Excerpt: [A]ll of these supposedly stodgy investments have come under serious strain in the financial crisis. In September, a money-market fund that held Lehman Brothers debt fell below the sacrosanct $1 level, sparking massive withdrawals from certain money funds. In recent months, at least two stable-value funds have dished up losses to retirement-plan investors. And a number of short-term bond funds posted large declines last year as mortgage-related holdings hit the skids. 'There's no vehicle that's absolutely safe in today's world,' says Mike Francis, president and chief investment officer of Francis Investment Counsel LLC, a retirement-plan consulting firm in Pewaukee, Wis.  MORE >>