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bam thwok posted:The fees will not be more than 15%, which is the discount, and you usually have to hold for like 6 months, so it won't exactly be a weekly churn. for my ESPP I can sell as soon as the purchase goes through, it's always March and October, I just assumed that with the market on the up I was better off holding them a year to get the 15% long term cap gains rate but it sounds like from what you're saying I'm being too risky even with that. I think there may be a hold period that BNY Mellon imposes on how long I have to wait before I can transfer the stock directly into another account (to avoid paying taxes during the transfer I'd presume?) otherwise I'd just have to sell it, figure out how I'm going to account for the taxes, and then put the money in something else? So I did some digging in regards to my Hewitt 401k, actually ended up giving Hewitt a call to ask some questions. I found out my MER, I guess I was never aware of it before because it's rolled into the plan so I've never really seen this number as far as I can recall.... the Hewitt site directed me to a Lipper site that shows some ratings info, fees, risks, etc. really helpful visualizations. It looks like the expense ratio for the premixed funds (conservative, moderate, and aggressive) is 0.11, the operating expenses are .08, and administrative expenses are .03... for the profit sharing fund (which it turns out is not in Nike stock) the expense ratio is .19 with an operating expense of .18. I also asked the Hewitt representative if there were any other funds/indexes available that I could move into because I believe I'd heard there were other funds available a while ago and it turns out there's a PCRA offered through Schwab for an additional fee. info here: http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/investing/accounts_products/accounts/pcra I requested an PCRA Enrollment Kit be sent to me so I'll take a look at that when I get it and see if I shouldn't be using that rather than the premixed funds available through Hewitt. Hopefully I'm making sense in all of this rambling, still trying to get the terminology figured out. I already feel about 1000% more informed than I was before looking into this so hopefully you guys just help me better enjoy my retirement. 
MMD3 fucked around with this message at 00:30 on May 16, 2012 |
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May 15, 2012 22:27
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this is a summary page of the profit sharing plan that I turned up.
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May 15, 2012 22:29
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did I kill this thread? 
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May 17, 2012 23:33
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Nobody wants to admit that you're actually making a killing with company stock, despite all conventional wisdom to the contrary. Seriously though, sell and diversify.
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May 18, 2012 00:10
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An expense ratio of .18% is actually pretty decent. You can typically get better on a basic index fund, but a lot of people on here have 401(k)s with funds where all the options have ERs above 1%, sometimes over 2%.
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May 18, 2012 01:33
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Hi folks, I am 36 years old and about to finally get a start on my retirement savings. I'm planning on doing it through my HSA, which has about $15,000 in it. (I am in very good health and plan to leave more than enough cash in the account to cover my out-of-pocket maximum.) My basic plan is to put $3000 into 3 different funds over the next 6 months or so: one US stock fund, one US bond fund and one overseas stock fund. I want to make one of them a more aggressive choice (ie a small-cap stock fund, a higher-yield bond fund or an emerging market stock fund). My bank (Bancorp) offers $25.99 trades, with a discount to $5.99 for a fairly long list of funds-- most of which have high enough expense ratios that paying the extra $20 would be worth it. Any comments on this plan? And does anyone know of any tools of the following sorts online? - An online search for mutual funds from different companies with good expense ratios - A guide to the P/E ratios of various international indices (STOXX 50, DAX, etc.) I spent much of this afternoon looking for something of this sort, without any luck.
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May 18, 2012 03:14
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Getting back to Expense Ratio talk, I'm looking at contribution options beyond my matched 401k for the moment, and opened a Roth IRA account at ETrade. Thinking about putting growth/dividend stocks here for me to play with, and getting a brokerage account to put the large portion of "safe" long-term money in. My current 401k is at Fidelity, and I have access to Vanguard as well though my old 401k. So I want to have that buy-and-hold base be S&P index funds to start with, and as I see it, these are the options, I am an investing NUB, please correct me if I'm wrong: 1) Vanguard Institutional Index Fund Institutional Shares (VINIX) ER: 0.04% - The fact that this is offered as part of my 401k should make me look here after I max my company match and Roth IRA, right? I'd think the tax-deferred status of the investments alone would outweigh the benefits of any other options. The description says it tracks the S&P 500, but then how's it different from VFINX? Is the idea that VINIX is only available to large institutions? That ER seems too low, especially for a mutual fund vs. an ETF. 2) Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares (VFINX) ER: 0.17% - The ER seems way higher, why is that? As far as I can tell, this is not that great an option unless you think commission on ETFs is going to eat into your investments, so you want to go with a mutual fund instead, and also don't have access to the VINIX? 3) Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) ER: 0.06% - I guess it hasn't been around for as much time as the SPY ETF, but it's Vanguard's main ETF offering. The ER is way low, and as a previous post in this thread mentioned, you can get it commission-free. They also mentioned something about a $20 annual fee if you have less than $50k with them is that an account restriction of their brokerage accounts? In any case, this seems superior to SPY if you can get it, since the lower ER and no commission seems like it'd save way more than $20 per year. 4) SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) ER: 0.10% Expense ratio is 0.10% Well-established Index ETF, would be paying regular brokerage fees of $8 per trade at ETrade, I guess, which could cut into frequent small contributions. The spread of options for straight-up S&P Index Funds seems sort of daunting. It seems like the best idea is to just buy whichever one I have the best purchasing position on (401k, commission-free), since they're not too different. Am I missing something?
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May 18, 2012 15:05
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spankminister posted:Getting back to Expense Ratio talk, I'm looking at contribution options beyond my matched 401k for the moment, and opened a Roth IRA account at ETrade. Thinking about putting growth/dividend stocks here for me to play with, and getting a brokerage account to put the large portion of "safe" long-term money in. My current 401k is at Fidelity, and I have access to Vanguard as well though my old 401k. From your link the minimum initial investment in VINIX is $5m so your intuition was correct. VFINX is the alternative for normal people.
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May 18, 2012 15:09
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Spitball Trough posted:I am 36 years old and about to finally get a start on my retirement savings. Eh...I thought the money you put into a HSA has to be used for medical expenses exclusively - right?
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May 18, 2012 15:21
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EugeneJ posted:Eh...I thought the money you put into a HSA has to be used for medical expenses exclusively - right? I believe that is FSAs, not HSAs. My insurance plan has an HSA that I contribute pre-tax monies to and I can invest the leftovers, similar to a traditional 401k.
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May 18, 2012 16:20
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bacon! posted:I believe that is FSAs, not HSAs. My insurance plan has an HSA that I contribute pre-tax monies to and I can invest the leftovers, similar to a traditional 401k. Yeah, anything that's left in them after retirement is treated like an IRA, and I've been contributing to it in lieu of an IRA.
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May 18, 2012 16:47
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bacon! posted:I believe that is FSAs, not HSAs. My insurance plan has an HSA that I contribute pre-tax monies to and I can invest the leftovers, similar to a traditional 401k. You can *invest* in them like an IRA, but the money that comes out still has to be used for health care expenses.
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May 21, 2012 03:08
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Evil Robot posted:You can *invest* in them like an IRA, but the money that comes out still has to be used for health care expenses. Until you reach 65, then you can take money from it, although it is taxable. Qualified distributions (health care expenses) are still tax free. If you try to take money out before 65 for non-health care reasons there's a penalty tax of 20% on top of your ordinary taxes. Source: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p969/ar02.html#en_US_2011_publink1000204081
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May 21, 2012 04:22
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This is perhaps more medium-term (let's say, 5 years), but it seemed like the best place to ask. I'd like to start saving towards a house, maybe direct depositing a little bit every month. What should I be looking at? Interest rates at banks suck, but there's not much I can do about that.
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May 22, 2012 03:45
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Okay, I debated between putting this in the personal finance thread and this one, but I feel like this is definitely something that falls under long term investing. I am 24, just graduated college, and unemployed. I live at home and my parents are supporting me until I get a job. I'm currently having my references checked so hopefully I'm about to be employed. My plan is to work for a year before I head to graduate school. Once I'm employed I plan to put almost all my extra money into my 401k and Roth IRA as I have very few expenses. Oh, and I have no debt. Now to my question, I have 7k in my savings that is earning literally nothing and I feel like it's just wasting away. I'm considering putting a decent chunk of that into a mutual fund. Maybe something like VTSMX. Would this be a good idea? I just hate the idea of being young and wasting interest on my money while I don't need it. I obviously can't put anything into a Roth IRA or 401k since I'm not employed yet. Any suggestions?
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May 23, 2012 20:37
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Is there any particular reason you want to work just a year and then go back to school?
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May 23, 2012 20:51
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Harry posted:Is there any particular reason you want to work just a year and then go back to school? I really love what I plan to do in school (Immunology and Genetics) and I need a bit more research experience to get into the schools I want to get into.
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May 23, 2012 20:55
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dudemanbudguy posted:Okay, I debated between putting this in the personal finance thread and this one, but I feel like this is definitely something that falls under long term investing. Given the volatile market and the poor returns over the past decade, it would not be wise to buy in to the market unless you're planning on holding for the long-term. $7,000 might seem like a lot to be holding in cash right now but most people should be holding at least that much in their emergency funds. cowofwar fucked around with this message at 21:47 on May 23, 2012 |
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May 23, 2012 21:45
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dudemanbudguy posted:Okay, I debated between putting this in the personal finance thread and this one, but I feel like this is definitely something that falls under long term investing. I'm in a similar situation as you: I'm debt-free (we are lucky motherfuckers, be grateful) and young and currently in grad school (receiving a stipend) and I live very cheaply. And I have a similar amount of money as you. So I'd actually like to get perspectives on this too, actually.
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May 23, 2012 21:52
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cowofwar posted:At this point in your life liquidity is worth the potential loss of a couple points in interest. You have no debt now, but what are you going to do when you need money for car/house/tuition/etc? If you sell any of your market holdings you might end up taking a loss over a 0-10 year period. I just want to chime in that I agree with cowofwar on this one. This is especially true if you do not have much income currently. Keep that money in a very safe place like a FDIC insured bank account or CD until you have some decent income and a reasonable image of where you'll be for the next 5+ years. The reason for this is that you can always have unexpected expenses that pop up, which in your case could force you into selling your investment at an inopportune time, or forcing you to take on debt that you otherwise wouldn't have needed. Taking on debt when you have little to no income can lead to some very messy situations (that is, if you can even manage to get someone to loan you money with no income).
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May 23, 2012 22:06
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Not technically a long term investment for me, but related. I'm going to become an uncle soon, and I'd like to start a college fund for my niece or nephew. What is the right type of investment?
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May 26, 2012 21:46
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Dragyn posted:Not technically a long term investment for me, but related. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/529_plan It is very much a long term investment, just treat it like you would any tax exempt investment with an 18 year timeframe.
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May 26, 2012 22:56
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Dragyn posted:Not technically a long term investment for me, but related. If you want to give them fewer restrictions on the money set up a Unified Gifts to Minors Act account for them.
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May 27, 2012 03:42
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Thanks! My gf found the 529 previously and I was looking to see if that truly was the best option. The Uniform act may be a little too free form, since I'd lose control of the money completely.
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May 28, 2012 01:33
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Dragyn posted:Thanks! My gf found the 529 previously and I was looking to see if that truly was the best option. The Uniform act may be a little too free form, since I'd lose control of the money completely. The 529 is tax exempt and gives you an option of custodians, there's really not much else you can do as far as reducing the costs involved. The pre-paid tuition credit may seem attractive if your state offers it given recent rates of tuition inflation, but make sure you consider the substantial amount of risk created by political uncertainty, especially 18+ years out. Changes in how much education is a spending priority, or reforms to student loan subsidies and regulations, could create wild swings in the rate of return if you lock yourself into a pre-paid plan. Who knows that far ahead - at least with the savings option there's a cash value attached that's driven by diversified assets.
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May 28, 2012 07:06
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I just started a new job, and need help choosing between 401(k) options. I can afford to max it out, but the available options are pretty crappy. Except for the really short term funds, they all have ERs around 1.5-2%. There's no match, I already have a good-sized emergency fund, and am maxing out a Roth IRA. I'm 27, so I'm comfortable with a pretty high amount of risk. I made a spreadsheet with the available options: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtnBxK_rbtH7dGctVUM3bHdXNFE0N3pNRDVacEVJekE
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Jun 1, 2012 03:19
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Cross-posting this from this thread at Niwrad's suggestion. I'm just starting to work my way through this thread. (The posts I quoted come from the other thread.)JimTheSarcastic posted:Ninja edit: Sorry for the long, rambling post, but the OP got me writing about some of the things that have been on my mind lately. Niwrad posted:
Niwrad posted:I would recommend posting this in the Long-Term thread too. It's a little more focused on what to do with the money. But I think one of the first questions we'd need to know is just how much money do you need in an emergency fund. You said your job prospects are volataile, so do you feel safe having $50k in an emergency fund? Less or more? And for the rest of the money, are you looking at long term, medium term, or short term? Or perhaps a mix of both. I'd like to grow a second semi-savings fund beyond my emergency fund too, which I would call "Back to School" money. I anticipate this reaching about $30k--roughly enough to cover tuition if I decide it's a good idea to go back and get a bigger, better degree. I envision this fund being somewhat different from my emergency fund in that it would only need it to be semi-liquid or periodically liquid (i.e. something laddered, which comes up a few times a year with which I could pay tuition). If I never go back, maybe it'll just become my future child(ren)'s college fund. So that leaves me with about $20k currently available to invest, with an additional $4k or so every month. I don't mind tying up a good portion of that in something less liquid, considering I have a very strong cash-flow and safety net currently in place. SlapActionJackson posted:As a self-employed person, an actual 401k will be way too much bother, but you could still be saving a lot more money in tax-advantaged retirement accounts. Look into setting up a SEP IRA.
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Jun 1, 2012 04:40
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I'd preface this by saying that I would sit down with a CPA to make sure you can do it and that it is beneficial tax wise. But since you are self-employed, I would look into a SEP-IRA as the other poster mentioned. It's a great vehicle to build up your retirement while reducing your tax liability. The maximum amount you can put away is a little confusing since you have to factor in FICA, but it should be at least 18% of what you are currently making. Not saying you should put that much away into it, just that it's available. That would be my first step. Get it setup and figure what you want to stash away monthly/yearly into it. Since you seem fairly comfortable financially, I would look at at least 10% of what you make right now. Remember that it will lower your tax liability as well. Vanguard seems to be the go-to place for people here but I set mine up at Fidelity and am happy. Again though, you'll want to get the lowdown from your accountant first though. As for what to do with what's in your retirement, I'm a big fan of the target retirement funds. At your age, it will be heavy into stocks just like your Dad has advised. Provides diversity through index funds too. At places like Vanguard the expense ratio will be incredibly low and your allocation will adjust as you get older. Where are you currently holding your retirement accounts? You may be somewhere that is charging a high expense ratio and thus leaving money on the table. A high-yield savings account is where I'd stick the emergency fund. Like I said in the other thread, I'd put an amount you are comfortable with. ING, HSBC, and a slew of others out there will give you a rate likely under 1% right now. Not ideal but safe. I'll defer the college fund money to someone else. I've never known where to put money I need in an intermediate timeframe. With the rest (the $20k plus $4k a month you have), I created a 3-fund lazy portfolio for mine (http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Lazy_Portfolios). I put 50% in a Total Bond Index Fund, 30% Total Stock Market Index Fund, and 20% into an International Stock Index Fund. Mine is heavy into bonds because my retirement is very heavy into stocks at the moment (and I'm a bit of wimp). You can do something like that and keep funneling your extra money into those (after your retirement contributions). It's pretty diverse and easy to manage. You did seem concerned about accessing this money. It's worth mentioning that you still can access most everything within a short period of time. It's not ideal since many are long term investments, but in the event you needed the money you can sell the funds and cash out. So it's not like you are entering into an iron-clad contract for 5 years with any of these options. Hoping some others can chime in too for you. Niwrad fucked around with this message at 17:17 on Jun 1, 2012 |
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Jun 1, 2012 17:14
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Any recommendations for index funds in a non-tax advantaged account? I'm on target to max out my personal Roth this year, which is invested in a Vanguard Target Retirement fund that is stock heavy (I'm 24). Should I just invest in the same (or similar) TR funds for my non-tax advantaged account? Or would it be better to pick a portfolio of more specialized funds so I can control the distrbution? This is money that I may use before I retire (e.g. house, wedding, etc), but don't have plans with it for at least 4+ years. I don't mind it being riskier. Considering how all of Europe is dive-bombing, am I crazy to think this is a great time to invest some money in foreign-heavy funds and just ride out the implosion?
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Jun 2, 2012 19:25
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polyfractal posted:Any recommendations for index funds in a non-tax advantaged account? I'm on target to max out my personal Roth this year, which is invested in a Vanguard Target Retirement fund that is stock heavy (I'm 24). Should I just invest in the same (or similar) TR funds for my non-tax advantaged account? Or would it be better to pick a portfolio of more specialized funds so I can control the distrbution? Low-cost stock index funds are generally quite tax-efficient, while bond funds aren't. The easiest way to balance it is to use a pure stock fund in your taxable account and make your tax-advantaged accounts slightly more bond-heavy, to keep your total portfolio where you want it.
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Jun 2, 2012 21:26
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Unormal posted:Low-cost stock index funds are generally quite tax-efficient, while bond funds aren't. The easiest way to balance it is to use a pure stock fund in your taxable account and make your tax-advantaged accounts slightly more bond-heavy, to keep your total portfolio where you want it. I think the target retirement funds are just combinations of TSM, Total International, and Total Bond market, so just take the target allocation you want and keep the TBM in your tax advantaged accounts.
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Jun 2, 2012 23:16
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Just a follow-up to the previous two posts, but this is a great resource for tax efficiency. Really helped me out. http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Principles_of_Tax-Efficient_Fund_Placement
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Jun 3, 2012 08:56
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Thanks for the tips everyone! Niwrad that article was really awesome. Really helped me as well
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Jun 3, 2012 15:20
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Not sure if this is an appropriate place to ask -- Can I put money in a 529 or something similar for an under-18 relative, without his/her parents/legal guardians having access to the fund, and possibly without them even knowing about it? Also, I'd love to discuss "medium term investing strategy" if anyone else is so inclined.
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Jun 4, 2012 03:32
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I have a really quick question about Roth IRA contribution limits: I just took a job offer with a smaller company that I'm very happy with except for the 401(k) options. They don't have a Roth option. I really like the Roth as a hedge against higher taxes in the future and a bet that someone like me who is spending little money now and investing a ton will have relatively high retirement income. Would I be able to contribute at least 4% of my salary to their 401(k) plan (the maximum amount they will match) as well as funding my Roth IRA to the maximum each year? Is there some tax or legal reason why I can't or shouldn't do this? I'm assuming that 401(k) plans and IRAs have independent contribution limits. Thanks VVVVVVVV Twerk from Home fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Jun 4, 2012 |
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Jun 4, 2012 03:50
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401k and IRAs have independent contribution limits so you are free to max them both out if you like. There is no reason to not at least max out your Roth IRA and get the maximum employer match out of your 401k as you intend to do.
evilalien fucked around with this message at 03:56 on Jun 4, 2012 |
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Jun 4, 2012 03:54
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Weinertron posted:I have a really quick question about Roth IRA contribution limits: Related, but probably not important: you can only contribute the maximum amount to your Roth if your taxable income is under $110,000 (for 2012).
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Jun 4, 2012 12:52
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I did a small post on my blog about how you're most likely horrible at market timing. Not-Tested-To-5%-Significance-Level Conclusions are that 1) don't invest money in the stock market if you can't stomach to lose it, and 2) if you try to yank the money out of the market because you can't risk losing it, you are most likely going to lose out on the big recovery gains.
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Jun 4, 2012 20:36
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Does "Hey, the markets just wiped out gains for the year, let's max out our yearly index fund Roth" count as "market timing"? Does it still count if I don't care if I have no interest in removing money from it? Also, when people are so scared of European stocks that they will pay Germany to take their money, you probably don't know better and investing in European stock index fund probably isn't a good idea. Goodbye $500  Oh well, that's risk!
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Jun 5, 2012 03:54
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totalnewbie posted:Does "Hey, the markets just wiped out gains for the year, let's max out our yearly index fund Roth" count as "market timing"? Heh. Now we're venturing outside empirical analysis and into my own anecdotal experience. Personally, I just kept on investing throughout the year during 2008 (and after); I definitely likened it to catching a falling dagger. That being said, I wasn't necessarily prepared to say "here's my emergency fund, this is the low; I'm going all in," even though in hindsight that would have worked out great, there's no way I could have known that a priori.
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Jun 5, 2012 14:27
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