Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thinking of diverting some of the 401K allocation from Vanguard LifeStrategy Moderate Growth Fund (VSMGX) to VFINX 500 index -- will not need to withdraw for at least 10 years, maybe 20.
Thinking of diverting some of the 401K allocation from Vanguard LifeStrategy Moderate Growth Fund (VSMGX) to VFINX 500 index -- will not need to withdraw for at least 10 years, maybe 20.
What do you think?
I don't know much about VSMGX, but I'm long VFINX myself. I read increasingly that the S&P 500 is now considered about as arbitrary as the Dow. Is VTSMX (their total stock market index) an alternative for you? I do think with your horizon you can afford to be more aggressive with your chioces, and getting out of an asset allocation fund into straight growth makes sense.
I agree about VFINX as the best option in its specific category. However, these days I'm leaning more toward ETFs for the indexing anchor of my portfolio. I'm long VO (midcap), VTI (total market) and VWO (emerging markets), together comprising about 12% of assets under management that aren't in my wife's 401k (which has good fund options but not what I'd normally go for).
Location: Georgia, on the Florida line, right above Tallahassee
10,471 posts, read 15,847,149 times
Reputation: 6438
My entire portfolio is pure 100 percent VFINX.
They don't take much off the top to maintain it.
Gotta be in the game to grow.
They also have an excellent energy fund, but you need 25K to join. And you can't do anything with the stock for like, a year I think. It has great returns...but....if I lost that much money, my wife would kill me.
VFINX is all large cap US stocks. If this is 100% of the portfolio, it is not where I would put my money in. You will be very undiversified. There has to be small cap, mid cap, and international stock exposure as well. I'd also need bond exposure. Have you checked the target retirement funds of Vanguard? These are fund of funds that have set allocations that change depending on when you expect to retire. The farther away retirement is, the more stocks there are. The allocations become more conservative as you get older. The allocation changes are automatic, you don't have to do anything. Are they offered in your 401K?
Location: Georgia, on the Florida line, right above Tallahassee
10,471 posts, read 15,847,149 times
Reputation: 6438
I'm not planning on retiring for about 30 more years. I've got some time to recover.....if the market goes all screwy. I've checked out the retirement funds before, and plan on moving some cash around to them a little bit later in the game.
I think its all large caps. Not a bad place to park a chunk of cash. Since your not putting all your eggs there I'd say go for it. I'm assuming you also have some exposure to small caps and internationals.
I'm thinking of taking the plunge today. Only downside I see is that I also have quite a bit in energy in other holdings outside the 401K.
It's either going to be VFINX or VPMCX. I'll keep half in VSMGX.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
