my 401k says YTD earnings 2%

[plugginaway22]

You guys probably are irritated by mostly clueless people like me rolling in here asking for help.  The bulk of my 401k funds are in a Large Cap fund called TRowePrice Blue Chip Growth.
It is rated 4 stars, Morningstar, and I cannot understand why it has performed so poorly this year.  Should I get out of it?  The only other Large Cap fund is called AmericanFunds New Perspective,and it's YTD shows up 10%.
I have 20% in Bonds (up 2%)and 15% International (up 1%). We really have no one with our small company to advise and I am feeling lost.  
FYI age 56.
Thank you for any info you can share.

[rob base]

Nobody will be irritated. We axially like people like with u with real financial stuff to addtesss. We don't get a lot of these types of financial posts since Liz Pullman disowned us :-) I am in transit but I'm sure others will help u soon.

[plugginaway22]

Thank you WXYZ, 'perfect storm' is a good way to describe it I guess.  Your explanation makes sense and I do need to talk to someone about how to finish strong.  The good thing is I am making more money than I ever have, and just about maxing my contributions.
Thanks again.  

[ken a.k.a OMK]

You should diversify. Large cap, medium cap, small cap, international and bonds. I also have an index fund because the fee is very low. It follows an index (s&p in my case) and doesn't require management. Check the fees of your funds and get out of any that charge too much. 1 - 2% is about all they should charge.

[The Virginian]

This is the Problem for 401 K programs - It is my understanding you have very limited choices for your investments and they are designed to siphon off money for the Funds and the 401K managers !

If it were for myself - I would put everything in an S&P Index Fund., I would not bother with bonds, and International funds as you will have international exposure through the S&P companies ( Why duplicate and they expose you to higher tax rates and higher fees)

I would open a taxable account and contribute directly to that buying high quality Individual Stocks. Stocks like : T, CVX, MO, PFE, JNJ, GE, VZ, MAIN, OHI, PG, KO, CLX, LLY, PM,.............................. Invest a set amount monthly , turn them on to DRIP (automatically reinvest the Dividends) and don't look back.

[plugginaway22]

Thank you again for your responses, now I need to take action.

[Gardening Grandma]

Isuggest looking at the bogleheads (bogleheads.org).  They have an investing forum where you can post your 401K options and get feedback.   

Lots of good information and knowledgable posters. 

[Value Buy]

Could you possibly list your choices available to you?
It is easy for us to say what to do, but without knowing what your options are, we can not make any sort of fair observation...

[plugginaway22]

This is the fund/performance list and most all exp ratios are less than 1%.  Thank you Value Buy.

Vngrd Bal Indx Adml  1.58 6.68 5.14 8.7 5.48 4.94

fact sheet | prospectus

Vngrd Trgt Rtrmt 2020 Inv  0.07 4.86 3.35 7.09 4.13 4.93

fact sheet | prospectus

Vngrd Trgt Rtrmt 2025 Inv  0.36 5.24 3.59 7.74 4.14 5.48

fact sheet | prospectus

Vngrd Trgt Rtrmt 2030 Inv  0.65 5.5 3.73 8.33 4.12 5.04

fact sheet | prospectus

Vngrd Trgt Rtrmt 2040 Inv  1.23 6.07 4.04 9.23 4.38 5.24

fact sheet | prospectus

Vngrd Trgt Rtrmt 2045 Inv  1.32 6.19 4.12 9.26 4.38 6.32

fact sheet | prospectus

Vngrd Wlsly Inc Adml  -0.82 5.92 5.02 6.75 5.81 6.02

fact sheet | prospectus

Period % Average Annual Return %

Fund Name MTH YTD 1 yr 5 yr 10 yr Since

Inception



BlkRk Infl Prtct Bd K  -1.8 3.82 2.72 -0.06 3.33 3.76

fact sheet | prospectus

Fed Inst Hi Yld Bd Inst  -0.6 12.38 9.89 6.81 6.64 8.25

fact sheet | prospectus

GdmnScs Glbl Inc Inst  -1.74 2.21 1.64 3.28 3.66 4.79

fact sheet | prospectus

JPM Mrtg Bckd Sel  -1.29 1.74 1.48 2.22 4.53 7.48

fact sheet | prospectus

MetWest Ttl Rtn Bd I  -2.12 1.63 1.24 3.44 5.14 5.46

fact sheet | prospectus

RdgWrth Seix Ttl Rtn Bd I ‡  -2.5 2.24 1.5 1.76 4.09 4.37

fact sheet | prospectus

Vngrd Ttl Bnd Mkt ldx Adm  -2.7 1.59 1.14 1.49 3.38 3.42

fact sheet | prospectus

Vngrd Ttl Intl Bd Idx Adml  -1.3 3.45 3.06 n/a n/a 3.12

fact sheet | prospectus

Period % Average Annual Return %

Fund Name MTH YTD 1 yr 5 yr 10 yr Since

Inception



AmFds New Prspct R6 ‡  -0.61 0.59 -0.94 10.04 5.41 11.46

fact sheet | prospectus

AmFds New Wld R6  -3.85 2.89 0.75 3.36 2.92 6.66

fact sheet | prospectus

Lazard Intl Strat Eq Inst  -3.4 -7.13 -9.11 6 1.83 4.2

fact sheet | prospectus

LeggM ClrBrdg IntlSmCap I  -1.56 -2.98 -3.78 9.04 n/a 6.33

fact sheet | prospectus

Opp Intl Gr Y ‡  -3.54 -5.15 -7.05 5.98 3.05 5.24

fact sheet | prospectus

Vngrd Ttl IntlStkIndx Adml  -2.23 1.86 -0.28 3.69 n/a 1.87

fact sheet | prospectus

Period % Average Annual Return %

Fund Name MTH YTD 1 yr 5 yr 10 yr Since

Inception



AmFds AMCAP R6 ‡  3.5 7.8 5.36 13.54 7.01 10.89

fact sheet | prospectus

AmFds Am Mut R6  3.42 11.49 9.34 11.85 6.11 11

fact sheet | prospectus

AmFds New Econ R6 ‡  1.17 1.56 -0.49 13.75 6.77 10.38

fact sheet | prospectus

MFS Mass Inv Gr Stk R4 ‡  0.31 4.94 2.23 11.34 6.96 7.27

fact sheet | prospectus

TRowePr Blue Chip Gr  0.7 0.38 -0.2 14.54 7.85 9.31

fact sheet | prospectus

Vngrd Divrs Eq Inv ‡  4.06 6.52 4.1 12.91 5.65 6.48

fact sheet | prospectus

Vngrd Ttl StMkt Indx Fd AS  4.38 9.72 7.41 13.46 6.29 4.92

fact sheet | prospectus

Period % Average Annual Return %

Fund Name MTH YTD 1 yr 5 yr 10 yr Since

Inception



Prncpl MdCap Val III Inst  7.17 10.11 6.68 13.03 6.2 8.13

fact sheet | prospectus

Period % Average Annual Return %

Fund Name MTH YTD 1 yr 5 yr 10 yr Since

Inception



Prncpl ST Inc Inst  -0.55 1.61 1.34 1.55 2.52 n/a

fact sheet | prospectus

WF Adj Rt Govt Inst  -0.09 -0.15 -0.23 0.1 1.19 3.01

fact sheet | prospectus

Period % Average Annual Return %

Fund Name MTH YTD 1 yr 5 yr 10 yr Since

Inception



Vngrd Sm Cap Indx Fd AS  8.53 15.28 10.36 13.55 7.12 8.06

fact sheet | prospectus

Period % Average Annual Return %

Fund Name MTH YTD 1 yr 5 yr 10 yr Since

Inception



Col Conv Sec R5  2.98 9.68 7.16 9.6 4.88 9.05

fact sheet | prospectus

TRowePr RealEst  -0.2 1.54 2.55 10.97 3.43 9.18

fact sheet | prospectus

[plugginaway22]

Again, thank you Wxyz!  I checked and the closest 'Fee only' financial advisor is almost an hour away and I probably couldn't get appointment until Jan.  Meanwhile, what have I got to lose?  That fund is almost 70% of my 401k, rest is in a bond fund and an international fund.  This is my plan, my DH has more in his and his annual rate of return is showing about 8% growth.  We will definitely need this money in retirement, neither of us has a pension, but we have a paid off home and pretty low expenses.  Feeling a tad pissed about this fund, but hey, it is the stock market....

[plugginaway22]

Sorry, just moved a little over 100K out of that fund and into the Vanguard Total stock mkt fund.  (changed future allocations to 75% Vang, 15% bond fund, and 10% international).
I still want to set up a visit with a planner in Jan or Feb.  Very appreciative for you taking time to explain.

[CCL]

It sounds like you are on the right track. I think you are smart to be looking at all your options. $100k+ is a good chunk of money to be getting low returns on when the overall markets are currently so high.

For myself, years ago, I had no idea how to choose funds and really no way to find out. Over time it has gotten better, but I still wish I had known some of the smart people around here to help me.

[Value Buy]

I see we have not had an update on this.
The good news is she did invest at the top of the market......

[Value Buy]

May 4, 2017 17:54:20 GMT -5 @wxyz said:

WELL.....not really, she was already in the markets with the money so moving it to a different investment is just a lateral market move, not really investing new money.  AND.....the markets are way up since she did the change over. (over 6% year to date)

She did get out of the Trowe Price Blue Chip growth fund.
I imagine she is close to a 6% return for the four months.
She did leave some money in bonds, so that might have held her back a little. Went to 15% from 20% total of investments

[Ombud]

Shes not that far off from many of us .... I'm YTD 5.8% / last 3m 3.08%

Think it's bc I put 40% into legacy acct for grandkids as my kids seem to be on solid footing (and I'm Medicare eligible now). Legacy acct is just SCHB, SCHF, & PWZ. Investing in index funds strives for mediocricy with less fluctuations

[plugginaway22]

Hello to WXYZ! and thank you for helping me to make decisions at the beginning of this year.  That new fund is definitely up, and my overall 401K to date is at 8% I believe (20% bonds).
I do appreciate the advise you gave me, and guess what?  The 401K got rid of that TRowe price poorly performing fund in February!