Don’t assume your 401(k) mutual fund menu.
Includes good investment options.
After reviewing 401(k) menus for over 27 years.
I’ve found more disappointment than optimism.
Searching for good investment options.
Large-cap growth funds.
Small-cap value funds.
International funds.
Target-date funds.
The menu looks impressive.
The more choices the more assumed value created.
But more mutual fund options mask the reality.
Most 401(k) mutual funds never justify their cost.
The 401(k) industry sells diversification of mutual fund choices.
Individual 401(k) investors need better investment performance outcomes.
Those are different objectives.
And your 401(k) investment returns suffer.
How can you know your best 401(k) mutual funds?
When I review a 401(k) mutual fund menu, I focus on three decisions.
First, I find the low-cost S&P 500 index mutual fund option.
To establish a benchmark for every other mutual fund available.
Every mutual fund option in a 401(k).
Compared to that benchmark investment performance index.
Second, rank all 401(k) mutual funds versus every other mutual fund.
Like your Fantasy Football player rankings.
Separate availability from quality.
Just because a fund can be purchased.
Does not mean you should own it.
Third, I look for the 401(k) SDBA option.
A self-directed brokerage account or brokerage window.
Inside your existing 401(k) account.
The SDBA may be the least appreciated feature in your 401(k).
It can shift mutual fund selections.
From high-cost and limited to low-cost and unlimited.
Are you choosing the best 401(k) options available?
Let’s connect and I can provide the right answer.
P.S. A 401(k) second opinion reveals better options hiding in plain sight.
