Their competence and duty to advise seemingly encompasses anything a fund may encounter- asset allocation, manager and fund performance, personnel turnover at managers, real estate, private equity, international and emerging markets, hedge funds, fund of funds, brokerage-everything but consultant-related issues.

FORBES: The Duty To Investigate Pension Consultant Conflicts (September 1, 2001)

Gary Garrabrant was chief executive of Equity International, which buys real-estate-related companies in emerging markets.

WSJ: Life After Zell

That means that before buying any new asset to add to your portfolio, you should see where it fits in with your mix of domestic bonds, stocks, gold, commodities, emerging markets, real estate funds, and international funds.

FORBES: Should You Buy BP? Here's How to Know