Should I Invest In My Company's 401(k) Or Get It Alone?

Should I Invest In My Company's 401(k) Or Get It Alone?

By Ben Popken February 25, 2008

Crapple writes:

I’m 27, looking to start planning for retirement. My company has an arrangement through The Hartford group for our 401K and I read your article on Fund Level Expenses and how the broker will be earning compound interest on MY compound interest. I also ran across this article while researching:(and it also links to a Mutual Fund Expense Analyzer that might be handy for other Consumerist readers). The article is talking about getting yourself involved in an Index Fund that would have fee’s of around .19% or so and going it alone. [More]

Index Funds Vs Fees Behind The Financial Advisers Curtain

Index Funds Vs Fees Behind The Financial Advisers Curtain

By consumerist.com October 15, 2007

“Guide to Transparent Investing” is a 53 page PDF about how financial advisers are ripoffs and you can do all your investing by putting your money in index funds. The basic principles they promote are to figure out how long you want to invest for, pick a portfolio based on your timeline and risk tolerance, and put the money in index funds. Set it, forget it, and spend more time doing the important things in life, like gardening and getting your scuba diving certification.

What Are "Expense Ratios?"

What Are "Expense Ratios?"

By consumerist.com June 13, 2007

For the new investor considering mutual funds, one important comparison basis is their expense ratio.

Comparing Index ETFs and Mutual Funds

Comparing Index ETFs and Mutual Funds

By consumerist.com May 22, 2007

We understand that investing in index exchange trade funds (ETF) can be a good option for beginning investors, but what if you’re also looking at mutual funds, and you want to compare purchase costs between the two?

Financial Advisors Often Give Poor, Expensive Investing Advice

Financial Advisors Often Give Poor, Expensive Investing Advice

By consumerist.com April 19, 2007

Want to get some investment advice that is expensive and doesn’t perform any better than other, less costly options? If so, ask your broker or financial advisor for investing advice. They’re much more likely to point you toward an investment with a “load” — a fee that ranges in price but generally runs 3% to 5% of your investment’s value — simply for them “recommending” it (some would say “selling” it is more accurate.)

An Argument For Index Funds

An Argument For Index Funds

By consumerist.com January 15, 2007

FreeMoneyFinance has a nice piece on why he invests mainly in index funds.