Mutual funds were moderately successful in creating a presence in the stock market until the advent of the investment retirement account and in particular the 401(k). Corporate insiders persuaded the federal government to allow for the 401(k) in lieu of offering employees the traditional pension. When this happened the employees lost the protection of a specialized financial manager who could manage both the return and the risk of the retirement money of the worker.
This forced employees who are supposed to specialize in their work area into the field financial management with no training whatsoever. The 401(k) effectively FORCES individuals into mutual funds that as I just mentioned were notorious at the turn of the last century for defrauding the public of its savings. Ironically, these same executives had at the time, and still have, their company department of corporate attorneys. These secret departments do nothing but invent new ways for corporate insiders to suck more money out of the firm in the form of perquisites, stock options, and golden parachutes. This is the "new" form of executive stewardship over the shareholder value and employee retirement!
Why is this so tough on the employee? The 401(k) plans do not offer individual stocks only mutual funds. What a scam! Corporate executives have effectively forced you to place your retirement dollars with their cronies in the securities industry who manage these investment pools. If you could talk to someone in the 1920's about this they would be shocked. Someone from back when these investment pools were actively fleecing the public would see this as a criminal act perpetrated by the US federal government, inside corporate executives, and mutual fund managers.
Does that mean the 401(k) is a bad deal? That depends. If your employer matches a percentage of your wages it may be a fair deal but you should only contribute only up to the matching limit. After contributing the maximum matching amount to your 401(k) then put the rest in a Roth IRA. If your 401(k) provider offers an indexed mutual fund then put your money into that. An indexed mutual fund uses a stock market index such as the S&P500 to guide which stocks are bought. The biggest and oldest indexed mutual fund is the Vanguard 500 (VFINX).
A computer divvies up the cash in the fund to match the index as closely as a possible. As such, there is not fund manager to sitting on your hard earned retirement savings to rip you off in bogus fees.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. Scott Brown, Ph.D., the Wallet Doctor, is a successful investor. Dr. Brown holds a Ph.D. in finance. The Wallet Doctor is sought after for investment advice and coaching. For more information visit Dr. Brown's site at http://www.bonanzabase.com or sign up for his investment tips at http://www.bonanzabase.com
disinfecting cleaning services Arlington Heights ..∙ Make every investment in the stock market a long-term... Read More
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are a group of passive index... Read More
If you go to Haiti or other places in the... Read More
Have you bought any mutual funds this year or late... Read More
If you were to find that you had some severe... Read More
After finding the price of a particular stock, usually the... Read More
I continually hear from economists, talking heads, other market letter... Read More
People are always asking me when should I sell my... Read More
Today we are inundated with tons of information about the... Read More
I am hearing predictions by brokers, financial planners, talk show... Read More
Being wrong is OK, but let's not carry it to... Read More
Are hedge funds a suitable investment for you? Hedge funds... Read More
The Macedonian Stock Exchange (MSE) is not operating successfully. True,... Read More
Mutual funds were moderately successful in creating a presence in... Read More
A Guide to Using Stop Loss Orders Stop losses are... Read More
It takes a total mental commitment to the task. It... Read More
During the month of January the Dow Jones Industrial Average,... Read More
I constantly hear the talking heads on CNBC-TV, the radio... Read More
One of the great "secrets" of successful people is discipline... Read More
As an investor you will want to check out any... Read More
One of the things people are always asking me is... Read More
I was devastated!I just couldn't believe it. I was 10... Read More
If you are going to be a winner in the... Read More
There is no question that the stock market is being... Read More
How many times has this happened to you? You're at... Read More
bathroom cleaning service Mundelein ..You probably know the story of Sherlock Holmes and the... Read More
What is the Series 7 Exam? If you... Read More
All stock trading and investing methods must deal with the... Read More
Whenever I see mutual fund comparisons in the trade publications... Read More
Even if you don't own any of their stock or... Read More
The Shadow knows. There used to be a radio program... Read More
It is wonderful to be alive in the information age.... Read More
As I have said many times before in this column... Read More
You should ignore analysts on TV, the radio, the newspaper... Read More
Success in small cap & micro cap stock trading like... Read More
In 1960 an engineer working for a watch company in... Read More
Hello Inflation, it has been awhile, I see you on... Read More
In today's volatile and confusing stock markets everyone is searching... Read More
Now that you have some money burning a hole in... Read More
I know there are a lot of you out there... Read More
The ABC's of Stock Trading SuccessStock trading success...why is it... Read More
There has been great condemnation recently because China has been... Read More
If you have not back tested your trading system, you... Read More
The trading method you employ to approach the stock market... Read More
Mutual fund investing is a lot like Thai cooking. Everyone... Read More
Cat or dog? Maybe Zebra. Shucks, I don't know, but... Read More
One of the greatest challenges of investing in stocks is... Read More
This is a rather simple strategy with which I am... Read More
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are a group of passive index... Read More
Every day I see in the financial section of newspapers... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |