401K Help

[FIPharm]

Hello fellow MMMs,

I was wondering if someone could help me out with my 401K asset allocation and options. I currently have a 401K with Fidelity and signed up with their "management at work service) (0.35% fee of balance every quarter). I basically fill out a risk tolerance questionnaire (risk level 10 / 90% stocks & 10% bonds AA) and then they manage my 401K for me by rebalancing my asset allocation every quarter on a scheduled basis.

Below is the asset allocation Fidelity set up for me:

AF EUROPAC GROWTH R6 (RERGX) - International - 27.29%

VANG EQUITY INC ADM (VEIRX) - Large Cap - 18.01%

FID 500 INDEX IPR (FXAIX) - Large Cap - 17.79%

ARTISAN SMALL CAP IS (APHSX) - Small Cap - 13.15%

FID MID CAP IDX INS (FSTPX) - Mid-Cap - 12.05%

AM CENT DIV BOND R6 (ADDVX) - Income - 9.58%

VANG MORGAN GRTH ADM (VMRAX) - Large Cap - 2.13%


These are the only options besides Target Date Retirement Funds. I'm also maxing out my Roth IRA with Vanguard and I invest in VTSAX 100% currently since I'm in the wealth building/growth stage. I really enjoyed jlcollinsnh's stock series and wanted to follow his approach for my 401K. I'm also concerned about some of the fees/ER on some of these funds.

I was planning on stopping the service if I know how to manage it so I was wondering if I should rebalance myself every quarter using the same allocation above or would FXIAX 90%/ADDVX10% allocation be comparable to VTSAX/VBTLX jlcollinsnh's stock series investment approach? or 100% FXIAX instead of spreading it out the the other funds?

Thank you for your time and consideration,
E

[AccidentalMiser]

FXIAX is different from VTSAX.  FX is SP500 only and VTSAX is total US market.  The problem, as you know, is with the damn fees.  Can you look up and post what the fees are for the various funds?

Do you have "brokeragelink" available with your 401k?  That's a thing that fidelity offers that lets you control your investments into stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, etc. It's like a brokerage account but with your 401k.  Ask your 401k/HR people or check your plan literature if you have it.

If you have that, then you can invest in the fidelity equivalent of VTSAX with microscopic fees.

[terran]

Also, don't necessarily discount the target date funds. If they're Vanguard or Fidelity Freedom Index (there are non index freedom funds so be careful) funds then they're good stuff and a heck of a lot cheaper than paying the advisory fee if if they are a bit more expensive than going totally DIY.

[ThatGuy]

This might help with analyzing the fees of each fund.

https://tools.finra.org/fund_analyzer/

[FIPharm]

I just snip the chart for ER, I know there are other fees but this what I could find for right now.

Thanks for your help!

[jacoavluha]

A lot of those choices suck. I’d lose the management feature and put it all in the 500 index, maybe add 10-15% in the cheap mid cap index, and forget about it.

[Steeze]

I 2nd the sp 500 & mid cap choice.

If it were me I would do 80/20 sp500/mid.

If you want 10% bonds open an IRA at vanguard and buy them there for less.

I do this. 100% us market index in 401k due to fees. International in taxable account. Bonds & REITS in my IRA.

I could do everything in my 401k, but the fees are high, so I get my target allocation across multiple accounts to get the best rate.

[terran]

A lot of those choices suck. I’d lose the management feature and put it all in the 500 index, maybe add 10-15% in the cheap mid cap index, and forget about it.

Me too.

[boarder42]

split between the S&P and mid cap index - whatever ratio you choose really wont matter a ton in the long run.

[FIPharm]

A lot of those choices suck. I’d lose the management feature and put it all in the 500 index, maybe add 10-15% in the cheap mid cap index, and forget about it.

Haha! Yes I only used the management service when I first got hired as a pharmacist because I didn't know what I needed/wanted to do. I knew some of the choices were bad after I studied up so I'm glad I posted this for some affirmation/confirmation.  Thank you!

If you want 10% bonds open an IRA at vanguard and buy them there for less.

I do this. 100% us market index in 401k due to fees. International in taxable account. Bonds & REITS in my IRA.

I could do everything in my 401k, but the fees are high, so I get my target allocation across multiple accounts to get the best rate.

This right here, this is exactly what I was thinking about doing! I'll go ahead and cancel the management fee and start investing in FXAIX 100% or FXAIX 80%/FSTPX 20% in my 401K as recommended and adjust my asset allocation with Vanguard (Roth IRA) + TD Ameritrade (HSA w/ Lively) + Wealthfront (Personal Investment Account). I wanted to keep Wealthfront for the automation and daily tax-loss harvesting. I've been teaching my pharmacy students about FI so I've been lucky with a few referrals for free management (35K managed for free). I'm hoping I can keep spreading this FI stuff and get additional referrals every year.

Do you have "brokeragelink" available with your 401k?  That's a thing that fidelity offers that lets you control your investments into stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, etc. It's like a brokerage account but with your 401k.  Ask your 401k/HR people or check your plan literature if you have it.

I actually do have a Fidelity Brokerage Link option available thru my 401K however I can only invest 30% of my total balance so I'd like to avoid this if possible. Also, I am not sure what funds I can actually invest in but I will double check and get back to you! - Thank you!

Again, thank you everyone for your help, I really appreciate it!

Keep it rolling,
E