In 1997, former magazine editor Dawn Greene, 48, turned her worst nightmare into an opportunity. Although doctors only gave her a 30% chance of survival from a botched fibroid surgery, after a six-month-long hospital stay--three months in a coma--she emerged determined to reclaim her health while securing her financial well-being.

After withdrawing all the money that she amassed through her former employer's 401(k) and profit-sharing plans to pay for living expenses, Greene, who has two college-aged children, realized that she needed financial guidance to safeguard approximately $400,000 (part of the judgment she was awarded from a medical malpractice suit) she decided to invest. "I wanted to preserve my capital because I didn't know how long I would be able to physically work after the accident," she says. "Also, I wanted to invest for my children so that when I leave this world, they will be provided for."

Working with Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor William Betts in New York City, Greene is taking gradual steps to regain solid financial footing, even as she slowly relearns basic physical functions and adjusts to her limitations. "Dawn came to me not understanding the ins and outs of investing," explains Betts, who fashions a conservative investment philosophy emphasizing asset allocation, wealth preservation, and retirement/estate planning for his clients. Greene's portfolio consists of 45% fixed income, 30% equity, and 25% cash, using a laddered investment model that invests heavily in Certificates of Deposit (CDs) that mature at different times.

"When each CD matures she has the option of renewing the same CD or allocating the funds elsewhere," Betts explains. The CDs in Greene's portfolio provide an average yield of 2.87%. "The portfolio will provide her with income while ensuring that she can cash out if she needs to," he says.