Survey: Millionaires Shy Away from Investment Risk

But that's not the case, according to a CNBC study. It shows the millionaires have thrived "by investing in established brand names from within the market's largest sectors and by using broadly diversified mutual funds," according to CNBC.

"They accumulate their wealth by hitting a lot of singles and doubles," Tom Wynn, director of affluent research at Spectrem Group, which polled 500 millionaires for CNBC, told the news service.

"And to do that, they need to have a broad base of mutual funds to capture all of the sectors. In many ways, they are traditional with their investments."

Millionaires aren't averse to buying individual stocks, but they tend to regard this as their "play money" for risk-taking.

When you get up to $25 million in net worth, you find more risk-taking, Wynn said. "There you see more of the home-run hitters. Entrepreneurs that have made money young by hitting home runs."

Meanwhile, Morgan Housel, a columnist for the Motley Fool, offers a list of "investing truths" in The Wall Street Journal.

They include:

• "All past market crashes are viewed as opportunities, but all future market crashes are viewed as risks.
• "Investing is overwhelmingly a game of psychology.
• "Three of the most important variables to consider are the valuations of stocks when you buy them, the length of time you can stay invested, and the fees you pay to brokers and money managers.
• "It can be difficult to tell the difference between luck and skill in investing.
• "You are only diversified if some of your investments are performing worse than others."

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