Do remember that ultimately, this whole discussion is about appropriate default glidepaths for those who have very little interest in investments... what should
target date funds do post-retirement?
Blooom vs Target Date Funds: Blooom tends to give investors a bit more flexibility and customization regarding their asset allocation than
target date funds do.
Target date funds do not guarantee you will have enough to retire once you reach the target date.
Another misconception which must be addressed is that
target date funds do not carry any risk once they reach their target date.
A target date fund doesn't take this into account, and it might not be the right fit for those looking for a customized investment solution.
Not exact matches
[Because the private equity
funds are contained within a
target -
date fund], the individual investor will only be able to
do due diligence on the types of
funds that are permitted, as the actual
fund investments will change over time.
It's not always — sometimes you have a
fund with safe underlying investment — but I don't know how you lump all the
funds together and put them into a
target -
date fund or include it as an asset class in a typical portfolio.
«If you're a novice investor, the best thing to
do is go to Vanguard, open up a Vanguard account and pick a Vanguard
target date retirement
fund, because it's going to give you exposure to different asset classes,» Solari said.
Investors in
target -
date funds at work face a conundrum: They don't necessarily have the savvy to choose their own investments, but they may find themselves questioning their employers» appetite for risk — especially if they saw their balances drop sharply last month.
For those participants who don't make an investment election, their money may be invested in the
target date fund closest to their normal retirement
date under the QDIA.
In my opinion, the Intel complaint
does not
do a very good job in linking the asserted underperformance of the plan's
target date portfolios (TDPs) to specific hedge
fund and private equity positions taken by the plan.
What this means in the end (as reflected in paragraph 118 and Exhibit I of the complaint) is that eight commercially available
target -
date funds either
did not utilize alternative investments or failed to break them out in their reports on investment allocation.
PLANADVISER:
Do you see the Intel case as opening the door to other cases about the construction of custom
target -
date funds or TDFs, just as the number of cases about excessive fees in retirement plans grew?
The point is that even though all
target date funds reduce investment risk over time, each
fund has its own strategy for how and when to
do that.
The lawsuit compared Intel's 2030 TDP to what it calls «peer group»
target -
date funds, and asserted that the peer group
funds do not allocate any assets to hedge
funds and very few have even small commodity stakes.
The
target date fund naturally adjusts your investment allocation between stocks and bonds as you get closer to retirement so you don't have to
do much (except keep putting money in!).
Now is a good time to reassess your asset allocation if you aren't in an investment that
does this for you, such as a
target date fund.
If you really don't want to be bothered putting together a portfolio, then a
target -
date retirement
fund may be the solution.
So my question to you is
do we convert to index
funds (domestic & foreign) or go with a
target date mutual
fund?
I just
did an exchange from the
Target Date Fund 2045 to the VTSAX.
Hi Spooner, yes, a
target date fund is even more automated than LifeStrategy as you don't even need to lifestyle it.
We didn't have a
target date fund.
Target -
date funds take the hassle out of having to periodically rebalance, a process which can be intimidating if you don't know a lot about the market.
Simply pick a
date and a contribution level to let the
target date fund manager
do the rest for you.
That's typical of what a sensible
target -
date fund will
do.
I can super
fund the plan with $ 70,000 in one year, but I'm not sure I'll
do so because these long -
dated target funds are very aggressive.
How
do you explain the growth in low cost
target date funds?
Fidelity vs. Vanguard How international small - caps spice up a retirement portfolio Foreign big - cap value stocks outshine U.S. counterparts What global large - cap stocks
do for your retirement portfolio Six reasons you should invest internationally How to double your
target -
date retirement
fund's return in a single move Why REITs belong in your retirement portfolio When it pays to go all - in on small - cap value This 4 -
fund combo wallops the S&P 500 index Buy the best performing stock sector for 87 years How to make money with small - cap stocks Looking for action?
You can also opt for investments, such as managed accounts and
target -
date funds, that
do the rebalancing on their own.
I got another quick question for you, because I know that you've
done a lot of work with
target date funds, and we get a lot of questions on
target date funds.
You don't have to worry as much about this if you are in one of the
target date funds such as the TSP's lifestyle
funds.
TDFs should choose a more aggressive mix of equities for younger investors, giving them more opportunity for growth; as
funds get closer to their
target dates, the equity mix should stick more closely to broad market averages like the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.76 % Because most TDFs have only one mix of equities for investors of all ages, they miss an easy opportunity to
do more good for their younger shareholders.
If you aren't fond of Lifecycle (
target date)
funds but are uncertain what to
do, use the Lifecycle
funds as a guide and then tilt your
fund mix to whatever you feel most appropriate.
Q: As a first time investor, with all of my investments with Schwab, how
do their
target -
date funds compare to Vanguard's offerings?
Target -
date funds have become so popular for a reason: they can be a great investment option for those who don't want to actively manage their investment mix, don't want to navigate the volatility (ups - and - downs) of the market, don't want to get emotional about when to «get in» or «get out,» and instead, would like a hands - off approach to selecting investments.
Target date funds are designed to
do just that — provide age - appropriate diversification and dial down risk as you near retirement.
Target -
date funds are sold as offering great benefits for investors, but we don't think you should accept the sales pitch.
Fully
fund a Roth IRA at $ 458 / month (if you qualify)(and at Vanguard in a
target retirement
date fund if you don't have one)
Target -
date funds may not
do as good a job with each of the individual components as
fund managers that are focused on a specific asset class.
The usual criticism of
target date funds is that they charge you a fee for something simple that you can
do yourself.
The point is that even though all
target date funds reduce investment risk over time, each
fund has its own strategy for how and when to
do that.
At my workplace the investment provider has now started offering a handful of
target date funds — catering to employees who don't want the time and effort that comes with handling your investments.
As the investor ages and the time horizon lessens, so
does the risk level of the
target date fund.
If you choose a
target -
date fund for your retirement savings, you won't have to worry about rebalancing back to your
target asset mix — it will be
done automatically for you.
If you don't specify which
funds you want to invest in, your contributions are automatically allocated to a
target date fund.
If you combine them with lots of other
funds — as many people
do — it will be harder for you to gauge how your savings overall are split among stocks and bonds and you'll may very well undermine the rationale for buying a
target -
date fund in the first place — i.e., to assure you have a coherent and consistent investing strategy.
If you'd like to automate your entire investment strategy,
target date funds will
do this handily.
This means the
fund's investors don't have to mix and monitor their own mix of
funds because that all happens within their
target date fund.
The real issue here isn't whether a
target -
date fund does everything one could possibly want an investment to
do.
If you
do decide to go with a
target -
date fund, try to
do some due diligence so you know what you're getting into.