<prompt> Human: Im looking for some advice as to my Roth I began putting money into this Roth in mid-2011, but have only just started tracking its fluctuations within the past year. The company through which I have invested the money is Northwestern Mutual, per my dads recommendation when I first started investing. Im 21 now, but I feel as though NWM is not doing anything beneficial for me. My asset allocation is not conservative, as I have 40 years left until retirement. Should I take the money and run to Vanguard or move my money into my Scottrade account and manage it myself from there? Im having a hard time sticking with NWM.Heres my allocation  <response>: Your allocation looks good. The SP Domestic stock rose 5.17 during that time. However international stock dropped 2.52 during the same time.So basically its not so much your provider as it is that your diversified portfolio did what its supposed to do: it cut down risk by averaging several differently moving markets together. It just so happens that the markets moved in opposite directions this time and canceled each other out. Your fees may have eaten up some of the difference, but the profit margin was low to begin with.This isnt a problem with your broker. In fact it isnt a problem at all. Its just how a properly diversified portfolio is going to work sometimes. In the long run it will still go up, so dont stress about a 6 month period. 