good value stocks?
"Workers who are not sophisticated complain when they see that $25 was deducted from their paycheck and their statement shows they have $24 in their account because the mutual fund's value dipped," Mr. Utkus said.
(It's also important to keep in mind that like any other mutual fund, the value of a target date fund is never guaranteed, not even at the target date -- the expected date at which many investors are likely to begin withdrawing from the fund. The value of the fund will fluctuate up to and even beyond the target date as the asset allocation changes over time in accordance with the fund's prospectus).
But for people who frequently buy and sell bonds, including mutual funds, the value of the bonds they currently hold will go down when interest rates rise.
The Investment Company Act of 1940 requires mutual funds to value their holdings at least once a day; most funds close their books at 4 p.m. sharp, which is also the close of regular trading on the exchange floor.
Now Democrats say their signature issue of protecting Social Security has resonance not just for the elderly, but also for a broad swath of the middle class that has watched its 401k's and mutual funds lose value.
The founder of Heartland Advisors staked his personal wealth on the sale of a portfolio of troubled bonds to the State of Wisconsin, a last-ditch attempt that failed to support two of the company's bond mutual funds whose value was later cut in half in a single day last month.
But like so many seemingly secure investments, the mutual fund plunged in value when the financial crisis struck - and the Charles Schwab Corporation is still struggling to contain the damage.
