Having shaken off the jitters, many investors have either re-entered the stock market or upped their exposure in recent weeks. But for retirees or folks nearing retirement age, simply exiting safer investments such as bonds and certificates of deposits might not be the best strategy.

Some clearly are seeking to recoup losses suffered during the downturn. According to a recent survey by Charles Schwab & Co., in the first quarter of 2010, 46% of investors were focused on growing their retirement savings, while just 29% aimed for protecting their savings. (There is no comparable earlier study). Further, Schwab reports its advisors have to spend less time reassuring their clients these days. This past January, just 31% of investment advisors reported needing to reassure clients about the stock market, down from 49% a year earlier, according to a separate survey.

Fueling the confidence: The belief that the economy is in the early stages of recovery — not to mention that share prices are still 20% to 25% below where they were before the downturn hit, says Jeff Layman, the chief investment officer at BKD Wealth Advisors in Springfield, Mo.

The question is whether the market has moved too far, too fast — and if some investors are overly exuberant. “There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty in the environment still,” says Layman. Between the extreme market movements in the last two years and the government’s expanding debt load, today’s investment mantra should more closely resemble cautious optimism rather than overconfidence, he says.

So what should investors itching to recoup their lost retirement dollars do? Here are six investment suggestions:

Retain some stock exposure

As Layman points out, share-price valuations are still low despite the recent stock market rally. In addition, during the downturn companies across the board trimmed costs and boosted productivity — putting them in prime earnings expansion territory, says Jim Scheinberg, a managing partner at the Culver City, Calif., investment advisory firm North Pier Fiduciary Management. “For five quarters in a row, Wall Street has beat analysts’ expectations 50% of the time,” he says. Today, companies are largely positioned for earnings growth as revenues start to increase.

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