Very few individual company 401(k) retirement plan participants ever take the time to review their investment management decisions. They have no idea what worked, and what did not work, over the previous calendar year.
Your year-end 2016 company 401(k) retirement plan account statement will likely be in your mailbox by the end of this week. Now is a great time to review last year’s investment management decisions.
Start with the ranking of your 2016 investment returns. How did the mutual funds you actually own rank versus the other mutual funds available to you?
Your favorite college football team is ranked each week of the season. So are your favorite professional golfers and tennis players. Your company 401(k) retirement plan mutual funds are available in the same format. Find an independent, third-party investment advisor who can provide you with a database ranking of default company 401(k) retirement plan mutual fund menus
The mutual fund rankings that I provide my clients are based upon a combination of short and long-term investment performance. Mutual fund assets classes are also ranked. Each mutual fund is scored. Those mutual fund scores are then ranked from highest to lowest score.
The mutual fund rankings clearly show the best investment returns available on a default company 401(k) retirement plan menu. More importantly, current rankings provide a clear analysis of “what to buy” on the mutual fund menu of options.
Even in the current upward stock market cycle, there are better or worse asset class mutual funds to own. If you own the best-performing asset class mutual funds, the growth of your company 401(k) retirement plan account will be more consistent.
You are taking 100% of the risk of investing in the stock market. It only makes sense to get the best investment returns that are available in your company 401(k) retirement plan account.
There is only a small handful of mutual funds that outperform the others. If you don’t own the best mutual funds available, then you are just guessing at what to own. Why guess when you can know?
Don’t own bad mutual funds. Only own the best mutual funds available to you. Those two simple steps are the key to more successful company 401(k) retirement plan mutual fund investment decisions in 2017.
Ric Lager
Lager & Company, Inc.
