I'm planning on entering the Peace Corps in the spring. Where are the safest places to leave my investments, considering I won't be able to easily manage my money?

After a brutal year like 2002, it's probably pretty scary to leave your investments behind and venture off to a place where you can't review your accounts on a daily basis. Of course, it can also be kind of liberating to force yourself to stop obsessively checking on your funds' fortunes - as long as you know you've left your investments in good hands. Today, I'll talk about how to find straightforward funds that investors can hold for the long haul and not need to worry about too much.

When searching for funds that you don't need to baby-sit, focus on those whose strengths will likely continue even if the market environment changes or a manager leaves.

First, look for funds that haven't changed their investment styles for a long time. For example, index funds that invest in broadly diversified baskets of stocks - such as the S&P; 500 - aren't likely to go through a massive style shift.

Some actively managed funds also have maintained an investment style for the long haul. For example, Dodge & Cox Balanced has been around since 1931, and its managers have followed the same value-focused, low-turnover approach for decades. There's little reason to believe that things will change there anytime soon. This is important, because you probably don't want to get caught with a fund that looks vastly different in a few years.

My second point: Make sure the fund's investment approach isn't hyperaggressive or gimmicky. Overly narrow or gimmicky funds can wreak havoc on your portfolio. Oftentimes, these funds deliver outsize gains or losses, and they can require frequent rebalancing. Additionally, their volatility can be terrible, which doesn't make them good investments for those wishing to sleep well at night.

This leads to my third point: Look for funds with low to moderate risk. Equity funds that focus on only a handful of names or bet big on a few sectors can be quite volatile, and managers who are willing to buy a stock no matter how expensive can build a lot of price risk into a portfolio. On the bond side, managers who make big interest rate bets can make the ride bumpier, and some bond managers are willing to dabble in lower-quality bonds, which can open up a fund to credit risk.

Finally, don't forget to check on things such as manager tenure and expenses. As usual, you should look for funds that don't charge above-average costs, and funds that have had the same manager or management team for many years running. Low-cost funds are ideal for this situation because they have an advantage that will work year in and year out. And management consistency makes it more likely that your fund's style will be predictable over the long term.

I looked at the funds we cover here at Morningstar for some examples that meet the criteria I've listed above. Here are a few suggestions of great funds (and fund shops) that shouldn't cause you much worry - even if you can't check up on them on a regular basis.

Dodge & Cox: This venerable shop may offer only four funds, but they're all pretty darn appealing. Both its stock and bond funds have excellent records and limited volatility. The international fund is new, but it's off to a good start. All the managers at Dodge & Cox follow a value-focused approach that hasn't changed in many years.

American: Several American funds, including EuroPacific Growth, Capital Income Builder and Washington Mutual, are Fund Analyst Picks. The American funds use a multimanager system (each manager runs a portion of assets independently), which helps promote portfolio diversification and management continuity. (Even if one manager leaves or retires, there are always several others running things as they always have.) A talented analyst staff and low costs add to the firm's appeal. One caveat: The firm's bond offerings haven't been great.

Vanguard: When it comes to index offerings, Vanguard is hard to beat. (Many of their actively managed funds are very good, too.) The index funds at Vanguard are incredibly cheap, and they're overseen by Gus Sauter, who has done a superb job. Of special note are Vanguard Total Stock Market, which offers investors a one-stop option for equity investing, and Vanguard Tax-Managed Balanced, which invests in both stocks and bonds with an eye toward tax efficiency. Not every fund in Vanguard's lineup is great, but few are terrible.

T. Rowe Price: T. Rowe Price offers funds for just about every style, both equity and bond, and they are generally reasonably priced. One particularly appealing option for a core holding is T. Rowe Price Balanced, which offers straightforward large-cap stock exposure and a plain-vanilla bond portfolio in one package. Many of T. Rowe's small- and mid-cap funds are also straightforward and decent. (A smaller-cap fund can add diversification to a portfolio.) Because T. Rowe funds don't employ the same team-focused management system as the American and Dodge & Cox shops do, there will be a little more management turnover here.

Even if you're not going into the Peace Corps, the points discussed here can be very worthwhile. Core holdings should never cause you too much worry. Consistency, solid returns and limited volatility are nice whether you check on your funds every day or every three months.