Re: TEDMX???

My 401K is with Merrill Lynch and I'm currently mostly in TEDMX so my
allocation needs some work. My other account choices are below. Currently,
my wife and I are focusing on saving up for a house and paying off debt.
After we are ready and get into a house then we will start funding Roth
IRAs. The strategy of the day seems to be pulling your 401k back so you
still get your "free" company match, and then investing the difference into
your Roth IRA due to supposive future tax increases due to heavy government
(deficit) spending. We have recently both done this with our 401ks and are
using the difference to save up for the house and pay off remaining debt.

Any thoughts on my "investment choices" below are much appreciated (sorry I
don't have all the symbols). I do know when I transferred into TEDMX that I
had to acknowledge something to the effect that I can't change out of it for
1 month or I could be charged a fee or something. I bought at $19.86 on
3/10/05 and now it's currently $19.11 after a wild drop down into the high
$18s.

EQUITY/STOCK


Investment Type: Core
ALLBRNSTN LARGE CAP GROWTH A BLACKROCK AURORA PORTFOLIO A
DAVIS NY VENTURE FD CL A ML EQUITY INDEX TRUST I
ML FUNDAMENTAL GROWTH FND CL I PIONEER MID CAP VALUE FD CL A
TEMPLETON DEVELOP MRKT TEMPLETON FOREIGN FUND
THE MANAGERS SPECIAL EQUITY FD VAN KAMPEN EMERG GR FD CL A
VAN KAMPEN GRWTH & INC FD CL A


BOND/FIXED INCOME


Investment Type: Core
ML BOND FD -CORE BD PRT CL I

------------------------------------------------------------ --------------

CASH EQUIV/STABLE VALUE


Investment Type: Core
ML RET PRESERVATION TRUST


ALLOCATION FUNDS


Investment Type: Core
ML BALANCED CAPITAL FUND CL I ML GLOBAL ALLOCATION FUND CL I
TEMPLETON GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES


GOAL MANAGER MODEL


AGGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE
MODERATE




"Elle" <> wrote in message
news:BAV5e.3245$
> Have you allocated your retirement portfolio in accordance with
> conventional
> wisdom (assuming you're not some time of market timer)? That is, a certain
> amount in large caps, a certain amount in real estate, a certain amount in
> investment grade bonds, a certain amount in overseas stocks (or mutual
> funds), etc.?
>
> TEDMX has a 2% expense ratio, which is much higher than average. Not that
> this is per se bad; it's just that lower expense ratios more often seem to
> do as well or better.
>
> What other options do you have in your 401k? Also, do you have a
> traditional
> or Roth IRA?
>
> I used finance.yahoo.com just to get the basics on TEDMX, btw. I compared
> it
> to FSIIX, Fidelity's much lower expense ratio (0.2%) international stock
> fund, just to see if TEDMX is doing anything terribly odd, as a cursory
> check.
>
>
>
>
>
> "flinrius" <> wrote
>> Does anyone have any information on TEDMX? I recently put a large chunk
> of
>> my 401K into it because I think foreign funds will be better than US
> stocks.
>> Any info is appreciated. Thanks.
>
>
>

Re: TEDMX???

Flinrius,

Do not sweat the drop in TEDMX. It's only been six weeks or so! This is for
retirement, so think in terms of long term performance--30 years. For
example, use charts like



I forgot to note that TEDMX is international but also an emerging market
fund. FSIIX is international, but it's not emerging market oriented. Either
way, nothing particularly odd leaps out at me with TEDMX. I'd still only be
concerned about what fraction of your portfolio is in emerging markets. Just
a rough guesstimate from working with some portfolio planning tools: You
probably shouldn't have more than about 15% in emerging markets.

I assume you have only a limited number of funds from which to choose with
your 401k. IF you're concerned about allocation, find the allocation of each
of the funds below, then compare it with recommended allocations from site
below. Some of the symbols for your funds may be hard to find, as some of
the funds are likely somewhat unique to your 401k plan. That means you have
to dig for prospectuses, rather than using friendly informational sites like
finance.yahoo.com or www.morningstar.com which shows the breakdown of funds
like TEDMX.

I think bond ladders in a Roth IRA are more prudent than investment grade
bond funds right now. But that's another topic. Figure out where you are
with your allocations, and then maybe ask about specific ways to fulfill the
different categories, here and at misc.invest.financial-plan .

I agree with the counsel about maxing out the 401k only up to matching, then
putting the rest into a Roth IRA. Do consider the provisions for taking
money out of a Roth IRA for buying a house. Also, contributions (but not
earnings) may be withdrawn from a Roth IRA at any time without penalty.

(Take the 49-question survey. At the end, it
will spew back at you recommended allocations, using the index funds it
sells. Just ignore the particular funds, and use the general
recommendations.)

(Faster than the above, but more
general, too.)

(This appears to be
identical to many others sites' tools. Fast but general.)

www.vanguard.com (Click on: "Go to Personal Investors... " ; "Planning &
Education" near top; "Retirement Planning"; "I'm already saving... "; "How
should I allocate my assets" on the right, middle; "I accept" at the
bottom.)

Googling for {portfolio allocator} turns up more, but I doubt they vary
much from the above.




"flinrius" <> wrote
> My 401K is with Merrill Lynch and I'm currently mostly in TEDMX so my
> allocation needs some work. My other account choices are below.
Currently,
> my wife and I are focusing on saving up for a house and paying off debt.
> After we are ready and get into a house then we will start funding Roth
> IRAs. The strategy of the day seems to be pulling your 401k back so you
> still get your "free" company match, and then investing the difference
into
> your Roth IRA due to supposive future tax increases due to heavy
government
> (deficit) spending. We have recently both done this with our 401ks and
are
> using the difference to save up for the house and pay off remaining debt.
>
> Any thoughts on my "investment choices" below are much appreciated (sorry
I
> don't have all the symbols). I do know when I transferred into TEDMX that
I
> had to acknowledge something to the effect that I can't change out of it
for
> 1 month or I could be charged a fee or something. I bought at $19.86 on
> 3/10/05 and now it's currently $19.11 after a wild drop down into the high
> $18s.
>
> EQUITY/STOCK
>
>
> Investment Type: Core
> ALLBRNSTN LARGE CAP GROWTH A BLACKROCK AURORA PORTFOLIO A
> DAVIS NY VENTURE FD CL A ML EQUITY INDEX TRUST I
> ML FUNDAMENTAL GROWTH FND CL I PIONEER MID CAP VALUE FD CL
A
> TEMPLETON DEVELOP MRKT TEMPLETON FOREIGN FUND
> THE MANAGERS SPECIAL EQUITY FD VAN KAMPEN EMERG GR FD CL A
> VAN KAMPEN GRWTH & INC FD CL A
>
>
> BOND/FIXED INCOME
>
>
> Investment Type: Core
> ML BOND FD -CORE BD PRT CL I
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------
>
> CASH EQUIV/STABLE VALUE
>
>
> Investment Type: Core
> ML RET PRESERVATION TRUST
>
>
> ALLOCATION FUNDS
>
>
> Investment Type: Core
> ML BALANCED CAPITAL FUND CL I ML GLOBAL ALLOCATION FUND CL
I
> TEMPLETON GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES
>
>
> GOAL MANAGER MODEL
>
>
> AGGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE
> MODERATE
>
>
>
>
> "Elle" <> wrote in message
> news:BAV5e.3245$
> > Have you allocated your retirement portfolio in accordance with
> > conventional
> > wisdom (assuming you're not some time of market timer)? That is, a
certain
> > amount in large caps, a certain amount in real estate, a certain amount
in
> > investment grade bonds, a certain amount in overseas stocks (or mutual
> > funds), etc.?
> >
> > TEDMX has a 2% expense ratio, which is much higher than average. Not
that
> > this is per se bad; it's just that lower expense ratios more often seem
to
> > do as well or better.
> >
> > What other options do you have in your 401k? Also, do you have a
> > traditional
> > or Roth IRA?
> >
> > I used finance.yahoo.com just to get the basics on TEDMX, btw. I
compared
> > it
> > to FSIIX, Fidelity's much lower expense ratio (0.2%) international stock
> > fund, just to see if TEDMX is doing anything terribly odd, as a cursory
> > check.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > "flinrius" <> wrote
> >> Does anyone have any information on TEDMX? I recently put a large
chunk
> > of
> >> my 401K into it because I think foreign funds will be better than US
> > stocks.
> >> Any info is appreciated. Thanks.
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>

Re: TEDMX???

"flinrius" <> wrote in message
news:4sK6e.4747$
> My 401K is with Merrill Lynch and I'm currently mostly in TEDMX so
> my allocation needs some work. My other account choices are below. >
[...]
> Any thoughts on my "investment choices" below are much appreciated
> (sorry I don't have all the symbols). I do know when I transferred into
> TEDMX that I had to acknowledge something to the effect that I can't
> change out of it for 1 month or I could be charged a fee or something.
> I bought at $19.86 on 3/10/05 and now it's currently $19.11 after a
> wild drop down into the high $18s.

This is what I was saying about your buying into an extremely volatile
category (emerging markets). Here's how the funds in that category have
been performing:


As of April 11, the average 1 month performance for this category is -3.92%;
your fund is down "just" 3.24%, better than average for the category.

Part of the reason (which would be true of any foreign fund) is that the
dollar has been rising this year. Most people expect the dollar to resume
its decline (just look at today's trade deficit figures). That change will
help any foreign fund that doesn't hedge currency.

It still leaves open the question of how much volatility you can stomach.
In the past month, the average foreign large blend fund lost only half as
much, 1.90%. That's why I suggested you might consider broader foreign or
global funds.

Of the foreign/global funds you have available, the ML Global Allocation
Fund (MALOX) stands out. Solid performance, long time (16 year) manager,
moderate volatility, low expenses (0.88%). It also has a significant amount
of emerging market countries, so you wouldn't be walking away from that
market sector.

The possible negatives are that its portfolio is half in the U.S., so it is
only giving you half the international exposure you may be trying for; and
it is a hybrid, investing in foreign bonds as well as stocks. Whether that
can meet your needs (foreign exposure) depends on what you are seeking, e.g.
currency exposure, broader equity diversification, etc.

My own approach with 401Ks is to pick the best fund(s) that they offer that
fit in with my plans, and then fill in around that with my IRAs, which are
more flexible. You might consider that approach as you look over the funds
available.

> EQUITY/STOCK
>
>
> Investment Type: Core
> ALLBRNSTN LARGE CAP GROWTH A BLACKROCK AURORA PORTFOLIO A
> DAVIS NY VENTURE FD CL A ML EQUITY INDEX TRUST I
> ML FUNDAMENTAL GROWTH FND CL I PIONEER MID CAP VALUE FD CL
A
> TEMPLETON DEVELOP MRKT TEMPLETON FOREIGN FUND
> THE MANAGERS SPECIAL EQUITY FD VAN KAMPEN EMERG GR FD CL A
> VAN KAMPEN GRWTH & INC FD CL A
>
>
> BOND/FIXED INCOME
>
>
> Investment Type: Core
> ML BOND FD -CORE BD PRT CL I
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------
>
> CASH EQUIV/STABLE VALUE
>
>
> Investment Type: Core
> ML RET PRESERVATION TRUST
>
>
> ALLOCATION FUNDS
>
>
> Investment Type: Core
> ML BALANCED CAPITAL FUND CL I ML GLOBAL ALLOCATION FUND CL
I
> TEMPLETON GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES