Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
Those are all good funds, but the problem is that most employees have to choose from 401K funds offered by their employer. My experience is that employers offer funds based on how little it will cost their bottom line, not how well they perform.
U.S. News tends to be big on “splashy” headlines nowadays and low in quality. A step above the financial porn served up by the now defunct Money Magazine - but not by far. They’ve taken a once reputable name in news (the long extinct U.S. News & World Report) and converted it into some remotely related online publication. I’d much rather do my own investigating by digging through actual prospectuses and annual reports (from the fund companies) and the fund data and analysis from the likes of Lipper, Morningstar, Max Funds and, of course, at MFO. If you can get 3 of those to agree on a fund’s desirability, it’s probably worth considering.
The article takes a scatter-shot approach. Why on earth would a younger 401-K investor want to hold a corporate bond fund? Index 500 = duh. I’m not opposed to holding index funds, but they’re pretty much all the same - save for fees. Yes, VG is a low cost leader, but you hardly need third party “study” or “recommendation” to know that.
I long for the days when as a “nerdy” teen I subscribed / eagerly anticipated my weekly copy of U.S. News & World Report. Money was tight growing up. I typically devoured these cover to cover twice before discarding. While conservatively slanted, you couldn’t beat it for covering the week’s hard news.
Hank I agree!! I used to love reading USNWR -- and the old Business Week -- back in the '80s and '90s when in high school, college, and beyond. Since then both publications have deteriorated considerably and I long-since gave up reading them. :/
U.S. News tends to be big on “splashy” headlines nowadays and low in quality. A step above the financial porn served up by the now defunct Money Magazine - but not by far. They’ve taken a once reputable name in news (the long extinct U.S. News & World Report) and converted it into some remotely related online publication. I’d much rather do my own investigating by digging through actual prospectuses and annual reports (from the fund companies) and the fund data and analysis from the likes of Lipper, Morningstar, Max Funds and, of course, at MFO. If you can get 3 of those to agree on a fund’s desirability, it’s probably worth considering.
The article takes a scatter-shot approach. Why on earth would a younger 401-K investor want to hold a corporate bond fund? Index 500 = duh. I’m not opposed to holding index funds, but they’re pretty much all the same - save for fees. Yes, VG is a low cost leader, but you hardly need third party “study” or “recommendation” to know that.
I long for the days when as a “nerdy” teen I subscribed / eagerly anticipated my weekly copy of U.S. News & World Report. Money was tight growing up. I typically devoured these cover to cover twice before discarding. While conservatively slanted, you couldn’t beat it for covering the week’s hard news.
Comments
The article takes a scatter-shot approach. Why on earth would a younger 401-K investor want to hold a corporate bond fund? Index 500 = duh. I’m not opposed to holding index funds, but they’re pretty much all the same - save for fees. Yes, VG is a low cost leader, but you hardly need third party “study” or “recommendation” to know that.
I long for the days when as a “nerdy” teen I subscribed / eagerly anticipated my weekly copy of U.S. News & World Report. Money was tight growing up. I typically devoured these cover to cover twice before discarding. While conservatively slanted, you couldn’t beat it for covering the week’s hard news.
Hank I agree!! I used to love reading USNWR -- and the old Business Week -- back in the '80s and '90s when in high school, college, and beyond. Since then both publications have deteriorated considerably and I long-since gave up reading them. :/