A Simple Two-Fund Retirement Approach

I've written before about how four U.S. index funds can leave the mighty Standard & Poor's 500 Index in the dust. For younger investors (and others who can accept the risks), I want to outline a way to boost the returns of that winning combination even further -- using only two index funds.

Background

U.S. equity investors typically concentrate their money in large-cap blend funds and so-called total-market funds, all of which tend to move in close step with the S&P 500SPX, -0.17% But there's lots more money to be made, in the long run, for investors willing to venture into value stocks and small-cap stocks.