Smart401k Blog

This post is part of Smart401k CEO Scott Holsopple’s contribution to the U.S. News & World Report Smarter Investor blog series. To view the original article, click here. Original post date April 24, 2012.

If you haven’t already, you may soon notice some investing options from a newer asset class in your 401(k) plan.

Real estate investments are gaining popularity as an employer-sponsored plan offering. So where do they fit into a well-diversified retirement investing strategy?

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It seems like every talking head in the financial world has an opinion about annuities. They’re the best or the worst or too complicated or just perfect. The whole thing can be confusing for people trying to make good financial planning decisions.

So what’s all the fuss about?

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In a recent discussion I had with some friends, someone asked, “Which has the greatest return – an IRA, a Roth IRA, a 401(k) or a Roth 401(k)?”

I’m happy to know my friends are taking a more active role in retirement planning, but this particular question doesn’t have an answer. And here’s why:

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The following is a guest post from Michelle Blake. See more about Michelle at the bottom.

A lady’s handbag is her life’s catch-all. It completes her outfit – it’s fashionable and, for some, a necessity. And while she rocks the latest trend, it’s possible her investment portfolio is so yesterday.

When this savvy (and well-dressed) woman views her retirement savings like her handbag collection, market capitalization could become a favorite go-to.

Market capitalization is a crème-de-la-crème stylist for investors and a coveted tool of the financial industry because it

• calculates each company’s financial size and presence within the marketplace and
• classifies companies into investment classes, or groups, commonly called caps.   (more…)

I’m petrified to fly. When I was younger I loved it, but my neurotic personality mixed with a bad flying experience have snowballed into a full-scale phobia. I know it’s not rational, so I overcome it. And here I sit at 25,000 feet.

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We don’t like to see retirement investors jump from one investment to the next to the next. It’s not a good practice for retirement investing because (1) it increases risk and (2) there could be fees associated with frequent trading in retirement accounts. On the other hand, there are times that it’s OK to say ‘farewell’ to an investment.

There’s a term from the world of finance and investing called the sunk cost fallacy. Lots of us will deal with it at some point.  (more…)

What can shopping for pants teach us about retirement investing? While this may sound like a silly question, it can teach us more than you might think. Allow me to explain.

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We’ve heard from an increasing number of people who are asking ‘what’s the deal with target-date funds?’

This newer category of mutual funds has popped up as a popular topic in the news and the blogosphere during the past couple years. (They’re also called lifecycle funds and retirement date funds.)

Are you wondering whether target-date funds are right for you? (more…)

Recent years have been bumpy for the market, and following a long-term strategy has helped lots of folks stay even-keeled and wisely invested – including me. It wasn’t always easy to watch the market’s ups and downs. But I’ll keep doing what I’m supposed to do so I can stay on track with my retirement strategy.

So what did I do right? There are five basic things I’m thankful I did.

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