I need help with my 401 k?

Question

i have to pick if i want to put 100% into one of the following....

target retirement 2040, conservative allocation, moderate allocation, aggressive allocation.

or i have to pick how many % i want to go here....

target retirement 2040, conservative allocation, moderate allocation, aggressive allocation, stable value, bond, high yield, large cap value, large cap growth,

i have no clue what im doing please help

Answer 1

I'd go for the Target 2040 because you won't need to tweak it as you grow older.  The fund will do that for you, growing more conservative as you near retirement.

This is the simplest way to go and will meet your needs very nicely.

Answer 2

If you choose the target retirement, put it all in there...target retirement accounts are designed to allocate your investment based upon your age and target retirement date.  The account will start out relatively aggressive and move to more conservative investments as you age and get closer to retirement.

If you mix investments using a target retirement account and any other account, you mess up the allocation strategy.

Answer 3

If you are retiring in 2040 then go aggressive.  You have plenty of time to ride the market up and down.  As you get within 10 years of retirement, then pull back into more conservative investments.   Now is a great time to be in aggressive as it is mostly stocks and stocks are very low now.  In a year or two the market will be back and your fund with grow even more.   Sure there will be bear markets, but the bulls always come back with a vengeance!