401k advice

[Newblet]

hey thanx for link. I noticed that many companies on the list have an ADR at the end. Doesn’t that mean that the securities are not traded directly in the foriegn market and thus some middle man in America is taking part of profits?

[drunkle]

my take:

only contribute enough to maximize employer contribution. 401k’s are a rip off otherwise. you’re locked in to the manager’s (prudential’s) fund offerings, locking up your cash in a black box fund and the tax consequences are totally up in the air at this point anyway; are you going to be stock poor in the future depending only on ss and 401 income? or are you going to work towards building real wealth anyway?

and that’s bullshit if you can’t discover the fund’s investment strategy. dont buy that fund, you wouldn’t give money to your brother in law’s neighbor’s mailman’s previous dog owner, would you?

[drunkle]

my take:

only contribute enough to maximize employer contribution. 401k’s are a rip off otherwise. you’re locked in to the manager’s (prudential’s) fund offerings, locking up your cash in a black box fund and the tax consequences are totally up in the air at this point anyway; are you going to be stock poor in the future depending only on ss and 401 income? or are you going to work towards building real wealth anyway?

and that’s bullshit if you can’t discover the fund’s investment strategy. dont buy that fund, you wouldn’t give money to your brother in law’s neighbor’s mailman’s previous dog owner, would you?

[drunkle]

my take:

only contribute enough to maximize employer contribution. 401k’s are a rip off otherwise. you’re locked in to the manager’s (prudential’s) fund offerings, locking up your cash in a black box fund and the tax consequences are totally up in the air at this point anyway; are you going to be stock poor in the future depending only on ss and 401 income? or are you going to work towards building real wealth anyway?

and that’s bullshit if you can’t discover the fund’s investment strategy. dont buy that fund, you wouldn’t give money to your brother in law’s neighbor’s mailman’s previous dog owner, would you?

[drunkle]

my take:

only contribute enough to maximize employer contribution. 401k’s are a rip off otherwise. you’re locked in to the manager’s (prudential’s) fund offerings, locking up your cash in a black box fund and the tax consequences are totally up in the air at this point anyway; are you going to be stock poor in the future depending only on ss and 401 income? or are you going to work towards building real wealth anyway?

and that’s bullshit if you can’t discover the fund’s investment strategy. dont buy that fund, you wouldn’t give money to your brother in law’s neighbor’s mailman’s previous dog owner, would you?

[drunkle]

my take:

only contribute enough to maximize employer contribution. 401k’s are a rip off otherwise. you’re locked in to the manager’s (prudential’s) fund offerings, locking up your cash in a black box fund and the tax consequences are totally up in the air at this point anyway; are you going to be stock poor in the future depending only on ss and 401 income? or are you going to work towards building real wealth anyway?

and that’s bullshit if you can’t discover the fund’s investment strategy. dont buy that fund, you wouldn’t give money to your brother in law’s neighbor’s mailman’s previous dog owner, would you?

[michael]

Drunkle has a good point… there is some uncertainty with the future of tax rates. If you want to hedge against this risk some employers are now offering Roth 401k.

My wife and I earn over $200k per year. That places us in the 33% federal tax rate. By contributing to our 401k’s our AGI comes in at about $190k, dropping us into the 28% federal tax rate.

Simple example…If we were not contributing, $1,000 pretax would become $667 after tax. By leaving it in the 401k, I essentially just get a 50% return. Also, if I invest my $667 and get a 10% return, I make $66.70. The same investment in the 401k where i have $1,000 returns $100.

You’re not going to get rich with your 401k plan but it could prove to be a good back up plan. You can try to get rich doing something else, but just understand that there is a tight relationship between risk and reward. For every one story of success that you hear, there are ten failures.

Oh yeah, an ADR is an American Depository Receipt. It allows a foreign company to raise capital in the US. And in order to list on a US exchange, they adhere to our rules.

[michael]

Drunkle has a good point… there is some uncertainty with the future of tax rates. If you want to hedge against this risk some employers are now offering Roth 401k.

My wife and I earn over $200k per year. That places us in the 33% federal tax rate. By contributing to our 401k’s our AGI comes in at about $190k, dropping us into the 28% federal tax rate.

Simple example…If we were not contributing, $1,000 pretax would become $667 after tax. By leaving it in the 401k, I essentially just get a 50% return. Also, if I invest my $667 and get a 10% return, I make $66.70. The same investment in the 401k where i have $1,000 returns $100.

You’re not going to get rich with your 401k plan but it could prove to be a good back up plan. You can try to get rich doing something else, but just understand that there is a tight relationship between risk and reward. For every one story of success that you hear, there are ten failures.

Oh yeah, an ADR is an American Depository Receipt. It allows a foreign company to raise capital in the US. And in order to list on a US exchange, they adhere to our rules.

[michael]

Drunkle has a good point… there is some uncertainty with the future of tax rates. If you want to hedge against this risk some employers are now offering Roth 401k.

My wife and I earn over $200k per year. That places us in the 33% federal tax rate. By contributing to our 401k’s our AGI comes in at about $190k, dropping us into the 28% federal tax rate.

Simple example…If we were not contributing, $1,000 pretax would become $667 after tax. By leaving it in the 401k, I essentially just get a 50% return. Also, if I invest my $667 and get a 10% return, I make $66.70. The same investment in the 401k where i have $1,000 returns $100.

You’re not going to get rich with your 401k plan but it could prove to be a good back up plan. You can try to get rich doing something else, but just understand that there is a tight relationship between risk and reward. For every one story of success that you hear, there are ten failures.

Oh yeah, an ADR is an American Depository Receipt. It allows a foreign company to raise capital in the US. And in order to list on a US exchange, they adhere to our rules.

[michael]

Drunkle has a good point… there is some uncertainty with the future of tax rates. If you want to hedge against this risk some employers are now offering Roth 401k.

My wife and I earn over $200k per year. That places us in the 33% federal tax rate. By contributing to our 401k’s our AGI comes in at about $190k, dropping us into the 28% federal tax rate.

Simple example…If we were not contributing, $1,000 pretax would become $667 after tax. By leaving it in the 401k, I essentially just get a 50% return. Also, if I invest my $667 and get a 10% return, I make $66.70. The same investment in the 401k where i have $1,000 returns $100.

You’re not going to get rich with your 401k plan but it could prove to be a good back up plan. You can try to get rich doing something else, but just understand that there is a tight relationship between risk and reward. For every one story of success that you hear, there are ten failures.

Oh yeah, an ADR is an American Depository Receipt. It allows a foreign company to raise capital in the US. And in order to list on a US exchange, they adhere to our rules.

[michael]

Drunkle has a good point… there is some uncertainty with the future of tax rates. If you want to hedge against this risk some employers are now offering Roth 401k.

My wife and I earn over $200k per year. That places us in the 33% federal tax rate. By contributing to our 401k’s our AGI comes in at about $190k, dropping us into the 28% federal tax rate.

Simple example…If we were not contributing, $1,000 pretax would become $667 after tax. By leaving it in the 401k, I essentially just get a 50% return. Also, if I invest my $667 and get a 10% return, I make $66.70. The same investment in the 401k where i have $1,000 returns $100.

You’re not going to get rich with your 401k plan but it could prove to be a good back up plan. You can try to get rich doing something else, but just understand that there is a tight relationship between risk and reward. For every one story of success that you hear, there are ten failures.

Oh yeah, an ADR is an American Depository Receipt. It allows a foreign company to raise capital in the US. And in order to list on a US exchange, they adhere to our rules.

[meadandale]

Company sponsered 401k’s can be a crap shoot if their investment offerings are limited.

I’m a conversative investor. I manage a self-employed 401k for myself and alot of my money is in US market index funds (e.g. s&p 500, wilshire 5000). Frankly, my US index funds have gotten battered this year. I’ve done much better in my non-us index type funds (SE asia and worldwide). You’ll have to weigh your options with your employer and see what you can find that is worthwhile.

Frankly, employer sponsered 401k’s these days suck. With 3-5 year vesting periods (who works for their employers that long in this market) you’ll end up forfeiting much of their match in most cases.

[meadandale]

Company sponsered 401k’s can be a crap shoot if their investment offerings are limited.

I’m a conversative investor. I manage a self-employed 401k for myself and alot of my money is in US market index funds (e.g. s&p 500, wilshire 5000). Frankly, my US index funds have gotten battered this year. I’ve done much better in my non-us index type funds (SE asia and worldwide). You’ll have to weigh your options with your employer and see what you can find that is worthwhile.

Frankly, employer sponsered 401k’s these days suck. With 3-5 year vesting periods (who works for their employers that long in this market) you’ll end up forfeiting much of their match in most cases.

[meadandale]

Company sponsered 401k’s can be a crap shoot if their investment offerings are limited.

I’m a conversative investor. I manage a self-employed 401k for myself and alot of my money is in US market index funds (e.g. s&p 500, wilshire 5000). Frankly, my US index funds have gotten battered this year. I’ve done much better in my non-us index type funds (SE asia and worldwide). You’ll have to weigh your options with your employer and see what you can find that is worthwhile.

Frankly, employer sponsered 401k’s these days suck. With 3-5 year vesting periods (who works for their employers that long in this market) you’ll end up forfeiting much of their match in most cases.

[meadandale]

Company sponsered 401k’s can be a crap shoot if their investment offerings are limited.

I’m a conversative investor. I manage a self-employed 401k for myself and alot of my money is in US market index funds (e.g. s&p 500, wilshire 5000). Frankly, my US index funds have gotten battered this year. I’ve done much better in my non-us index type funds (SE asia and worldwide). You’ll have to weigh your options with your employer and see what you can find that is worthwhile.

Frankly, employer sponsered 401k’s these days suck. With 3-5 year vesting periods (who works for their employers that long in this market) you’ll end up forfeiting much of their match in most cases.

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