"401k" picking a good mutual fund? { HELP!!! }?

Question

1-fund through " insurance / investment company---2-funds have no ticker symbols to check 3-have fund fact sheet with some information 4-what should i look for? 5-any help ? THANK YOU

Answer 1

Typically insurance companies contract with mutual funds to have them sub-advise those funds. Essentially they pay them to manage the fund (at a lower expense ratio then the fund charges) exactly the same way they would manage the regular fund but the insurance company then rebrands(renames) the fund to something else. The fact sheet should tell you what you need to know.

For example: John Hancock (a major insurance provider) sells a fund called the Mid Cap Value Fund. It looks as if it's a Hancock Fund; the John Hancock Funds II - Mid Cap Value Fund. But there's no ticker. It's subadvised by Lord, Abbett & Co. Even the Hancock prospectus says it's managed in a style similar to Lord Abbett Mid-Cap Value Fund. The Portfolio managers are even the same....it's basically the same fund.

So, if you see how it's sub-advised by you can see the actual fund you can track. Performance won't be exact as the insurance company tacks on their own fees but you'll get the gist.

Now you can make educated decisions about the funds!

Answer 2

1- that just means your employer has asked an insurer or whoever to do the recordkeeping and enrolling and maintenance of the plan.

2- They should have names that you could look up in something like Yahoo! Finance. If it says American Funds Europacific R4 that's enough to find out what it is in Yahoo! Finance.

3- That's good, that will tell you all about the funds and how they've performed in the past and trends and annualized returns and things.

4- That's a really hard question. There's a lot to consider. If you're more conservative you could stick to more guaranteed type funds (bond funds, guaranteed account, stable value, money market), you could stick to equities (things that aren't guaranteed). I suggest a nice mix. I like to have funds with lower expenses (from your informational sheets they should list expenses) and decent returns (on the order of 8%). If you can do better, that's nice, but there's more risk involved in going for the higher return so beware.

5- Remember to stay in it for the "long haul" there are good days and bad days. Don't worry about bad days and remember that good days will come. Also, I'd be happy if I were you (and I do this too) to put my money in an S&P 500 index or something similar. These are made to follow the S&P 500 which historically has gained about 8% every year even through all the bad times and is a great performer to most any other fund, or area of the markets. Lastly, good luck, you can know all the tricks and still lose, you could guess blindly and win big, I hope it goes well for you.

Answer 3

Here is one thing to keep in mind about the Roth IRA account. There is never any tax on it where as there is on your 401k. This becomes important when considering your asset mix. Income producing investments are taxed at the full tax rate as will be your 401k. Hence it makes sense to invest at least some of your 401k in income producing assets--bonds, LPs, REITs. The income from each of those is taxed at the full tax rate anyway. Now since the Roth IRA is never taxed, it also makes sense to put those types of assets into the Roth IRA also. And also equity investments. What you neglected to mention are investments outside of these two vehicles. If you have some, they should be investments that would be taxed at the capital gains rate--equity investments. Actually, unless you are in the highest tax bracket it makes sense to have a portion of your equity investments outside of a 401k. By doing so your total tax bill will be decreased, especially if you are a long term investor. If you have the least hankering to invest some of your money in gold and silver those absolutely should be within a Roth IRA. Both are taxed as collectibles otherwise. Another thing to consider in regard to the 401k is that in future years the tax rate might actually be higher, perhaps much higher, than it currently is. Since you really have no choice of placing non-mutual fund investments within a 401k except for perhaps company stock, it certainly does make sense to invest Roth IRA money in company stocks rather than mutual funds. But be careful. It is very tempting for many to speculate with their Roth IRA account especially short term trading which otherwise would be taxed at the full tax rate. That would be a good way to reduce that value of the Roth account. Be just a little cautious. Invest in the likes of MCD, WMT, JNJ, BDX, KO, etc. Or maybe ETP with its 8% dividend or PAA with its 7.5% dividend. And do not invest it in fewer than 5 different companies.

Answer 4

Look for a " balanced" or "blended" fund for the majority of your investment...It will probably hold stocks and bonds...probably be called "regular" or "lifetime" or "balanced/blended"...
Unless your 50 or over, forget the clear-cut bond fund....you're sacrificing "safety" for dismal returns...
If there's something called growth... it is probably worth 10% of your investment...
Also put 10% into something "global" or "international"
Just watch your quarterly reports closely.... if you think you're too conservative in 9 months or a year, you can change-up a little
Some plans let you direct your contributions into certain funds( some are spread equally) if you CAN direct your contributions...choose your " winner" for awhile
And never be shy about making moves....it's YOUR money and they are getting PAID to help you make it grow.
If you're 30/33 or under....make those 10% funds (above) into 15% or even 20%
Good luck