Even huge companies such as Microsoft represent less than 5% of the overall market, the weight at which investment consultants start worrying about stock-specific risk.
The buy and sell recommendations I post here come from the EVA Dimensions stock-ranking system called PRVit, for Performance-Risk-Valuation investment technology.
While employers' 401(k) plans are subject to punitive regulations, lest they allow you to take on too much "risk, " employers are allowed to offer their own stock among the investment options.
Foreigners are going the other way, recognizing that aging shifts the world's largest per capita stock of individually owned assets toward better housing, more consumption and greater risk-appetite for investment opportunities.
One research company that has created a stock screen of dividend-growth stocks is Value Line, whose list includes stocks that are comparatively low-risk investment choices.