401K Fund Allocation Help

[ronney]

Hi,

I have just started my 401k plan with ADP. I wanted to get some advice in fund allocation as i am totally new to this field. My age is 24.

Yes I like the aggressive approach.
My company is small around 20 employee. This is the best what i think they can offer as of right now.

It would be very helpful if you guys give me the % break down by fund
e.g

20% in Janus
30% S&P 500 Index something like this.

Here is the file that can give you more details about the funds i can choose
This is Monthly Performance Summary.

This forum is very very helpful to newbie like me. Again thanks for all your help


Investment Type = Income


Fund Name : SSgA Government Money Market Fund
Morningstar Category : N/A
Inception Date : 03/1983
Ticker : N/A
Month QTR 1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10Yrs Expense Ratio
0.39% 1.16% 4.69% 3.45% 2.26% 3.24% 0.75%


Fund Name : PIMCO Total Return Fund - Class A
MorningStar Category : Intermediate-Term Bond
Inception Date : 01/1997
Ticker : PTTAX
Month QTR 1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10Yrs Expense Ratio
1.33% 2.31% 4.25% 3.32% 4.35% 6.08% 0.90%


Fund Name : DWS High Income Plus Fund - Class S
MornignStar Category : High Yield Bond
Inception Date : 05/2005
Ticker : SGHSX
Month QTR 1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10Yrs Expense Ratio
0.89% -3.95% 5.39% N/A N/A 7.89%(Inception) 0.64%

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Investment Type = Growth & Income


Fund Name : SSgA Life Solutions(SM) Income & Growth Fund
MorningStar Category : N/A
Inception Date : 03/1995
Ticker : N/A
Month QTR 1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10Yrs Expense Ratio
1.11% -0.63% 8.48% 6.98% 7.29% 5.38% 0.85%


Fund Name : SSgA Life Solutions(SM) Balanced Growth Fund
MorningStar Category : N/A
Inception Date : 03/1995
Ticker : N/A
Month QTR 1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10Yrs Expense Ratio
1.01% -1.71% 10.60% 9.28% 9.34% 5.66% 0.85%


Fund Name : SSgA Life Solutions(SM) Growth Fund
MorningStar Category : N/A
Inception Date : 03/1995
Ticker : N/A
Month QTR 1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10Yrs Expense Ratio
0.91% -2.78% 12.73% 11.58% 11.29% 5.78% 0.85%


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Investment Type = Growth


Fund Name: AllianceBernstein Growth and Income Fund - Class A
MorningStar Category : Large Value
Inception Date: 07/1932
Ticker: CABDX
Month QTR 1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10Yrs Expense Ratio
2.41% -3.11% 15.50% 11.88% 12.17% 8.19% 1.00%

DWS Large Cap Value Fund - Class A
Large Value 03/1988 KDCAX
1.77% -2.36% 12.90% 10.35% 11.12% 7.30% 1.02%

SSgA S&P® 500 Index Fund
N/A 01/1978 N/A
1.42% -3.44% 14.39% 11.43% 11.27% 6.04% 0.70%

Oppenheimer Capital Appreciation Fund - Class A
Large Growth 01/1981 OPTFX
1.74% 0.23% 17.61% 10.69% 10.65% 6.93% 1.07%

Fidelity® Advisor Equity Growth Fund - Class T
Large Growth 09/1992 FAEGX
2.17% 4.26% 22.40% 12.56% 10.73% 5.70% 1.29%

Franklin Rising Dividends Fund - Class A
Large Blend 01/1987 FRDPX
1.66% -3.42% 9.82% 9.54% 10.15% 8.51% 1.00%

SSgA S&P® MidCap 400 Index Strategy Fund
N/A 08/1989 N/A
0.88% -5.68% 15.71% 14.99% 14.83% 11.23% 0.70%

Alger MidCap Growth Institutional Fund - Class I
Mid-Cap Growth 11/1993 ALMRX
2.88% 3.03% 34.94% 20.44% 17.76% 13.82% 1.13%


--------------------------------------------------------------
Investment Type : Aggressive Growth

Janus Adviser International Growth Fund - Class S
Foreign Large Growth 05/1997 JIGRX
-1.67% -0.16% 35.29% 37.83% 26.75% 14.22% 1.23%

Templeton Growth Fund, Inc. - Class R
World Stock 01/2002 TEGRX
-1.22% -5.16% 12.33% 15.29% 14.44% 11.54%(Inception) 1.30%

Allianz NFJ Small-Cap Value Fund - Class A
Small Value 01/1997 PCVAX
1.34% -3.75% 16.67% 18.23% 17.91% 11.88% 1.25%

SSgA Russell® 2000 Index Strategy Fund
N/A 10/1996 N/A
2.18% -6.36% 10.49% 13.36% 15.40% 6.59% 0.95%

Alger SmallCap Growth Institutional Fund - Class I
Small Growth 11/1993 ALSRX
2.59% -0.76% 23.00% 22.50% 19.41% 6.69% 1.31%

[Scanner]

I would go with:

33% S&P 500 Index
33% Janus International Advisor (provided this fund is no-loaded)
33% Allianze Small Cap Value Fund (ditto)

You're very, very, very diversified with that

(inside joke: I'm known for keeping my portfolios simpleton)

Seriously, you could add some mid-cap or income but IMO, you are starting to get overdiversified.

[InDebtInDC]

IMO, you are starting to get overdiversified.

Is that even a word?

I invest 100% in international funds, but I don't have much money and I don't care if I lose it all.

Asking for a percentage allocation will not get you anywhere. It's better if you understand the risk involved with each type of funds and develop your own model.

[anonymous_saver]

I highly agree that you need to educate yourself more on a lot of terms before you make this decision. Since you are 24 and say that you want to invest agressively, this probably means that you will invest in 100% stocks (and no bonds, income etc.). Also index funds are highly popular (I personally won't do anything else, but I have more options than you do through my employer) since they mimic various stock market indices. I would highly advise against just choosing a particular asset allocation posted by one of us, it would be much better for you to understand some of the basics before hand. I do however believe that the best fund offered in your plan is the 500 index.

Personally, I really like the Young Fabulous and Broke book by Suze Orman, her section on investing is very good at describing the basics to first-time investers. I would borrow it from your local library or buying it from a used book store. There are also many online resources, but I'm at work right now and don't have the time to list them.

[humandraydel]

40% S&P 500
15% S&P 400 Mid Cap
10% Russell 2000
25% Janus International
10% PIMCO Total Return or Money Market Fund

[jIM_Ohio]

I highly agree that you need to educate yourself more on a lot of terms before you make this decision. Since you are 24 and say that you want to invest agressively, this probably means that you will invest in 100% stocks (and no bonds, income etc.). Also index funds are highly popular (I personally won't do anything else, but I have more options than you do through my employer) since they mimic various stock market indices. I would highly advise against just choosing a particular asset allocation posted by one of us, it would be much better for you to understand some of the basics before hand. I do however believe that the best fund offered in your plan is the 500 index.

Personally, I really like the Young Fabulous and Broke book by Suze Orman, her section on investing is very good at describing the basics to first-time investers. I would borrow it from your local library or buying it from a used book store. There are also many online resources, but I'm at work right now and don't have the time to list them.

This is excellent advice in many many ways.

1) educate yourself on asset allocation
2) identify risks and manage them. Asset allocation is not a way to eliminate risks, it is a way to manage them. Nothing is without risk.
3) risk can be measured many many ways
a) inflation risk
b) interest rate risk
c) principal risk (loss of principal)

A 100% equity portfolio diversified among small caps, mid caps, large caps and international stocks could have "less risk" than a 70-30 stock bond portfolio which owns S&P 500, international and a bond fund... depending on how you measure risk.

My allocation which I have evolved to (over 10 years of investing):

99% equity, 1% bond
74% domestic equity, 25% international equity
44% domestic large caps
15% domestic mid caps
15% domestic small caps
15% international large caps
10% international small caps

1% bond is intermediate term bond index. Every 6 months I add 1% to bond position. I am 34 yo, and am looking to slowly add a bond allocation over next 5 years (so in 5 years I am 10% bonds).

[terri77]

I would do more research and find what your own personal asset allocation should be. But, if I had to guess I would go with.

40% SSgA S&P 500
20% SSgA S%P 400
10% SSgA Russell 2000
30% Janus International Growth

And maybe bonds.