As many of you know, I'm debating about what to do with 6-7k sitting in my old 401K. It's pretty funny, because I feel like this money is burning a hole in my pocket. Not that I want to spend it, but that I want to plant it somewhere, water it, and watch it grow!
I think I've decided to go with Scottrade, but I'm holding out until the end of the year. Scottrade's low fees attracted me, their office 2 miles from my house enticed me, and what's pushing me over the edge is that they offer the mutual fund that I've (almost) decided on.
And which one might that be, you ask? Winslow Green Growth Fund (WGGFX)
*Max Front Load 0%
*Max Back Load 0%
*Redemption Fee 2%
*Min Inv 5000
*Min IRA 2000
No loads are nice, the redemption fee I can live with, and the minimums aren't a problem since I'm rolling the 401k. The big pluses for this fund are
A) It is a socially responsible fund that screens stuff I don't want to support with my money
B) Its 5yr, 10 yr, and inception returns are all hovering around 15% give or take
WooHoo!!
And yes, I know past performance is no guarantee of future results, blah blah blah. It's the stock market, I know it's a crap shoot!
"Rolling" with the Punches
October 23rd, 2006 at 08:49 pm
October 24th, 2006 at 04:15 am 1161663339
Took a little peek at this fund at morningstar.com by typing in your ticker symbol.
This fund has an expense ratio of 1.45% and a management fee of .9%. And the fee is capped until 4/30/2007. After that, who knows. This is pretty high - although socially responsible funds tend to be higher...somebody's got to be reading the papers for scandal.
The other risk is that this fund specializes in small cap growth, both of which are fairly risky - this fund can lose money quickly, but in a socially responsible way. Small growth stocks have been doing fantastically well but not in the last few months.
One opinion of how to structure a portfolio is a core holding and a few; mostly boring basics, but with a few interesting funds to spike up your returns. If this is the fund that's going to be your "core", I might want to rethink. If its going to be a fund of your few - a fund that you want because your interested in growth, might be interesting.
I'd do a little more research.
October 24th, 2006 at 11:19 am 1161688746
then, when i'm making ira contributions throughout the year, i'll be placing them in somwhat more 'conservative' funds to try and balance everything out. again, still have a list of about 5 i'm researching specifically so i can have a strategy of attack. me versus retirement, you know, and i intend to win!