Have an investment objective, invest and diversify

I caught up with my girl friend for brunch yesterday. She is frantically looking for a nanny for her son as her baby sitter has decided to start a business and leave baby-sitting career behind. I have always enjoyed spending time with this friend. With her, I could talk about anything.
Yesterday she asked me about investment. My friend believes in diversifying her investment. Something that I completely agree with. She invests in stock market, unit trust and put some money in the the fixed deposit.
I took her by surprise when I asked her what her investment objectives are. She paused and after a while said she has never thought about working with an objective when it comes to investments.
I usually tell my clients, just like everything else, they should only go into something if they are clear about what they want. And, having an objective works best with a time line.
Some of my clients invest because they want a better retirement plan. Younger clients have more time on their side while more mature clients have more money on their side.
Most of the people I met depend on the Employee Provident Fund for their retirement. This is a great start. But, why put your eggs in one basket?
Since its incepion in 1952, EPF have not been able to give its members double digit return. So why not diversify your retirement plan?
See below for the details of dividend declared by EPF: