Gah!!! Nooooooo!

[kkbmustang]

So I just discovered that the Hubs rollover has been sitting in a freaking money market account since October. I want to vomit.

That being said, oh wise mustachians, what do we do?  We have to find a home for $106,000.

Advice please on where and when. It's in Vanguard.  Thanks.

[turtlefield76]

In order to give you a good answer we'll need to know how old you are and what your tolerance for market fluctuations are. 

I would probably recommend a combination of VBTLX (total bond market admiral shares) and VTSAX (total stock market admiral shares) or VFIAX (500 index admiral shares) for your core holdings. 

Then to further diversify you could add at 5-10% of your overall investments depending on your tolerance risk:
VGSLX (REIT index admiral shares) for real estate exposure
VFWAX (World ex-US) for international exposure
VEMAX (Emerging markets)

Those would be my suggestions for starting out.  Getting the appropriate Bond/Stock for your risk tolerance is probably the most important.  Just VBTLX and VTSAX will get you most of the way there.   

[kkbmustang]

Thanks turtle. I am 39 and hubs is 42. We are not risk adverse since we have a long time until 60.

We have other IRA and 401k accounts totaling about $208k and they are in a mix of funds but would have to look up the allocation. I try to stay 10 percent international, 10 percent bond funds and the rest stock funds as a general rule, although I've got about 5 percent in the vanguard REIT fund you mentioned already.

[turtlefield76]

okay we are close to being in the same boat.  i'm a little younger (36) and I tend to be fairly aggressive and more bullish on international.  the way i figure it i'm investing for what the world will look like when i'm 59.5.  i'm sure that a zillion opinions on the matter but i don't think the US is going to be 90% of the world's economy.  so my stock allocation is more like 1/3 US 1/3 Dev international 1/3 Emerging markets. 

but it really depends on your own philosophy and what the rest of your IRA and 401k portfolio looks like.  but generally speaking my 30 year money is kind of like yours except when it comes to equities allocation 10% bonds 10% REIT then 30% US stocks, 25% International 25% Emerging markets.  I AM NOT REALLY advocating that you do this because i'm not really sure of my own analysis but i can give you the how i diversify in each of these areas and it'll give you an idea of your options.

for US equities if you only hold the 500 index you could add NAESX (small cap index) and even VMVIX (mid cap index). 
For international you could add: VFSVX (all world ex-us small cap index) or VGXRX (all world ex-us real estate index)
to diversify my emerging markets portion i added a non-vanguard fund FNMIX (emerging market debt).  it's got a higher ER than what most vanguard investors favor but the returns have been phenomenal. 

I really hesitate suggesting these to other people because I know that i'm taking a pretty risky unconventional long term gamble on what the world will look like in 30 years.  But hey it's only money right?  One of the reasons why I overweight international and emerging markets is that I want my equities to break down to match global GDP percentages as opposed to Market Cap %.  You can do some research on the subject but basically I'm a believer in GDP weight as opposed to Market Cap weight allocations. 

it really does help to figure out what your allocations are though.  i spent too long letting other people decide what they should be and when i did take control over my allocations at least when i under perform a ton it'll be on my own decisions:) 

[kkbmustang]

Thanks!  I will figure out where everything is in all of the accounts and go from there.

[Nords]

So I just discovered that the Hubs rollover has been sitting in a freaking money market account since October. I want to vomit.
That being said, oh wise mustachians, what do we do?  We have to find a home for $106,000.
Advice please on where and when. It's in Vanguard.  Thanks.

We see this type of question a lot, and it's usually not the right question.

The answer is "You invest your money according to the asset allocation that you've picked out".

If you're with Vanguard then Bogleheads can help you with specific fund recommendations-- but read their Wiki section on "Getting started" before posting:
http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Main_Page

Once you've figured out what goal(s) you're investing for and what volatility/risk you can handle, then you'll be able to choose an asset allocation.  Then you'll be ready to start decrypting fund tickers and expense ratios.

[kkbmustang]

Thanks, Nords. I've started reading what you suggested.

I'm putting together a spreadsheet of all of our investments in 401(k)s and IRAs so I know where everything is. One of the large 401(k)'s will be rolled over in the next couple of months since I'm no longer working at my former employer. I'm waiting to see if I get a profit sharing contribution based on the compensation I earned while I was still employed there. They usually make their contributions in March, so I won't roll over my account until I know for sure it's not an issue. The 401(k) isn't with Vanguard and I'd like to have all of my IRAs there.

This will be a very good exercise so we know where all of our investments are and can watch how they are doing. Pretty good wake-up call with the Hubs' rollover. A good call to action if ever there was one.

[kkbmustang]

Okay, so here's what I have so far. The Hubs' IRA rollover is in a money market account ($106k). His current employer's 401(k) is $33k and I have no idea what it is currently invested in.

My IRA   $71,617.41         
VWEHX    Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund Investor Shares    916.764   $6.16    $5,647.27
VMGRX    Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth Fund                                    311.68   $21.69    $6,760.34
VGSLX    Vanguard REIT Index Fund Admiral Shares                    205.308   $97.79    $20,077.07
VTSAX    Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares    1,037.45   $37.72    $39,132.73
         
            
My 401(k) - to be rolled over in March/April to Vanguard    $101,677.62          
TRRDX   T. Rowe Price Retirement 2040 Fund                   767.61   $19.94    $15,306.07
OAKBX   Oakmark Equity and Income Fund (Class I)   842.12   $29.62    $24,943.44
VFINX   Vanguard 500 Index Fund (Investor Shares)   183.42   $138.56    $25,413.99
JMVIX   Perkins Mid Cap Value Fund (Class S)                   1143.05   $22.63    $25,867.13
ACINX   Columbia Acorn International Fund (Class Z)   240.51   $42.19    $10,146.99
            
So, based on the suggestions in the bogleheads videos, we should be aiming an allocation of 40% bonds and 60% stocks. All of the funds described above (the Hubs' IRA rollover, my IRA and my 401(k)) are for use starting at around age 60, or in 20 years.

The funds we will use to fund the early portion of our retirement will be accumulated starting now over the next 10 years. Those will include the Hubs' small 401(k) and our Vanguard IRAs.

Is that enough information?

[NateDogg]

Since you have a long time frame, I'll go out on a limb and suggest an even higher weighting towards stocks, and lower towards bonds. Part of my rationale for less bonds is the historically low interest rates in the US right now. When those rates rise again (as they surely must) the value of bonds will decrease. I am a little younger than you, (32) and paring down to about 15% bonds, the rest in stocks. It's a slow process, I don't recommend you do anything all at once.

REITs. I keep thinking about them, but so far I've been content to have my real estate investment be just the quarter million mortgage on my house. I think that's a big enough allocation to real estate in my portfolio. Perhaps, though, my previous argument about the macro-economic environment relating to bonds applies just as well to real estate. I'd love to purchase another home, I think now is the time for that sort of real estate investment. Hmmm. Please share your thoughts.

[kkbmustang]

Nate- I will likely take a higher interest in stock based investments than 60%.  Maybe 70%. As for real estate, we currently have a home with a mortgage, but will be selling it this spring in favor of either renting or buying a small condo or townhome (preferably one without HOA fees). We are trying to reduce our monthly expenses and pull some equity out of our house to payoff the balance of our student loans. We'll be in a much better financial position that way.