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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The end of the 2011 is nearly here, and that means many of us have started setting our financial goals for 2012. Included in your 2012 goals should be getting the most out of your 401(k), and to help work towards that goal, I offer up eight dos and don’ts.

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Photo Credit renaissancechambara

December 2,2011, marked the ten-year anniversary of Enron declaring bankruptcy.

Enron, you might remember, was a Houston based energy company that had a historic fall from grace. There are many lessons to be learned from the Enron collapse, but one important lesson is the importance of diversification.

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The following is a guest post from James Garvin, the co-Founder of FiGuide.com.

Preparing for retirement can seem like an uphill battle, especially if you didn’t start early. Sue Bradley, a subscriber to the FiGuide.com daily retirement tips, recently sent an email asking for advice. In her mid-forties, Sue felt she wasn’t adequately prepared for retirement and wanted to know what she should do.

According to Lon Jefferies, a contributing financial advisor at FiGuide, she isn’t alone. In fact, according to a survey conducted by Deloitte and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, 82 percent of people with 401k plans aren’t properly prepared for retirement.

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Basing your 401(k) decisions on what everyone else is doing may be the easiest and most convenient route to take, but is a good choice for your retirement plan?

In his latest submission to the U.S. News & World Report Smarter Investor blog series, CEO Scott Holsopple explains why following the beaten path is a flawed practice when it comes to retirement investing and find out what steps should be taken to create a retirement plan that best suits you.

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You can feel it in the cooling of the air and see it in the decline of Sunday yard work, football season is here. And with football season comes, the increasingly popular, fantasy football. While preparing for this years’ fantasy football season, I couldn’t help but notice some of the same general strategies vital to fantasy football success can be used as a guide to creating an effective basic investment strategy for your 401(k).

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Growing up, my summers were filled with the usual stuff to keep kids busy: camps, sports and just about every outdoor activity imaginable. But one activity piqued my interest above everything else –  card collecting.

Collecting cards began as a fun, seasonal hobby with my friends. We enjoyed opening the packs, arguing about who had the “coolest” cards, and “talking shop” with the card shop owner.

But as I got a little older I soon realized that collecting cards can be more than just a hobby, it can also be a great way to earn some extra bucks (hello new bike). The trips to the card shop soon turned into missions to find cards with the highest value.

Entering the retirement investing world, I now realize that there are many parallels when it comes to collecting cards and investing for retirement.

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During these last few weeks of market instability I have heard one question from investors more frequently than any other, “The market seems to being doing badly, should I move to cash until things get better? “

While the response depends on the particular investor, the answer is usually, “no.”*

It is human nature to want to avoid short-term discomfort, even when we know it may cause greater pain down the road. There are many cases when people look to ease their current burdens, not thinking of the problems it may cause in the future.  As investors we are sometimes tempted to act this way during periods of high market volatility or market downturns.

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Volatile times in the market can be a cause of concern and questions for investors. But if market slides are causing a rise in your blood pressure and a decline in your sleep, it may be time to reassess what kind of investor you are. One important step for any investor is to find their comfort zone. That way, when the market enters an unstable time, you can rest easy knowing you have planned your investments to match your attitude toward the market.

To find your comfort zone, there are two important terms to know:  risk tolerance and asset allocation. Having an understanding of these two investing concepts can go a long ways in determining what kind of investor you.

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In the headlines

A look at some of the market movers from the week:

• Congress passed a debt-ceiling increase that allowed the U.S. to avoid defaulting on its debt
• Both Barclays and Pfizer beat expectations as profit fell
• Toyota surprised analysts with a stronger-than-expected profit forecast
• Moody’s and Fitch affirmed the U.S.’s AAA credit rating, but warned of the continued potential for downgrades

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