The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that managing a stock portfolio requires knowledge and emotional discipline. The Globe's John Heinzl writes that while most people can do it if they put in some modest time and effort, it would probably overwhelm most beginners and could lead to costly mistakes. One of the easiest, lowest-stress DIY investing methods is to buy a balanced mutual fund. Mr. Heinzl explains that owning a balanced mutual fund will give you exposure to stocks and bonds in one convenient package, and when you have some extra cash to invest you can make additional contributions with no brokerage fees. One of the most user-friendly fund providers is Tangerine, which offers three balanced index funds with various stock-bond mixes depending on your risk tolerance. The middle-of-the-road option is the Tangerine Balanced Portfolio, with 40 per cent of its assets in Canadian bonds and 20 per cent each in Canadian, U.S. and international stocks. Tangerine's recently launched dividend fund, which provides Canadian, U.S. and international exposure, is also worth a look. All of Tangerine's funds carry the same management expense ratio (MER) of 1.07 per cent, which is reasonable.