Search found 22 matches

by Yanksin2013
Tue Jan 07, 2014 10:04 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!
Replies: 20
Views: 3284

Re: Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!

TomOB wrote:Most 401k plans with a self-directed option offer that option alongside a normal menu of 15 to 20 mutual funds.

Is this plan self-directed only? How big is the employer? Somebody is making way too much money on this one.

@tomob
Very small a few participants. I asked for a list of funds yesterday from the FA but he said they didn't have one for this account.
by Yanksin2013
Tue Jan 07, 2014 10:00 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!
Replies: 20
Views: 3284

Re: Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!

mnvalue wrote:I'm in a similar situation with my 401k. Why did you choose 6 months? (I'm not saying it's bad, just asking.) Once a year would mean you'd pay $100/year instead of $200/year. But, it also means you miss out on 6 months of the market with half a year's money.
No real reason I might go once a year I just don't want to leave it sitting in cash for that long.
by Yanksin2013
Mon Jan 06, 2014 8:18 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!
Replies: 20
Views: 3284

Re: Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!

Laura wrote:You might see if the money can be held in a free mutual fund account until you have a large amount to invest them go with your plan of the one fund. I am not sure how you can wait to invest in a 401k since funds usually come out of your paycheck. You may need to contribute the money each paycheck then invest in a lump sum.

Laura
She just started it but all contributions go into a MM account. I thought of letting it build up then in there and buy say every 6 months
by Yanksin2013
Mon Jan 06, 2014 8:07 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!
Replies: 20
Views: 3284

Re: Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!

I definitely might have misunderstood him but I'm sure I can't buy vanguard or fidelity mutual funds with this account . He told me I couldn't plus I tried to run the trade through the online account and was denied. This is not surprising. Well, the Fidelity part is a little surprising, but not Vanguard. The fee is for stocks or ETF's. Ok. The MDLOX doesn't have the 100 fee but it does have a load which they do charge because when we first met with them I was given the argument that this fund with a 1.07 ER + a 5.75 load is better that a fund with a 1.83 ER and no load for long term investors + I was told the fund is tactical and the manager could switch the AA aggressively which sounds scary regardless of a load. Some of there funds waive...
by Yanksin2013
Mon Jan 06, 2014 7:43 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!
Replies: 20
Views: 3284

Re: Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!

BlackRock is the one I would look at. They have a good list of index funds. I know at this point you think that won't work, but I'm thinking you may have misunderstood what they guy said. Many people do not sell Vanguard funds because (or so I've heard) Vanguard won't pay them a little kickback. That might be why they have to charge the $100 - because Vanguard funds are not something they ordinarily sell. However, BlackRock is something they do sell and BlackRock has lots of good stuff. You didn't answer the question about paying $100 for the MDLOX. Does that have the commission or not? I definitely might have misunderstood him but I'm sure I can't buy vanguard or fidelity mutual funds with this account . He told me I couldn't plus I tried...
by Yanksin2013
Mon Jan 06, 2014 7:25 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!
Replies: 20
Views: 3284

Re: Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!

JamesSFO wrote:Why not just move this somewhere else? E.g. Vanguard offers I401K products as does Fidelity and Schwab.
what do you mean? Have her employer change 401K providers? I don't think they would do that
by Yanksin2013
Mon Jan 06, 2014 7:16 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!
Replies: 20
Views: 3284

Re: Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!

That's the problem they don't have a list with a self directed 401K, I think it functions like a brokerage account where you can buy anything. I asked the advisor for one but he said it doesn't work that way. He gave me a list of maybe 15 fund companies, Alliance, American century, American Beacon, Columbia, Black Rock etc. He told me to look through there fund offerings on each individual company website, get the ticker symbols of funds that I was interested in and he will check and see if I'm able to purchase them. Most were active managed funds with high ER's.
by Yanksin2013
Mon Jan 06, 2014 6:22 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!
Replies: 20
Views: 3284

Re: Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!

I don't know if it's a commission or transaction fee. The FA used the word commission. This fee is a minimum and applied to any trade regardless of what ETF or stock is bought. From what I understand they don't have a group of funds to choose from, it's self directed where you are on your own to buy anything you want with the exception of proprietary index funds. I asked for a list of funds that I could buy without a transaction fee but was told they didn't have one. Instead I was given a list of mutual fund companies to research and told to pick a few funds and he would see if the account is able to buy them
by Yanksin2013
Mon Jan 06, 2014 5:17 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!
Replies: 20
Views: 3284

Self-Directed Morgan Stanley 401K-HELP!

My wife's employer recently started a self-directed 401K with Morgan Stanley which she signed up for and I have been put in charge of managing it. She has an IRA with Vanguard in a 3 fund portfolio & initially the idea was to duplicate it in the 401K account. The problem that we are running into is commissions. We are restricted from buying index mutual funds because they are supposedly proprietary. We can buy ETF's but the minimum commission is $100 per trade. She is starting from scratch and only contributing a thousand dollars a month. If she were to invest every month she would be looking at a 10% commission on every trade. My thoughts for a work around were either to 1) let the money build up in a MM account and buy Vanguard etf's ...
by Yanksin2013
Fri Apr 05, 2013 8:23 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Book Review - The 100 Best Stocks to Buy in 2013
Replies: 6
Views: 1477

Re: Book Review - The 100 Best Stocks to Buy in 2013

Isn't owning the "mediocre" companies the main argument towards value tilting. That the "best" companies tend to be over priced and thus under perform because too many investors follow the advice set forth in this book.
by Yanksin2013
Fri Mar 22, 2013 2:19 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is Betterment a good spot for a low income beginner?
Replies: 27
Views: 8401

Re: Is Betterment a good spot for a low income beginner?

I havn't used it but there is an article from long term returns that goes over pros & cons compared to VG life Strategy. Here is the link http://www.longtermreturns.com/2012/03/ ... ategy.html
by Yanksin2013
Fri Mar 22, 2013 1:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How Much Cash do I Need to Retire?
Replies: 38
Views: 6705

Re: How Much Cash do I Need to Retire?

I would think about 5 million not including SS if the cash and treasuries were able to keep pace with inflation. 4% SWR assumes some growth & cash would likely not even keep up with inflation
by Yanksin2013
Fri Mar 01, 2013 12:54 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Active vs. passive debate question (Hedge Funds)
Replies: 38
Views: 3411

Re: Active vs. passive debate question (Hedge Funds)

Not all but for some of them the use of non public information
by Yanksin2013
Wed Feb 20, 2013 4:27 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Thinking of switching from VG 2040 to this AA, Good idea?
Replies: 14
Views: 2018

Re: Thinking of switching from VG 2040 to this AA, Good idea

Kevin M wrote:Somewhat moot since you've already pulled the trigger, but here is my attempt to summarize the debate regarding the total market approach vs. the slice and dice approach: Lumpers vs. Splitters.

Kevin
Yup the splitter argument is what caused the change.
by Yanksin2013
Wed Feb 20, 2013 4:11 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Thinking of switching from VG 2040 to this AA, Good idea?
Replies: 14
Views: 2018

Re: Thinking of switching from VG 2040 to this AA, Good idea

I think you can simplify by starting with the Total Stock Market and overweighting small and value. In other words, forget about the large value tilt. Instead, do something like this: VTSMX-20%--Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund VISVX-20%--Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Fund VGSIX-10%--Vanguard REIT Index Fund VBMFX-10%--Vanguard Total Bond Index Fund VGTSX-20%--Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund VSS-20%--Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Small-Cap ETF This is 50/50 large/small, 50/50 blend/value, and 50/50 domestic/intl on the equity side (if you exclude the REITs). Well that looks a lot cleaner than what I did. I didn't have the courage to evenly weight TSM both US and intl with a small/value tilt. I tried to do roughly two p...
by Yanksin2013
Wed Feb 20, 2013 3:25 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Thinking of switching from VG 2040 to this AA, Good idea?
Replies: 14
Views: 2018

Re: Thinking of switching from VG 2040 to this AA, Good idea

Your portfolio is similar to mine (although I overweight emerging markets as well). You need to recognize that you are taking an extra risk by overweighting small-cap and value; you may be rewarded for that risk, but if you don't want to take the extra risk, you might use a slice-and-dice portfolio which is 80% stock to replace your total-market portfolio which is 90% stock. Also, you listed VGSIX (REIT Index) next to VBMFX (Total Bond Market Index), as if they were in one asset class. As long as you recognize that REITs are as risky as other stocks, they are a good investment, but they should be counted as part of your stock allocation. Thanks for responding, Not quite 80 but 86%. I'm following the Vanguard 2035 Stock/Bond AA. I consider ...
by Yanksin2013
Wed Feb 20, 2013 3:22 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Thinking of switching from VG 2040 to this AA, Good idea?
Replies: 14
Views: 2018

Re: Thinking of switching from VG 2040 to this AA, Good idea

For those who haven't memorized the ticker symbols: VTSMX-20%--Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund VIVAX-10%--Vanguard Value Index Fund VISVX-10%--Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Fund VGSIX-10%--Vanguard REIT Index Fund VBMFX-10%--Vanguard Total Bond Index Fund VGTSX-20%--Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund VTRIX-10%--Vanguard International Value Fund VSS-10%--Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Small-Cap ETF 1) I don't understand why VSS, the ETF, rather than VFSVX, the Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Small-Cap mutual fund. Nothing wrong with it but since all your other components are mutual funds, why not this one, too? 2) I trust you are aware that the Vanguard International Value Fund is not an index fund . Vanguard's description s...
by Yanksin2013
Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:49 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: One of Jim Cramer's Cardinal Rules of investing
Replies: 5
Views: 1103

Re: One of Jim Cramer's Cardinal Rules of investing

sometimesinvestor wrote:To be fair to Cramer the quote is a bit out of context and the bulk of the article emphasizes not worrying about the short term.
You are correct I just find it funny that anyone would ever consider that a "cardinal rule"
by Yanksin2013
Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:31 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: One of Jim Cramer's Cardinal Rules of investing
Replies: 5
Views: 1103

One of Jim Cramer's Cardinal Rules of investing

I just read this article by Cramer on MSN and one quote in particular made me laugh. Just wanted to share "We own it for ActionAlertsPlus -- and here I was, so excited about the coming break-up into the fast -growing Fox entertainment properties and the slower-growing publishing enterprise, that I neglected to look at the near-term.
What a doofus I was. What a terrible mistake. I was kicking myself for thinking long-term when the game was all about short-term performance. I should have worn a Newscorp Post-It note on my forehead to show how I had forgotten the cardinal rule of investing: Never invest for the long-term." http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post.as ... 94220bd81f
by Yanksin2013
Sat Feb 02, 2013 9:16 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much do you expect your kids to pay for college?
Replies: 237
Views: 36896

Re: How much do you expect your kids to pay for college?

I graduated college in 2011. I worked about 20 hours a week while in school, plus around 5 hours a week of volunteering and graduated with a respectable, if not spectacular GPA. I've had no trouble finding a job since. I worked on campus jobs while in school, which meant I got experience in a professional office setting, rather than working retail, etc. (not that there's anything wrong w/that, just a different skill set). Personally, I think it'd be doing your kids a disservice not to expect them to work. The friends I had in college who didn't work while we were in school have really struggled to get a job since graduating. When you're hired for your first job out of college, your GPA (depending on major of course) probably matters for ma...
by Yanksin2013
Sat Feb 02, 2013 8:44 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Thinking of switching from VG 2040 to this AA, Good idea?
Replies: 14
Views: 2018

Re: Thinking of switching from VG 2040 to this AA, Good idea

Thanks for the responses, I went ahead and pulled the trigger yesterday and added a reit US SV US LV emerging and International small value. No idea if it's going to work out better than a three fund approach I guess I'll get the answer in 30 years but I did it on a small enough scale that it hopefully won't cause any major damage
by Yanksin2013
Thu Jan 31, 2013 1:46 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Thinking of switching from VG 2040 to this AA, Good idea?
Replies: 14
Views: 2018

Thinking of switching from VG 2040 to this AA, Good idea?

I currently have all of my retirement funds in the 2040 vanguard target date fund, I was thinking of switching it to the following
VTSMX-20%
VIVAX-10%
VISVX-10%

VGSIX-10%
VBMFX-10%

VGTSX-20%
VTRIX-10%
VSS-10%

I'm 40 yeras old roughly 25-30 years until I plan to retire. I would adjust the Stock/bond allocation roughly in line with the target dated funds as I get older. I'm not that experienced an investor and this AA comes from several books I have read recently. My question is does this Mix give me better odds of higher return with the value tilt and the addition of the REIT? Does it substatially increase my risk? Does anyone have suggestions for improvement? Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you