re: Brand new to Stock Market

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Mutual funds are already going to be pretty diverse, right? Why do you suggest investing in 4 or more? Are you suggesting a variety of more narrowly focused funds?

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Four is kind of the "finger in every pie" number if you want to personalize your ratios. You would have one fund that broadly tracked US domestic equities, one that tracked international equities, one that tracked US domestic bonds, and one that tracked international bonds.

Basically, look at Vanguard's Target Date funds: LINK

I'm relatively young, so I have zero bond exposure. I'm currently invested 75% in VTSAX and 25% in VWIGX (note: I wanted my international exposure to be extremely broad, but not fully index, thus not going with VGTSX).

ETA: For the sake of full disclosure, I also have a substantial position in AGTHX, but that's simply due to limited options via my employer. I wouldn't invest in a fund that actively managed if I had my druthers.