The Dow Jones Industrials (^DJI 0.67%) and the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.87%) have hit new highs, but many worry a correction is long overdue. How can you protect yourself against a market downturn?

In this following video, Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool's director of investment planning, gives three tips for those worried about their portfolios and a possible correction. Dan first suggests assessing your risk, especially if you haven't made any adjustments to your portfolio in recent years. Next, if your risk isn't where you want it to be, look at rebalancing to get your asset allocation in line. Finally, look at individual stock holdings to determine if you have particularly risky stocks and not enough conservative stocks. If you follow those three rules, you'll be in much better shape to preserve your hard-earned money.