tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5545019894317144875.post7217683705434552301..comments2021-11-02T08:56:50.972-04:00Comments on Investor Cookbooks: Fidelity Freedom Funds Aren't "Free" But Are "Dumb"Ron Elmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18051360607937544050noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5545019894317144875.post-21101248620652968702015-08-10T18:47:16.586-04:002015-08-10T18:47:16.586-04:00IRA also can make the portfolio from those above l...IRA also can make the portfolio from those above list fidelity funds? ThanksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5545019894317144875.post-14738397324740643552014-12-25T23:15:21.131-05:002014-12-25T23:15:21.131-05:00After meeting with a Fidelity representative, I ch...After meeting with a Fidelity representative, I chose not to use the fee based Adviser service of 1% per year. I have now purchased your cookbook and have diversified into six index funds based on age 50. I have always heard of index funds, yet could not get the recipe correct. I will review and balance each year. Thank you. FYI.. I was all in with the contrafund worth 485K. I now have peace of mind for the long term.78 MGBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03758231613089580954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5545019894317144875.post-9469202135525118562013-04-18T00:25:51.698-04:002013-04-18T00:25:51.698-04:00Anonymous from April 13, yes you should consider a...Anonymous from April 13, yes you should consider avoiding the Freedom Funds and construct a lower cost, better performing portfolio, using the excellent Fidelity funds I listed above. <br /><br />Sorry to keep pushing my book, "The 401k Cookbook," but that is the quickest way to determine how much you should put in each of the funds I listed above. The book starts with a quick 12 question quiz. The score from that quiz will determine which portfolio recipe you should use. This recipe will tell you exactly how much to put into each of the mutual funds I listed above. You don't have to read the whole book. It is designed like a Cookbook. You will have a recipe in 15 minutes and can be done with it.Ron Elmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18051360607937544050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5545019894317144875.post-8518388011740821902013-04-18T00:16:22.147-04:002013-04-18T00:16:22.147-04:00Dennis, yes you can create a much cheaper portfoli...Dennis, yes you can create a much cheaper portfolio for your 401k by moving out of the Freedom Fund and creating a portfolio of Fidelity's low-cost index funds as I outlined in the article above. When constructing your portfolio, consider all of your investments together (such as the IRA you mentioned). Good move with your IRA but use different mutual funds that I listed in the article above for diversification. <br /><br />If you need help figuring out how much to put in each fund, you can figure that out by spending about 15 minutes with my book, "The 401k Cookbook." In about 15 minutes you will have your own personal recipe. Just insert the Fidelity funds above into the recipe (see my answer to a previous question).<br /><br />In regards to your question about 20-30 year from now, the book will show you how to modify your portfolio a bit every 5 years as you age. Thus, you will be properly allocated 20-30 years from now (including any changes to your risk tolerance over time). Ron Elmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18051360607937544050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5545019894317144875.post-91554745786945728032013-04-13T07:39:23.675-04:002013-04-13T07:39:23.675-04:00I came across your article. I recently rolled over...I came across your article. I recently rolled over my 410K to Fidelity and would loike to invest for longish term 10-15 years. Would you recommend the same portfolio listed above? I was seriously considering the Freedom Fund until I read your article. Many thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5545019894317144875.post-7537948575786666442013-04-12T00:11:41.297-04:002013-04-12T00:11:41.297-04:00Ron, just came across this article. i had $10.000...Ron, just came across this article. i had $10.000 i a rollover IRA that i moved to the fidelity spartan extended market index fund. my 401k is in a 2040 freedom fund. would you recommend that i move all that money over to a mutual fund? can i move it over to the same one as my IRA? and what happens 20-30 years from now, do you leave your money in the same mutual fund or do you move it elsewhere? thanks. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08775387384502185448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5545019894317144875.post-42825152961801528222012-12-30T15:32:27.361-05:002012-12-30T15:32:27.361-05:00RH - you are on the right track - combine the smal...RH - you are on the right track - combine the small and mid cap allocations from my recipes into the Spartan Extended Market Index Fund. The Spartan Total Market Index Fund is a good fund too and could also be used as the large cap allocation (it is roughly 85% large cap and 15% small/mid cap stocks). The recipes in my book are intended to give everyone a tilt or over-weighting to small and mid cap stocks (they will beat other stocks over a long period, but are also more volatile). Here is a mapping of the Fidelity funds to the recipes in my book:<br /><br />Fidelity Spartan 500 Index Fund (Large Company Stocks)<br />Fidelity Spartan Extended Market Index Fund (Mid-sized Company Stocks AND Small Company Stocks, combined)<br />Fidelity Spartan International Index Fund (International Stocks)<br />Fidelity Spartan US Bond Index Fund (Intermediate-Term Bonds AND Short-Term Bonds, combined)<br />Fidelity Spartan Long Term Treasury Bond Index Fund (Long-Term Bonds)<br />Fidelity Inflation-Protected Bond Fund (Inflation-Protected Bonds)<br /><br />Fidelity Four-in-One Index Fund (This fund could be used as an all in one fund for those folks just starting out with small amounts of money to invest. This fund could be especially useful if you are subject to the fund minimum investment rules. Most 401k plans waive the minimum investment rules for individuals. This fund is roughly 85% stocks and 15% bonds, but does not include any inflation-protected bonds. So, if someone starts out by owning just the Four-In-One Index Fund, they should consider pairing the Fidelity Inflation-Protected Bond Fund with it.)<br /><br />You noticed that I recommend the Fidelity Spartan Extended Market Index Fund for the small cap and mid cap allocations. Fidelity does have separate index funds that focus on only mid caps and small caps, however these index funds have high expense ratios of 0.35% compared to the Spartan Extended Market Index Fund expense ratio of just 0.10% currently.<br /><br />For similar reasons, I recommend avoiding the Fidelity Short-Term Bond Fund, whose expense ratio is 0.45%. The Spartan US Bond Index Fund has an expense ratio of just 0.11% currently, and includes short-term bonds in the fund.Ron Elmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18051360607937544050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5545019894317144875.post-75642756904915044922012-12-29T18:56:40.288-05:002012-12-29T18:56:40.288-05:00Great article. I also bought and enjoyed your cook...Great article. I also bought and enjoyed your cookbook. Having a bit of trouble mapping the categories from the recipes in your book to the Fidelity funds you list above. <br /><br />Would the percentages of the the mid and small cap categories be combined and put into the Fidelity Spartan Extended Market Index Fund? Or does the Fidelity Spartan Total Market Index Fund (FSTMX) cover all categories (large, mid, and small) enough to be the sole domestic stock fund?<br /><br />What about the intermediate and long term bond categories? <br /><br />Alternatively, could a reasonable index portfolio be constructed by just following your recipe allocations but using the same funds that Fidelity uses in their Fidelity Four-in-One Index Fund (FFNOX)?<br />RHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5545019894317144875.post-40942306273176631332012-02-15T13:37:26.365-05:002012-02-15T13:37:26.365-05:00Fidelity does NOT charge an additional fund manage...Fidelity does NOT charge an additional fund management fee for the Freedom funds. In other words, the 0.77% expense ratio for the Freedom 2035 Fund is the "all in" expenses and made up only by the expense ratios of the underlying mutual funds held by the Freedom 2035 fund. So, compared to industry averages, 0.77% is below average. <br /><br />However, Fidelity investors can do much better by creating their own portfolio using Fidelity's Spartan Index Funds and avoid having their money used as a funding/training tool for untested Fidelity actively managed funds.Ron Elmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18051360607937544050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5545019894317144875.post-27418322297440151222012-02-15T08:59:18.999-05:002012-02-15T08:59:18.999-05:00Great research Ron. That is really shocking. Doe...Great research Ron. That is really shocking. Does the expense ratio for the target date fund include the fees on the funds within it, or are those fees just buried?Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16883355600904464858noreply@blogger.com