Hello,
My new company started a 401k plan through ING Sharebuilder. Unfortunately the options are very limited:
http://www.401kpricing.com/costco/plans/sub5.htm?id=3
Knowing the monetary policy of the government, if I could I would buy precious metals, but I can’t. So what do you think is the lesser evil?
Many thanks!
My company is similar. My company matches my contributions so at least I benefit with more than 30% gain due to company match. Also there’s the tax break. Stocks will likely go down from here, but if you’re retiring in 30 years then you want to buy as many cheap stocks for as long a period as you can. Someday, if those companies don’t go bankrupt, they will appreciate and you hopefully can retire.
I have a similar limited choice for mutual funds I can buy. I am currently contributing half to european and world stocks. Mostly large cap stocks. The other half ends up to be American stocks because I buy a world fund including America, Japan, etc.. I do buy some American too.
In my opinion, buy some funds that concentrate on Asia and some Europe. Stay away from gov’t bonds considering the yields are really low and the risk of a bond market or dollar collapse is high. Try to have a good portion of your investment in commodity based stocks like mining or oil / natural gas companies or agriculture / water treatment. You probably can’t specifically choose these companies since mutual funds tend to cover a broad sector of the market. I’m short term (5 years) bearish (negative) on the US economy and this is mainly due to US gov’t interference in the economy and the inflation they are creating.
I hunted for a Fidelity bond fund that did only investment-grade private bonds and did not include any state/fed/muni bonds, out of principle. I can’t recall though if the best I could do was a bond fund w/ no more than 25% in government bonds.
Can you buy gold and silver ETFs? What about gold mining companies like Newmont or Barrick? Also, can you buy stocks of foreign companies (e.g. Australia, New Zealand)?
Alas no silver or gold ETFs! That’s all I can choose from:
| Symbol | Fund | Category | Exp. Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPY | SPDRs | Large Blend | 0.10% |
| IWF | iShares Russell 1000 Growth Index | Large Growth | 0.20% |
| QQQQ | NASDAQ 100 Trust Shares | Large Growth | 0.20% |
| DIA | DIAMONDS Trust, Series 1 | Large Value | 0.16% |
| IWD | iShares Russell 1000 Value Index | Large Value | 0.20% |
| MDY | MidCap SPDRs | Mid-Cap Blend | 0.25% |
| DVY | iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index | Mid-Cap Value | 0.40% |
| IWM | iShares Russell 2000 Index | Small Blend | 0.20% |
| Symbol | Fund | Category | Exp. Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| IEF | iShares Lehman 7–10 Year Treasury | Intermediate Term Bond | 0.15% |
| AGG | iShares Lehman Aggregate Bond | Long Government | 0.20% |
| TIP | iShares Lehman TIPS Bond | Intermediate Government | 0.20% |
| SHY | iShares Lehman 1–3 Year Treasury | Short Government | 0.15% |
| Symbol | Fund | Category | Exp. Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICF | iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors | Specialty — Real Estate | 0.35% |
| EEM | iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index | Diversified Emerging | 0.72% |
| EFA | iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund | Foreign Large Blend | 0.34% |
| Symbol | Fund | Category | Exp. Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| BDMXX | RBB Fund, Inc: Bedford Shares | Money Market | – |
That sucks! SHY might be a good investment in the event that the treasury market collapses, which it most likely will. EEM also might be a good buy.
Do you HAVE to put money in the plan? If not, you can buy physical precious metals.
The 401k stuff and all the paper trading are way too vulnerable to govt manipulation currently. That applies to paper precious metals as well. I would stock up on enough gold and silver and all the other essentials, e.g., food, weapons, transportation, shelter. Once you can survive several yrs with what youve acquired, then you have the luxury of taking those paper risks. You can always invest in yourself, e.g., self-education (including non-academics like carpentry, farming, etc), formal education, health. You can invest in your own buisness, whether you can initially pay yourself or not (it’s an investment).
There are so many things that you can do that are much smarter than any govt coddled, paper-trading program. It sounds crazy and fogeyish, but not only is it a wiser investment, it’s also a more fulfilling one. It feels good to stand in the midst of the obamanation with a level of self-reliance that very few others are motivated enough to acheive.
Well, the good news is that when/if the stock market factors in all of the bad news, it should start doing well. Until then, I think you’re pretty much screwed on this 401k plan. Ask around if anything else is possible. In the meantime, SHY is probably your best bet. It’s fundamentals are good, and its technicals look good for at least a few days (we have a bullish hammer, making it look like it might pass the 50 day MA).