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Need help w/ my 401k Options

Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 11:34 pm
by vital
Need some help in which option to contribute to. Have ~60k rolled over from Vanguard to Fidelity.
My current company's 401k plan is managed through Fidelity but why is there Vanguard Target retirement funds as options? Is there a way to opt for the Three-fund portfolio w/ my 401k and choose a total U. S. stock market index fund, a total international stock market index fund, and a total bond market index fund?


Current options:

Stock Investments
CADENCE SMCAP GRWTH
DODGE & COX LG VAL
FISHER SMCAP VALUE
EE STK FUND
PSIP INTERNATIONAL
PSIP LARGE CAP GRTH
SSGA S&P 500 INDEX

Blended Fund Investments
VANGUARD TARGET 2010
VANGUARD TARGET 2015
VANGUARD TARGET 2020
VANGUARD TARGET 2025
VANGUARD TARGET 2030
VANGUARD TARGET 2035
VANGUARD TARGET 2040
VANGUARD TARGET 2045
VANGUARD TARGET 2050
VANGUARD TARGET 2055
VANGUARD TARGET 2060
VANGUARD TARGET RET

Bond Investments
BNY MELLON STABLEVAL
SSGA BOND INDEX

Re: Need help w/ my 401k Options

Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 12:17 am
by umfundi
vital,

I am not sure I exactly understand your question, but: I would choose a target retirement fund with a date ten years later than your actual date.

Keith

Re: Need help w/ my 401k Options

Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 4:00 pm
by Default User BR
Is that all the funds your plan provides? If so, then you can only choose those. You can't buy the constituent pieces of the TR fund unless they are individually offered. If you want a three-fund approach, just figure out which is the closest to your allocation and call it a day.


Brian

Re: Need help w/ my 401k Options

Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 4:34 pm
by Noobvestor
umfundi wrote:vital,

I am not sure I exactly understand your question, but: I would choose a target retirement fund with a date ten years later than your actual date.

Keith
Did you mean ten years earlier? They already skew toward risk by rule-of-thumb reckoning - ten years later would be extremely equity-heavy.

Re: Need help w/ my 401k Options

Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 4:47 pm
by umfundi
Noobvestor wrote:
umfundi wrote:vital,

I am not sure I exactly understand your question, but: I would choose a target retirement fund with a date ten years later than your actual date.

Keith
Did you mean ten years earlier? They already skew toward risk by rule-of-thumb reckoning - ten years later would be extremely equity-heavy.
noob,

You are correct. They are more equity heavy than I thought.

Select the one that closest meets your Asset Allocation, but realize that the AA will shift over time with the glide path of the particular fund.

Keith

Re: Need help w/ my 401k Options

Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 5:01 pm
by slowlrnr
vital wrote:Need some help in which option to contribute to. Have ~60k rolled over from Vanguard to Fidelity.
My current company's 401k plan is managed through Fidelity but why is there Vanguard Target retirement funds as options? Is there a way to opt for the Three-fund portfolio w/ my 401k and choose a total U. S. stock market index fund, a total international stock market index fund, and a total bond market index fund?


Current options:
SSGA S&P 500 INDEX
VANGUARD TARGET 2010
VANGUARD TARGET 2015
VANGUARD TARGET 2020
VANGUARD TARGET 2025
VANGUARD TARGET 2030
VANGUARD TARGET 2035
VANGUARD TARGET 2040
VANGUARD TARGET 2045
VANGUARD TARGET 2050
VANGUARD TARGET 2055
VANGUARD TARGET 2060
VANGUARD TARGET RET
SSGA BOND INDEX
Yes, any Vanguard Target Retirment Fund consists of three funds from a 3 fund portfolio that you want to achieve. So you can choose the target retirment fund according to your retirment age and you would have achieved 3 fund portfolio. But remember, your outside investments also count as your portfolio so ensure that you meet your AA thorugh investing here.

Do the SSGA funds have a ticker or are they internal? They are also very good funds but if I had Target Funds from Vanguard, I would not think twice.

My 2.

Re: Need help w/ my 401k Options

Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 10:39 pm
by Duckie
vital wrote:My current company's 401k plan is managed through Fidelity but why is there Vanguard Target retirement funds as options?
Just because Fidelity manages the plan doesn't mean they choose the plan options. Many plans have a mix of funds from different companies just like yours does (SSgA, Dodge & Cox, Vanguard, BNY Mellon, etc).

Re: Need help w/ my 401k Options

Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 10:21 pm
by vital
I'm 32. Should I contribute 100% to VANGUARD TARGET 2045?

Re: Need help w/ my 401k Options

Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 10:54 pm
by sometimesinvestor
vital wrote:I'm 32. Should I contribute 100% to VANGUARD TARGET 2045?

Thats a good guess but it really depends on how much risk you want to take and thats partly a matter of temprement as it is important to not panic when stocks are going down., For example if you wanted roughly 50% us stocks 20% international and 30% bonds the 2025 fund would be good.
here is a link that can help you decide which fund to pick once you havean idea what your allocation should be.
https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/ ... rementList
The 2045 fund which you may be thinking about would be roughly 63% US stocks, 27% international, and 10% bonds