401k News

After a slow start, I think I finally have my 401k asset allocation in order. About 3 months ago I took a good look at how I had been contributing to my 401k and found to be investing too much in balanced funds. In mid August, before I started this blog, my year-to-date return was just over 3%. Not very good! I could have been making more money not contributing to my retirement plan and instead going with an ING or Emigrant Direct saving account. I couldn't beleive it, and I decided to be more aggressive...a lot more aggressive. I moved a big chunk of assets in my balanced funds to aggressive growth funds, namely American Funds EuroPacific Growth Class A (AEPGX) and T. Rowe Price Small Cap Stock (OTCFX). Don't get me wrong, I still have plenty of balanced funds in the mix, but in about 3 months my year-to-date return went from about 3% to 9% as of today. I'll be extremely satisfied if my portfolio stays at or above 9% in a year where Wall Street only expects single digit returns.