I have a Roth IRA brokerage account with Vanguard. I'm thinking of putting the max amount in VFIFX.
What do you guys think? Is VFIFX a decent set-it-and-forget-it fund. Or, should I create my own portfolio?
VFIFX will be just fine for you and give you everything you need in a single fund. Down the road, if you feel like saving a little money, you can sell it and buy the underlying funds individually. Otherwise you could always buy the ETFs for each of the funds (VTI, VXUS, and BND are all that are needed) and you'd be saving money right away. But buying ETFs also means that you'll have some cash sitting in your account because you can only buy single shares (no fractional shares).
At Fidelity, do you have access to FIPFX? The expenses on FFFHX are 0.78%. If you can get FIPFX, which is the index version of the fund, your expenses would be 0.16%. Otherwise feel free to post your fund options in your 401k and we can help you choose a cheaper allocation.
Thanks for the feedback! Unfortunately I don't have access to FIPFX.
I only have access to the following funds:
ABF LG CAP VAL INV (AAGPX)07/17/1987
FID CAPITAL APPREC (FDCAX)11/26/1986
FID CONTRAFUND (FCNTX)05/17/1967
NB SOCIALLY RESP TR (NBSTX)03/16/1994
OAKMARK FUND I (OAKMX)08/05/1991
SPTN 500 INDEX ADV (FUSVX)02/17/1988
ALL/B DISC VAL A (ABASX)03/29/2001
COLUMBIA ACORN Z (ACRNX)06/09/1970
FID LOW PRICED STK (FLPSX)12/27/1989
SPTN EXT MKT IDX ADV (FSEVX)11/05/1997
JANUS TRITON T (JATTX)02/25/2005
LOOMIS SM CAP VAL R (LSCRX)05/13/1991
DEUT GLB SM CAP S (SGSCX)09/10/1991
FID INTL DISCOVERY (FIGRX)12/31/1986
SPTN INTL INDEX ADV (FSIVX)11/05/1997
WFA EMRG MKTS EQ I (EMGNX)09/06/1994
FID BALANCED (FBALX)11/06/1986
FID FREEDOM K 2005 (FFKVX)07/02/2009
FID FREEDOM K 2010 (FFKCX)07/02/2009
FID FREEDOM K 2015 (FKVFX)07/02/2009
FID FREEDOM K 2020 (FFKDX)07/02/2009
FID FREEDOM K 2025 (FKTWX)07/02/2009
FID FREEDOM K 2030 (FFKEX)07/02/2009
FID FREEDOM K 2035 (FKTHX)07/02/2009
FID FREEDOM K 2040 (FFKFX)07/02/2009
FID FREEDOM K 2045 (FFKGX)07/02/2009
FID FREEDOM K 2050 (FFKHX)07/02/2009 **current fund**
FID FREEDOM K 2055 (FDENX)06/01/2011
FID FREEDOM K INCOME (FFKAX)07/02/2009
FID STRAT REAL RET (FSRRX)09/07/2005
MIP CL 109/07/19897 day yield as of10/31/2014 1.02%
BLKRK INFL PRO BD BR (BPLBX)06/28/2004
FID TOTAL BOND (FTBFX)10/15/2002
FIDELITY GOVT INCOME (FGOVX)04/04/1979
LOOMIS GLBL BD INST (LSGBX)05/10/1991
FID US GOVT RES (FGRXX)11/03/19817 day yield as of10/31/2014 0.01%