e use the word "style" when describing how people dress, wear their hair, and even walk and talk. But style also plays a role in how we invest our money. Just as your wardrobe and hairstyle have to suit you and the way you live, so it is with investments. Identifying and adopting an investment style that's a good fit is the first step toward securing your financial future. Here are common questions about investment styles: What exactly do you mean by "investment style"? How many investment styles are there? How do these styles differ from each other? Which style is right for me? Why do I need to select an investment style? What if no one style seems to suit me? When should I change my investment style? Do words such as "growth" and "balanced" in the names of mutual funds tell me all I need to know about a fund's investment style? So how do I find out about a mutual fund's investment style?

How do these styles differ from each other? Here are some basic distinctions:       Growth: Investors using a growth style put their money into securities, typically stocks, that are growing in earnings. These stocks are growing, or are expected to grow, faster than the stock market average. The growth investor aims for big gains over the long term, but also faces risks as growth-oriented companies go through their ups and downs. In fact, short-term losses can be substantial and severe during down cycles.       Value: In the value style, investors look for stocks that are comparatively low-priced, but the price doesn't accurately reflect the company's potential and current assets. Thus, value investors are betting that the company's stock will rise again to reflect its true value.       Income: Investors using an income style choose securities that produce regular but modest earnings. Some examples include government-issued bonds or money market mutual funds. Income investments don't bring as much potential for gain as growth investments, but they also carry less risk for loss. Thus, income investors aim for fairly stable earnings over time.       Blended: The blended style combines both growth and income investments, to strike a balance between the potential for gain and the risk of loss.

Which style is right for me? Finding the answer to that question is, of course, the key to devising an investment strategy that takes you where you want to go. Before you adopt an investment style, examine several factors.       For instance, what is your risk tolerance? That will depend partially on your personality. Stark realism is in order here. Would you be able to take losses in stride during the short term? Or would any losses now leave you financially strapped and unable to pay your current debts and living expenses? Would you be able to hang on for the long haul, even through the market's inevitable ups and downs?       Other factors to consider are your age, financial goals, and investment time frame. When will you need to use the money you're investing? If you still have a few decades before retirement, or if you'll be drawing on your retirement funds gradually once you're in your decades-long retirement--as most do--you'll have ample opportunity to regain whatever short-term losses you might incur. Thus, a growth investment style may serve you well.       But if you'll need the bulk of your retirement money all at once, or you'll be sending a daughter off to college in five years, you can't afford to let your nest egg take a severe hit. You'd be better off with the shorter term, less risky income investment style.       Yet another factor to weigh is your tax situation. Years from now, will you be in a higher or lower tax bracket than you're in today? Depending on your projections, you may want to consider investments that generate tax-free or tax-deferred earnings.<!--this is a good place to link to your credit union's investment products such as IRAs--!>

Your risk tolerance,       age, financial goals,       investment time frame,       and tax situation       all enter into       determining your       investment style.

Do words such as "growth" and "balanced" in the names of mutual funds tell all I need to know about a fund's investment style? Not necessarily. Two funds described as "balanced" funds may have markedly different investment mixes. You need to look deeper than the name to be sure the fund's investment style matches your own.