Investors often think of selecting individual of stocks as the domain of sophisticated types. Meanwhile, mutual funds are often considered the province of newbies.

But a recent Morningstar.com Discuss forum thread showcases multiple viewpoints on this issue. Although some respondents said that they had indeed transitioned to individual stocks as they became more confident in their investing acumen, others said that they've done just the opposite, moving more of their portfolios to funds and ETFs as the years have gone by. Among the reasons cited for moving to managed products were a desire to focus on big-picture issues like asset allocation as well as simplification.

Still other posters said that their "delivery mechanism" preferences had remained unchanged over the years, with some respondents saying that they'd always preferred the control that comes along with investing in individual stocks and others saying that they're sticking with funds due to ease of use.