8 ms·

The problem is that many investment products in 401ks under perform. At my last company the best fund netted on 4%. Since I now manage my own IRA, I get 15-20%

The problem is that many investment products in 401ks under perform. At my last company the best fund netted on 4%. Since I now manage my own IRA, I get 15-20%.

akgerber 9y ago
All the 401ks I've had in my career (mostly at 'startups'), even relatively poor ones, have offered at least one Vanguard index fund and/or target date fund-of-funds.
yequalsx 9y ago
It is not possible for everyone to get this return. Managing your own IRA may be a good idea for some but it isn't for everyone. And a 15%-20% return s not realistic for more than a small percentage of people.
kcorbitt 9y ago
Most 401(k)s have at least one S&P 500 or US total market fund with low expense ratios. If anyone out there reading this doesn't know what that looks like, feel free to email me with the options your company provides and I can help you choose the right one. Like the GP says, this stuff is important, and if you set it up now you'll thank yourself later. Re: getting 15-20%: there will be years that you can do this (heck, the S&P 500 returned 32% in 2014) but I certainly wouldn't count on getting those returns long-term. Consider that if you have $500k today and are able to successfully invest it at 20% returns, you'll be a billionaire in under 40 years. There are people who have done it (Warren Buffett and perhaps a few others), but if you're one of them you probably have better things to be doing with your time than posting on Hacker News. :)
- virmundi 9y ago
  Buffet is interesting. He's an actual investor. Not a stock purchaser like most people. He buys companies and then has enough power to control the business. Under his firm, the company then becomes more valuable through leadership. As a result he can make billions.
ProAm 9y ago
> Since I now manage my own IRA, I get 15-20%. I hear this a lot from people who invest and I simply don't believe it. If you are able to consistently get 15-20% you should stop your normal career and just become a investment advisor/broker as for you'll make WAY more money in life.
- virmundi 9y ago
  Don't have the money. Also, a reasonable index fund like XLS has had 13% on its own. Add to the trading oil ETNs. Those can have 10% moves on their own in a few weeks. They are also 1099.
  - antisthenes 9y ago
    It's irrelevant whether you have the money. If you can consistently guarantee above average market returns to your clients, you'll be swimming in their money (and the fees/percentage they pay you to manage it)
    - derivagral 9y ago
      Realistically, nobody is going to trust a relevant amount of money to what amounts to "some guy on the street from outside the profession."
      - ProAm 9y ago
        This would be so easy to prove though, do it for a couple years with friends and family to prove you can really get 15-20% every year and the money will pour in.
        rlanday 9y ago
        Well, not really; given enough fools who think they can successfully beat the marker, even in the absence of any actual ability to do so, some number of them will manage to for a few years by making riskier bets than would be optimal. So if someone tries to get you to invest based on their past performance, you have to consider how many people there are out there trying to beat the market to determine whether this person has any actual skill or just got lucky (and will proceed to lose a bunch of your money by making said overly risky bets).
ghostbrainalpha 9y ago
Is it possible to get an employer to match your personally managed IRA?
- dsr_ 9y ago
  Sure. If your employer is doing a matching program that doesn't involve granting you their stock as the matching part, money is deposited and whatever you direct is purchased.

The problem is that many investment products in 401ks under perform. At my last company the best fund netted on 4%. Since I now manage my own IRA, I get 15-20%.

akgerber 9y ago

All the 401ks I've had in my career (mostly at 'startups'), even relatively poor ones, have offered at least one Vanguard index fund and/or target date fund-of-funds.

yequalsx 9y ago

It is not possible for everyone to get this return. Managing your own IRA may be a good idea for some but it isn't for everyone. And a 15%-20% return s not realistic for more than a small percentage of people.

kcorbitt 9y ago

Most 401(k)s have at least one S&P 500 or US total market fund with low expense ratios. If anyone out there reading this doesn't know what that looks like, feel free to email me with the options your company provides and I can help you choose the right one. Like the GP says, this stuff is important, and if you set it up now you'll thank yourself later. Re: getting 15-20%: there will be years that you can do this (heck, the S&P 500 returned 32% in 2014) but I certainly wouldn't count on getting those returns long-term. Consider that if you have $500k today and are able to successfully invest it at 20% returns, you'll be a billionaire in under 40 years. There are people who have done it (Warren Buffett and perhaps a few others), but if you're one of them you probably have better things to be doing with your time than posting on Hacker News. :)

virmundi 9y ago
Buffet is interesting. He's an actual investor. Not a stock purchaser like most people. He buys companies and then has enough power to control the business. Under his firm, the company then becomes more valuable through leadership. As a result he can make billions.

ProAm 9y ago

> Since I now manage my own IRA, I get 15-20%. I hear this a lot from people who invest and I simply don't believe it. If you are able to consistently get 15-20% you should stop your normal career and just become a investment advisor/broker as for you'll make WAY more money in life.

virmundi 9y ago
Don't have the money. Also, a reasonable index fund like XLS has had 13% on its own. Add to the trading oil ETNs. Those can have 10% moves on their own in a few weeks. They are also 1099.
- antisthenes 9y ago
  It's irrelevant whether you have the money. If you can consistently guarantee above average market returns to your clients, you'll be swimming in their money (and the fees/percentage they pay you to manage it)
  - derivagral 9y ago
    Realistically, nobody is going to trust a relevant amount of money to what amounts to "some guy on the street from outside the profession."
    - ProAm 9y ago
      This would be so easy to prove though, do it for a couple years with friends and family to prove you can really get 15-20% every year and the money will pour in.
      - rlanday 9y ago
        Well, not really; given enough fools who think they can successfully beat the marker, even in the absence of any actual ability to do so, some number of them will manage to for a few years by making riskier bets than would be optimal. So if someone tries to get you to invest based on their past performance, you have to consider how many people there are out there trying to beat the market to determine whether this person has any actual skill or just got lucky (and will proceed to lose a bunch of your money by making said overly risky bets).

ghostbrainalpha 9y ago

Is it possible to get an employer to match your personally managed IRA?

dsr_ 9y ago
Sure. If your employer is doing a matching program that doesn't involve granting you their stock as the matching part, money is deposited and whatever you direct is purchased.