More than one-third of Americans are more concerned with protecting against risk in their retirement accounts than managing their assets. Only 8 percent of those surveyed felt that growing retirement assets was more important than protecting them, according to a Charles Schwab survey.

"Risk management strategies vary by investor based on an individual's situation and goals, and it's impossible to completely eliminate risk from a portfolio, but by choosing an appropriate mix of investments people of all ages can better control the types and levels of risk in their portfolios," said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, CFP, senior vice president, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. "In a continued choppy market environment it's not surprising that investors are concentrating on managing risk and protecting their nest egg. It's also clear that the sharp downturn in 2008 remains fresh in their minds."

The recession has affected younger investors who said in the survey they were most likely to sit on the sidelines in the next six months and move assets into more stable investments such as money markets and savings accounts. Twenty-nine percent of the 18 to 34-year-old crowd plan to pull money out of the market, while only 11 percent of older Americans said they would do the same.