401k, how is yours allocated?

[pretender]

I have a self-managed account, with 40% in two bond funds, 15% in cash equivalents, 14% large growth, 10% large value, and 5% each in balanced, international, and small value. I need to maintain a minimum balance in my core account, which I have in REITS. Age 56 and trying to hang in there until I get my 35 full time years, in 3 months and 10 days...

 

[I GOT ONE MORE]

I have a self-managed account, with 40% in two bond funds, 15% in cash equivalents, 14% large growth, 10% large value, and 5% each in balanced, international, and small value. I need to maintain a minimum balance in my core account, which I have in REITS. Age 56 and trying to hang in there until I get my 35 full time years, in 3 months and 10 days...

Pretender, you have great diversification in your account.
I'm big on the SMA too, except I like the REITs in my SMA.

I own a couple that pay 14% dividends, and they've paid for years.
Not much in the way of capital appreciation, but you can't beat the return.

UPS pays about a 3% dividend today.

 

[kingOFchester]

Pretender, you have great diversification in your account.
I'm big on the SMA too, except I like the REITs in my SMA.

I own a couple that pay 14% dividends, and they've paid for years.
Not much in the way of capital appreciation, but you can't beat the return.

UPS pays about a 3% dividend today.

Can you tell me more about SMA. How do you start one? Is there a website? Any good forums about this?

Thanks

 

[pretender]

Pretender, you have great diversification in your account.
I'm big on the SMA too, except I like the REITs in my SMA.

I own a couple that pay 14% dividends, and they've paid for years.
Not much in the way of capital appreciation, but you can't beat the return.

UPS pays about a 3% dividend today.

Actually, I was not aware of REITS until just recently. I read about them in the book Buckets of Money. When the payroll tax was reduced, I increased my 401k contribution by the same amount, and starting buying the REITs--I figured I had nothing to lose...

 

[pretender]

Can you tell me more about SMA. How do you start one? Is there a website? Any good forums about this?

Thanks

I can't remember how I opened it--I will have to look back through my records and see. When I opened it, I also signed up with Smart401K. You will be asked a series of the typical questions, to determine your risk level, and they will then make recommendations. The service costs $60 per quarter, but if you are savy enough, I am sure you can make selections and allocations on your own. In my opinion, it is almost as important to reallocate every quarter, as it is choosing the funds. It forces you to buy low and sell high, and also keeps you within your comfort zone regarding risk level.

 

[I GOT ONE MORE]

Can you tell me more about SMA. How do you start one? Is there a website? Any good forums about this?

Thanks

I believe our 401k's our the same nationwide, but I'm not sure. With that assumption, I can convey some information for you.

The Teamsters UPS National 401k Tax Deferred Savings Plan is administered by Prudential. The Self-Managed Account is maintained, for whatever reason, by Dreyfus (a Mellon company).

I can access the Dreyfus account from a link on the Prudential site.
There is a link on the right side of the page under the heading 'Access Additional Accounts'.

If your Prudential page does not have a link, you will have to call Prudential to move forward in setting up the Dreyfus account.

Some caveats though,

If you don't know what the following represent.... bid/ask, market order, limit order, market cap, EPS, yield, moving averages, P/E ratios, ETF's, to name a few,
if you don't how to tell some one the difference between the NYSE, Nasdaq, S&P and the VIX, then

you should read up and understand everything before proceeding,
and if you do decide to set up an SMA, go slow, start small, like maybe 10% of your nestegg. And you should never stop learning, they is a lot to know and interpret and nobody knows it all.

It can be quite rewarding and fun maintaining an SMA, but one can lose their arse as well. It takes more time in research and periodical allocation.
Plus, trading fees can add up.
Personally, IMO, I think EVERY ONE of us should have an SMA because it forces you to get educated about your finances and that is empowering.

Good luck if you decide to go for it.

 

[brownmonster]

This is the biggest problem with todays retirement system. Novices are required to plan their retirement. Most people can't keep track of their day to day finances.

 

[kingOFchester]

I believe our 401k's our the same nationwide, but I'm not sure. With that assumption, I can convey some information for you.

The Teamsters UPS National 401k Tax Deferred Savings Plan is administered by Prudential. The Self-Managed Account is maintained, for whatever reason, by Dreyfus (a Mellon company).

I can access the Dreyfus account from a link on the Prudential site.
There is a link on the right side of the page under the heading 'Access Additional Accounts'.

If your Prudential page does not have a link, you will have to call Prudential to move forward in setting up the Dreyfus account.

Some caveats though,

If you don't know what the following represent.... bid/ask, market order, limit order, market cap, EPS, yield, moving averages, P/E ratios, ETF's, to name a few,
if you don't how to tell some one the difference between the NYSE, Nasdaq, S&P and the VIX, then

you should read up and understand everything before proceeding,
and if you do decide to set up an SMA, go slow, start small, like maybe 10% of your nestegg. And you should never stop learning, they is a lot to know and interpret and nobody knows it all.

It can be quite rewarding and fun maintaining an SMA, but one can lose their arse as well. It takes more time in research and periodical allocation.
Plus, trading fees can add up.
Personally, IMO, I think EVERY ONE of us should have an SMA because it forces you to get educated about your finances and that is empowering.

Good luck if you decide to go for it.

Thanks!!

By no means am I an expert
But I have a roth IRA that I have used for the past 5 years. So I know enough about bids, margins, market cap etc.

Thanks for the info...will look into it!

 

[texan]

Our stock is 76.64 today, 23 Feb 2012.

 

[themidnightoil]

10+% S&P 500
10+% Russell 2000
the other 75-80% and outpreforming everything is my self-managed account.

holdings as of today - BAC (most active buy and sell stock), AAPL, IBM (still), PCRX and my next homerun pick is AMRN @ $9.00 today. within the next 3 weeks it will be down 50% or up 75-100% if denied or granted patent for new drug AMR101(banking on they get it). then up another 75-100%+ on FDA approval by the end of July but mostlikely will be sooner then that (my gut thinks as soon as April). then another 100% on a buyout from any major drug company. if all goes as planned, looking at atleast a $50-$60 buyout by this summer.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

The SMA is an ideal option if you have the time to do the research, are tolerant of risk and are in the early part of your career; however, if you are nearing retirement it is best to move that money in to more secure investments.

KOC, I would like to thank you for posting this thread. I took your advice and am up 10%. Dave.

 

[menotyou]

KOC, I would like to thank you for posting this thread. I took your advice and am up 10%. Dave.

That's awesome, Dave.