Author Topic: Should I swap one target date fund for another? URFRX vs. VTTHX  (Read 2368 times)

mustachianteacher

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Should I swap one target date fund for another? URFRX vs. VTTHX
« on: January 08, 2016, 10:57:18 AM »
My work-sponsored 403b doesn't have the greatest choices, but after studying the options last year, I settled on sending a lot of my money to a target-date fund at USAA: URFRX. I'm fairly confident that this was the best choice available as almost everything else was either an insurance company annuity or an actively managed fund with very high fees.

(NOTE: I am already heavily invested in index funds, but I wanted a target-date fund to balance things out a bit. I chose one with a date about 10 years later than we actually plan on retiring to skew it to be slightly more aggressive. Also, in case it matters, my 403b requires that my money is directly invested into USAA funds initially.)

Now that I've done a bit more research, however, I think Vanguard's VTTHX fund would be a better fit. Its fees are only 0.18% rather than URFRX's 0.88%, and its Morningstar rating is consistently higher than USAA's rating. I realize the target dates are off by 5 years, but VTTHX generally seems to perform better than URFRX. (I already own VTTHX in my Roth IRA.)

So my question: My money MUST go directly into URFRX per the 403b rules. (Or, actually, it must go into some USAA fund first -- I just happened to choose URFRX.) Do you think it would be worthwhile to periodically swap out URFRX shares for VTTHX? If yes, is there an ideal frequency for this? I need to double-check on whether there are transaction costs, but I think if there are, they are minimal. I could be wrong about this, though.

MDM

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Re: Should I swap one target date fund for another? URFRX vs. VTTHX
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2016, 11:15:45 AM »
I need to double-check on whether there are transaction costs, but I think if there are, they are minimal. I could be wrong about this, though.
The first thing to check is whether you are allowed to do this at all under your plan.  You might be, but there is a good chance that you do not have the option to invest in anything other than a limited number of funds.

Here's hoping that you do have the option to choose your own.  If you do, it is likely to come with some fee for the privilege.

pbkmaine

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Re: Should I swap one target date fund for another? URFRX vs. VTTHX
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2016, 11:19:10 AM »
Do you have a brokerage option and the Vanguard option is through that? If so, check for additional fees. Also, in many plans, transfers to the brokerage account must go through a money market fund.

mustachianteacher

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Re: Should I swap one target date fund for another? URFRX vs. VTTHX
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2016, 12:39:29 PM »
I need to double-check on whether there are transaction costs, but I think if there are, they are minimal. I could be wrong about this, though.
The first thing to check is whether you are allowed to do this at all under your plan.  You might be, but there is a good chance that you do not have the option to invest in anything other than a limited number of funds.

Here's hoping that you do have the option to choose your own.  If you do, it is likely to come with some fee for the privilege.

You are correct: I'm not allowed to make any changes except to other USAA funds. *sigh* Could be worse, but how annoying.