Any advice on how to get better returns on my 401k?

For the last several months, my 401k has been getting rocked! I'm 28 and make a solid income, so my profile is on the aggressive side .... Any advice on where I can align my $$$ in the market right now, to get a decent return? Or do I just need to tone it down until the market picks back up?Any advice on how to get better returns on my 401k?
here's a very basic aggressive allocation:


15% large cap growth


15% large cap value


15% midcap blend


15% small cap blend.


20% international


20% bonds





if you're allocated this way and still getting crushed .. and you still want to call yourself aggressive... then just keep steady... dollar cost average into it ... rebalance every 6 months or a year back to the above allocation.... close your eyes and in 10 years you'll be happy you didnt get conservative when things were bad.... cause if you do you;ll forever be likely to sell at the bottom and buy at the top when things are good.





anyways.... if you want more professional direction ask if your employer;s 401k has a consultant that you can talk to about suggested models.... get his/her guidance





cheers and good luckAny advice on how to get better returns on my 401k?
you're at the mercy of the market - I think I lost money in 2007 in my 401k - and I switched around to different funds several times - I would have been better off keeping all in a money market fund all year - hindsight is beautiful, eh?
I would need to know where your current allocations are set within your 401k. Obviously the market itself has been rocked these past few months, but since you have been hit hard it tells me you aren't properly diversified.


post a follow-up with which funds you are invested in in your 401k and what percentage of the overall 401k each fund occupies.
If any one fund is suffering immensely, sure...blow it off...get more into '; what's working';.


The most important thing is '; know what those funds are invested in';. It's going to take some time for '; financials'; and '; home-builders'; to turn around. Get away from them for awhile... seek funds that are more international in scope...slightly heavy in energy.


Just a couple of thoughts. Good luck.


P.S. If ';everything'; is turning down..( even after being more ';selective';) then you just ride it out...it's happened before and things have a way of coming back stronger( most times). You are young, lots of time to re-coup these losses....IF you have the stomach for it, this is actually a very good time to INCREASE your contributions to the 401...you'll be buying more stock '; on the cheap side';...so when a turnaround comes you'll be increasing your gains. ( It's hard to do , but if you look at a guy like Buffet, that is how you end up on top.)
best way to look at your 401K returns is to think about the average pricing you put into it. For example this month you will participate and buy mutual funds shares on the cheap because the market is down, next month you might buy it at a high if the market go up. As a rule of thumb you should revise your allocation at least once a year, but you should avoid selling on a down market. So thighten your seat belt, keep what you have invested as is, keep participating in the funds you 've choosen (as you now buy on the cheap today), but start shifting a bit of your contribution to safer funds. When the market recover start thinking about a different strategy by either changing your contribution to safer investment and/or selling funds and moving the $ into safer funds. Remember if you do any drastic moves now you will realize the losses.


Talk to your financial advisor,
No one is really getting a good return right now. The market has taken a few beatings in 2007. And I could not be happier. I hope 2008 is an awful year for the stock market. In fact, I hope we go through a bad decade.





Consider the quote from my favorite author, William Bernstein, in his book The Four Pillars of Investing'; ';A young person saving for retirement should get down on his knees and pray for a stock market crash, so that he may then purchase his retirement shares at firesale prices.';





Read my free book at http://www.invest-for-retirement.com . It's a bit long, so skip right to chapters 19 and 23. It will take you about an hour to read both, but should provide you with the most important and concise info you need about retirement investing. Or ... don't read my book ... it matters not to me.
In retirement accounts, you are investing for the long haul - don't be disturbed by short-range market gyrations. The real key is to decide on the asset allocation thats best for you, pick the investment options in your plan that best meet that asset allocation, and keep contributing regardless of market moves. You shouldn't have to revisit the allocation more than once per year.
Look into self directed IRA. You can transfer your 401K - and then use the money to invest in real estate getting a better overall average than the stock market.


The real estate game may be faling but that just means that now is the best time to buy!


compare the history of real estate to the history of the stock market....Also consider with self directed you can be super aggressive and dump it all into bershire hathaway...


Additionally you get more of a tax shelter in a self directed IRA than a 401K


- It's worth the money to transfer - It's worth the money to get a great accountant to set this up.