i have had a 401k plan since 2010. But the problem is I still don’t understand how it works. It shows negative growth and it barely has grown 2000$ since the last 4 years. Is that the way it’s suplosed to work. Is there a way I can put it to better use ?? Probably send it to India. I have $20k in there now. Please give me ideas. Can I take it out now and buy a house perhaps ??
You need review your plans you chose for fund allocation. You may also have fund managers who may be assigned to your company , get the names from your HR and talk to them on how to make changes and allocate money in better performing funds. If not you get a list every year on what plans you can invest ... look at those performance of the funds and then change your current allocation
I already have it enrolled in fund manager fidelity. I have no basic knowledge about stock market and investing so I have given them complete control over it. Of course I have selected minimum risk as I don’t want to take any risks. May I ask how much return everyone is getting on their 401ks. At least since 2010.
Not a lot of return on the 401 but negative growth seems a bit strange. I would move the funds out. When one of my companies switched to fidelity I took the money out.
No, all 401ks are not like this. The stock market has done well recently so you should have seen very good gains in your account. Did you put them in low-yielding funds? You should look at all the funds available to you and pick a mix based on your time to retirement. Or you can just pick a lifecycle or target retirement fund that will automatically calculate this for you. I have Fidelity in my 401k and while I prefer Vanguard they are not a bad option at all. Our company often has representatives from Fidelity come to offer free one-on-one investing advice. If you withdraw funds from your 401k without meeting specific criteria you will lose a lot of money in taxes and penalties.