Author Topic: My Investment Portfolio  (Read 3155 times)

tophdna

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My Investment Portfolio
« on: December 05, 2016, 11:59:08 AM »
Hello again guys. I've posted before and just wanted to clarify a few things. I have a government job that has a pension. I'm 30 years old and about to be married in June 2017. In addition to that, my current investment life is this:

Deferred Compensation Plan - 457 plan
$100 dollars a month allocated as:
90% into BlackRock Total Stock Market Index Fund Class K - BKTSX
https://www.google.com/finance?q=BKTSX&ei=v7ZFWJH9Gsq_evSXhOAL
10% into BlackRock U.S. Total Bond Index Fund Class K Shares - WFBIX
https://www.google.com/finance?q=MUTF:WFBIX

Roth IRA
$100 dollars a month allocated as:
100% into Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF - VTI
https://www.google.com/finance?q=VTI&ei=W7dFWJC8BsSRe4K1ncAL

I've been reading a lot on what accounts to hold, like taxable and tax-advantaged. I'm assuming for the Roth IRA since it is post-tax, i do not have to even claim it on my tax forms (including the gains)? Do you guys have any opinions on what I'm currently doing? Any insight, advice, or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.
« Last Edit: December 05, 2016, 12:30:30 PM by tophdna »

Rubyvroom

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Re: My Investment Portfolio
« Reply #1 on: December 07, 2016, 10:46:49 AM »
Hello! I keep seeing this drop lower and lower down the page with no replies, so I thought I'd mention to you that you really haven't provided us with enough information to give you meaningful advice. We don't know your desired asset allocation or risk tolerance, your income situation, if you have credit card balances or other debt you are paying off, if you have an emergency fund, what other investment options you have available to you (if any), etc. All of these things are helpful for us to know to offer advice.

You might consider looking at some of the questions outlined in the How to Write a "Case Study" thread to see what types of information might be helpful for us to know. We don't need everything listed there, but we certainly need more than what you've provided :)

Good luck to you!

VoteCthulu

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Re: My Investment Portfolio
« Reply #2 on: December 07, 2016, 04:31:56 PM »
I've been reading a lot on what accounts to hold, like taxable and tax-advantaged. I'm assuming for the Roth IRA since it is post-tax, i do not have to even claim it on my tax forms (including the gains)? Do you guys have any opinions on what I'm currently doing? Any insight, advice, or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.
You do not report your Roth IRA contributions, Vanguard does that for you. You do need to keep track of your contributions, though, so that if you need to withdraw any money before retirement you know how much you can take out without penalty.

The investments you listed look fine to me. Some might suggest more international, etc. but my first reaction was "He's only saving $200/month? He must be expecting to work until whenever his pension kicks in!" but perhaps you grow your own food and can retire on peanuts, or you're saving for a down payment on a house, or something else.

More specific questions and description about what your situation is (desired retirement age, expected retirement expenses, etc.) usually draws more attention and answers.

theolympians

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Re: My Investment Portfolio
« Reply #3 on: December 13, 2016, 08:07:32 AM »
I agree with the above posts. A couple other things to consider: Does your 457 from work have matching funds? Be sure to take advantage of those! When married sit down with the wife and budget your retirement savings. A little pain now will pay dividends later. If you put savings on auto pilot so to speak, within a year you will forget you are doing it.

SeattleCPA

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Re: My Investment Portfolio
« Reply #4 on: December 13, 2016, 08:21:59 AM »
I doubt a Roth is right for you. You can have accumulate as much as $600K or so in a traditional IRA, 401(k), etc and not pay taxes in retirement... you need to be saving more than twice as much as you're saying (you and your spouse) in order to even get close to that... and you'll need 35 years to get there.

The only way a Roth makes sense in your situation, I'm pretty sure, is if you're not paying any income taxes right now.

Derrian

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Re: My Investment Portfolio
« Reply #5 on: December 14, 2016, 05:38:19 AM »
 As far as whether or not it makes sense to contribute to your 457 or your Roth 457 it's a pens entirely on your income and tax bracket. If you are currently in the 15% federal tax bracket or an hour it's probably a good idea to contribute to a Roth. However if you were in the 25% or higher tax bracket  it would be more beneficial to contribute to a traditional 457 account.