I am 31 years old. I work for my county government. I currently have part of my paycheck going to a deferred compensation plan (457b) with Prudential.
When I initially started contributing, I just chose the goalmaker plan, that chooses investments based on risk level and expected retirement date. Although there are Vanguard funds available through Prudential, goalmaker does not invest you in any of them.
This is my current investment profile (roughly, they rebalance quarterly, so they are a tiny bit off of this, but not much):
7% - Stable Value - Prudential Stable Value Fund (is this essentially cash?)
8% - Fixed income - Core Plus Pimco Fund - .48% expense ratio
17% - Large Cap Value - Invesco - ACGMX - .59%
17% - Large Cap Growth - SA T Rowe Price Growth Stock Strategy - .73%
5% - Janus Mid Cap - JMCVX - .77%
5% - Morgan Stanley Mid Cap - MPEGX - .71%
5% - Allianz Small Cap - PSVIX - .86%
5% - Clear Bridge Small Cap - SBPYX - .90%
31% - International - American Funds EuroPacific GrowthFund R4 - REREX - .85%
The Vanguard Funds that are available are:
Fixed income - Vanguard Total Bond - VBTIX - .07%
Large Cap Blend - Vanguard Institutional Index - VINIX - .04%
Mid Cap Blend - Vanguard Mid Cap Index - VMCIX - .08%
Small Cap Blend - Vanguard Small Cap - VSCIX - .08%
I am trying to figure out if it is worth moving from the funds I am currently in to the roughly equivalent Vanguard funds.
First, it is my understanding that blends essentially have a combo of value with growth, correct? So I could take the 34% currently in large cap growth and value and put it into Vanguard Large cap blend?
Second, it does appear that the 10 year averages for the funds I am currently in have average annual returns a bit higher than those of vanguard, even when the expenses are taken into account. Obviously I know that past performance is not indicative of future performance, but it is hard to get past that, to a point. Any thoughts?
Third, if I were to switch, are there any consequences to essentially selling what I have and buying the vanguard stuff instead? Since it is deferred comp, there should not be any tax obligations right now, but are there likely to be any fees associated with making this switch that would make it a less desirable option? Should I instead just try to put future contributions into vanguard and leave what is currently invested alone?
Fourth, right now I have invested with a moderate risk profile. The aggressive plan would cut the bonds and stable value. Is that crazy to do?
Anything else I should be considering?
I am very new to this, but in terms of investing itself and in terms of my knowledge, but I want to make the best decisions now to help me out the best 30 years from now. I do not have much money invested at all right now, but over time, that will change.
Thank you so much.