A Proposal - Step 2

The purpose of this proposal is to suggest an investment approach to get people on the right path for retirement. As pointed out in the last post we are now responsible for our own retirement. Unfortunately many people shy away from investing even when they have access to good 401(k)s simply because they don't know how to manage money or the basics of investing. Sadly, real world knowledge such as this isn't typically taught in school.

As pointed out in the last post, investing, if taught at all, is  presented as an exercise in analyzing individual stocks and picking stocks to trade. This plays into the hands of Wall Street but is not helpful for the long term investor looking at a 401(k) facing a multitude of mutual Funds or ETFs to invest in on an ongoing basis.

So, Step 1 was straightforward - seek the so-called "retirement date Fund" to start with. Go with a retirement date fund until your assets build to a level where it could make sense to use individual Funds. So for example, if your expected retirement date is 2040 (this isn't something to get hung up on, just pick a date where you are near your mid 60s in age) and you are employed by the government and therefore participate in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) select their "Lifecycle Fund" L2040. If Fidelity is your 401(k) provider choose their Freedom 2040 Freedom Fund with the ticker symbol FFFFX. If Schwab is your plan provider pick the Schwab target Fund with the ticker symbol SWERX.

If you can't find the Fund in your 401(k) corresponding to a retirement date Fund ask your human resources department where it is and how you sign up for it.

Once you have picked a Fund allocate at least 10% of your gross income to the Fund and the contribution will be made out of every paycheck and allocated in an appropriate manner. Finally, forget about it. Spend your time building your job skills, having fun with your family and doing other important stuff.

You could go with this throughout your work career. I suggest however that once your account nears 6 figures you think about investing in individual Funds. This is step 2. Typically you'll go with step 2 for at least a couple of decades and by investing in individual Funds you'll lower the cost. It may not seem like a lot but over a number of years the cost savings can be meaningful.

To begin with just focus on index funds. These funds match a particular part of the market. They are not actively traded in an effort to beat the market. Research shows that trying to beat the market is a futile effort. Upwards of 80% of managers who try to beat the market over the long term fail.

Secondly, decide on an asset allocation. There are a number of ways to do this and the critical steps are to consider your investment horizon, your goals, and your tolerance for volatility. At this point you have some experience under your belt and realize that the market can be pretty volatile over the short run but that sticking with an investment approach as you did with the target date Fund pays off.
In terms of investment horizon age is most important. If, for example, you are 40 years old then your nest egg funds won't start to be drawn down for 25 years and will be drawn down for a number of years after that. This suggests a fairly decent percentage invested in stocks with a realization again that the greater the stock exposure the greater the volatility.

So, just as an example, a forty year old could consider a 70% stock/30% bond allocation as a baseline. If a goal is to leave assets to heirs or take a shot at retiring early the percentage in stocks could be raised. On the other hand if the goal is to be absolutely sure of retirement in your early 60s you could lower the percentage in stocks.

Thinking through goals and desired lifestyles are important. Always keep in mind that the more you save today the more choices you will have down the road. The more you save the more your future self will appreciate your today self!

The next post will give a bit more detail on Step 2 and lead into the final step.