Thanks for your advice, NoStacheOhio. I will definitely have a look at all of our accounts collectively. Since both my DH and I have only target fund/lifecycle options from Vanguard in our 401k I don't think I can tweak them much, but I will be able to customize the IRAs that are through Vanguard directly.
Yeah, I wondered if I should be concerned about the lack of mid-cap. (The Eagle mid-cap ER is 0.77%, higher than I currently pay).
I guess where I'm fumbling on making a decision is that I know portfolio allocation is highly personal and so I'm seeing advice all over the place and don't totally understand the reasoning that gets you to the actual numbers. I know my style of money management and my risk tolerance but I don't know enough about the risks of different funds yet to be able to evaluate them and translate that into a pie chart that fits us. I understand the pros of index funds and low ERs, so that's easy to get on board with, and I understand the arguments behind geographic diversification, but I'm not sure how to make good decisions when it comes to percentages and market capitalization categories. If I followed Warren Buffet, I'd just throw 90% in the S&P and the rest in the bond fund and forget about it. That sounds really appealing (and cheap!), but then I don't think I want to be entirely focused on U.S. large companies in a rapidly changing global economy. Then again, I read on a really helpful advice manual linked on this forum (which unfortunately i can't remember the name of) that although a mix of 80-90% total world stock index with a 10-20% bonds is preferable, an s&P 500 index alone is fine as a substitute if that's not available because most large-caps are multi-national anyway... so I'm back to confusion over whether to just go the Buffet route.
If anyone has an example of a simple, moderately aggressive asset allocation formula that they trust, I'd be grateful. Of course i can find plenty of examples out there (which are the good ones? I have no idea), but I've learned a lot from this forum so am curious what members here do for growth.
Thanks.