[jIM_Ohio]

Here is something to consider-

Invest half in funds (come up with growth oriented allocation) and invest half in brokerage.

My SDB requires the following:
$500 minimum in brokerage account at all times
new desposits are made to 401k funds (which can be sold and then moved to brokerage). Rebalance each year between the funds and brokerage (maybe 2X per year if needed). Move money to brokerage in $10,000 increments (so it is easy to track rates of return).

I plan on doing something similar.
I have 40k in my 401k. I plan to leave 10k in the funds and move 30k into brokerage. I don't get this option until June (most of my old 401k does not move to new 401k until June based on plan transfer rules).
Within the brokerage, I plan to use a similar allocation to what I have now, with aggressive funds making up 1/3 of each position.

42% large cap domestic (28% diversified in PRFDX and 14% aggressive in something else).
15% mid cap domestic (10% diversified in PRDMX and 5% in CGMFX)
15% small cap domestic (10% diversified in PRDSX and 5% in a Bridgeway fund)
15% in TRIGX (unless I find an aggressive international fund, in which case I will go 10%-5%)
10% in PRIDX (unless I find a better way to divide the 25% international allocation).
3% bonds in RPSIX

I contribute 7k to my 401k each year, my match increases that to around $9500. This is DCA'd into the mutual funds company offers in similar allocation (42-15-15-15-10-3).

I then track rates of return and see if the aggressive positions trump the $80 costs each year. $80/$30000=I am dealing with .3% higher return to cover the expenses.

In addition the funds on the brokerage side have higher expenses than the ones my company offers, so I know I need to pick well in order to make brokerage plan work.