"Jon" <jonworth[at]yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1139497511.787413.311250[at]f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
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In general, no. You're already too aggressive for a retirement fund, by my
way of thinking, unless you have some sort of vested pension.

More specifically, I'm no fan of the Growth Fund of America. It's
gutwrenchingly volatile, but, then again, I'm no fan of growth funds in
401K's anyway. Whatever floats your boat. I do like FDIVX. I don't know what
Fidelity MIP is, but please tell me you're not holding municipals in a
tax-advantaged account. Dodge and Cox is a gold standard -- if your 401K
lets you get into DODGX, I'd get into that as well, and fast.

I think I could be pretty
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It;s probably better to go with a less agressive posture and not have to try
and guess the market. Like I said above, if you can get into DODGX, I'd
split the 45% between the two, and if you can add in an emerging markets
fund somehow (they're hard to find, even using mutual fund windows, I know)
that would improve diversification.

Mike

"Bucky" <uw_badgers[at]email.com> wrote in message
news:1139520726.031711.208170[at]g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
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WE DISAGREE. PUT ALL YOUR MONEY IN COMPANY STOCK!!!

Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling

:-)



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Thanks so much for the info and the link...I will look at it tonight.

Thank you all for your help! I really appreciate your words of wisdom.
I can see that I have a lot to learn...this is a great place to start.
Cheers...
--Jon

Jon wrote:
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Your current allocation looks fine at a glance. Make sure you check the
expense ratios on all your funds to make sure you're not getting ripped
off. Also, most experts suggest not holding your own company (or any
one company) stock in 401K. You only have 2%, so that's not a big deal.
But I would stop contributing to it.

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Yes, you should review your allocations at least once a year to see how
market fluctuations have changed the allocation amounts.

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No, that's backwards. If your aggressive strategy has been taking hit
(stocks have gone down), and you go more conservative (sell those
stocks), then you're buying high and selling low. You'll miss out when
those stocks bounce back. Rebalancing usually means to cut back on the
funds that have outperformed the market.

"Jon" <jonworth[at]yahoo.com> wrote
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I'm not sure I'm understanding your motivation here correctly. Generally
speaking, never chase returns. That's a fool's game. But definitely
re-balance to maintain the asset allocation you believe is appropriate for
your risk level and age. So if, say, your small caps allocation has gone
from 15% to 25% over a year's time, sell off some of that small cap
allocation to bring it back to 15% (or whatever your current allocation goal
is) of your portfolio.

Second, I can't tell exactly how you're prioritizing your retirement saving,
but the general rule of thumb is:
(a) contribute to 401(k) up to employer's match
(b) contribute to Roth IRA to max
(c) resume contributions to 401(k)
Ask if you don't understand the reasoning behind this rule of thumb.

Third, it sounds like you want some ideas on portfolio allocation. May I
suggest experimenting with the free online allocation tools listed at
http://home.earthlink.net/~elle_navorski/id4.html ? It may take a few hours
a weekend for several weekends for a lot of the ideas they present to sink
in. But given your time horizon, these are hours well spent.

age 36, with 27k is not bad. Especially with 12% contribution. Add a
Roth IRA and your situation will improve with time. It could be
worse: some people (see other threads) are older with less, or older
with only slightly more.

If you choose to be aggressive, you need to make your decisions
"mechanical", implying if this, then this. If you make decisions on
emotion you might sell at the bottom and buy on the top.

what I see in your allocation is one fund is twice as much as another,
and then that fund is twice as much as another... is their any logic to
this?

Most people need 3-6 funds (see * for categories frequently found in
most investors portfolios):
*Large Cap
Mid Cap
*Small Cap
*International
Bond-US

optional:
bond-international
international large cap
international small cap
growth and value in each category

I use a fund mix which includes Large Cap Value, Mid Cap Value, Mid
Cap Growth, Small Cap Growth, International Small Cap, International
Large Cap Value and International Bond. There is also two index funds
which are in use which overlap these (401k and Roth IRA for me have
overlap of assets).

Hi folks, despite the fact that some of the discussions are a bit over
this newbie's head I really enjoy this forum and appreciate the sharing
of knowledge. I have a couple of questions:

1) I am wondering if I should adjust my 401k allocation. I am 36,
contributing 12% of my pay, and using a "growth"-type model.
Unfortunately I am a latecomer to saving for retirement, with only $27k
in my account thus far (although I do plan to increase this witholding
closer to 20% and just set up a Roth IRA). Here are my allocations:

45% AF GROWTH OF AMER R5
25% FID DIVERSIFIED INTL
17% FIDELITY MIP II CL 3
8% DODGE & COX INCOME
2% COMPANY STOCK FUND
1.5% TRP SM CAP STOCK
1.5% SPARTAN US EQ INDEX

As I probably won't retire for at least another 30 years, should I
should be more aggressive with these? I think I could be pretty
tolerant of fluctuations in the market, although having said that...

2) ...would it be smart to periodically tweak my allocations in
response to said market fluctuations? IOW, if an aggressive 401k
strategy is taking a hit, go more conservative, and vice versa?

Thanks in advance for any wisdom anyone can share on this!
--Jon