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Over the past year, Siri Eklund, an entrepreneur and former management consultant in Chicago, has torn up investing's conventional-wisdom playbook.

No longer content to simply stick with stocks and bonds in her portfolio, she's decided to pour her money into all kinds of different buckets. While the 35-year-old Eklund still owns stocks, she recently bought silver and oil -- and invested $75,000 as seed money in her online social-networking business. When you're losing sleep worrying about when the next stock-market meltdown might occur, she says, "you have to reassess."

For investors looking to weather a future crisis, the more buckets, the better. The pros are paying more attention to "alternative assets," a range of investments that tend to do well when stocks struggle, including commodities, precious metals, and mutual funds that buy put and call options on stocks. Financial planners suggest these assets should make up anywhere from 5 to 20 percent of a portfolio, and some are now recommending funds that move quickly in and out of the best alternative investing opportunities. The catch, says Peng Chen, president of research firm Ibbotson, is few of these so-called tactical allocation funds have established track records, but three that do are Hussman Strategic Growth, Ivy Asset and BlackRock Global Allocation.

While alternative assets make up a potentially valuable safety net, stocks and bonds are likely to remain the main motors of most people's accounts.

Younger investors should still load up on stocks, advisers say, ratcheting them to as high as 80 percent of their portfolios. With concerns rising about the U.S. deficit, and stronger growth prospects in countries like China and Brazil, advisers like William Wright, of Guidance Financial Consulting in Kansas City, Kan., recommend that at least a third of an investor's stock portfolio have a foreign flair -- whether through emerging-market stocks or U.S. firms that generate most of their sales abroad.

The rule of thumb that investors should own more bonds as they age also still holds true. Those closing in on retirement should hold only 25 to 50 percent of their portfolio in stocks, says Newton, Mass., wealth manager Dave D'Amico. Where they fall in that range depends on the health of their nest egg: If they're in danger of outliving their assets, they'll want more stocks. The calculus of owning bonds is shifting, however, as economists worry looming inflation could hurt their performance. Many planners recommend sticking to shorter-term bonds with durations of under seven years and diversifying among government and corporate bonds, foreign bonds and inflation-protected Treasurys. There's something to be said, too, for simple cash, especially for money an investor might need in the next five years -- like home down payments or emergency funds.

Bonds and cash are also getting more attention in college-savings plans.

State-sponsored 529 plans are now one of the most popular savings vehicles, with $135 billion in assets, up from $88 billion in 2008.

Money in 529s is generally invested in stock and bond mutual funds, but increasingly, planners recommend investors take their 529 money out of stocks as freshman year gets closer. That helps lower the risk of heavy losses right before the tuition bills roll in, says Morningstar analyst Greg Brown. Many states offer age-based programs in their state-sponsored 529 plans that automatically grow more conservative, paring stock exposure and moving into bonds over time.

Fees for 529 plans have dropped sharply -- they now average $92 a year for $10,000 invested -- but some states' expenses still run considerably higher.

Investors whose states don't offer a low-fee plan may find it pays to go out of state. Ohio offers some of the cheapest plans in the country, for example, with options starting at just $23 per year for $10,000 invested. In some cases, the lower expenses will offset any tax breaks a consumer loses by not going with an in-state plan, says Carl Friedrich, a planner in Syosset, N.Y.

Contributions to 529s are typically tax-deductible for in-state residents, and the plans allow tax-free withdrawals for qualified expenses. One big drawback of a 529, of course, is that investors can wind up owing taxes and penalties on the investments if the money isn't used for education. To avoid that pitfall, many advisers recommend Roth IRAs for investors who meet their income restrictions. Roths can be great for older parents because withdrawals are tax-free once the investor turns 59 . Younger investors will owe taxes on earnings that get withdrawn for education expenses. But if Junior skips college for a life as a globe-trotting troubadour, the parent can keep the money and put it toward retirement. Starting early is critical with a Roth, notes Friedrich, because the accounts have annual contribution limits of $5,000 ($6,000 for people 50 and older) and have to be open for five years to avoid withdrawal penalties.