Hello all,
Firstly, let me say that I just discovered this forum a few weeks ago, and it is exactly what I've been looking for! I've been lurking on the forums and there appears to be a lot of great information as I'm considering a partial retirement within the next couple of years. Once I have my thoughts and questions together, I'll post in the appropriate section on that.
However, my question now is about 401K equity funds. My company (10 employees) has Oppenheimer as our 401K funds manager. For many reasons (high fund costs, difficulty dealing with, etc.) we would like to move to a new company.
About two thirds of our funds are still in class B shares however. All new contributions are class A, and some of our oldest class B shares have just started converting, but it'll take another 4-5 years for all of the funds to convert fully to class A.
So currently, to switch, it would cost us about 1 to 2% of our total funds in sales charges. I think I'm at the point however where I'm willing to go ahead and do it and pay the sales charge.
So, here's my question:
I would like a fund manager that offers a fund that essentially mirrors some large index like the S&P500. Oppenheimer offers no such fund. I'd be more than happy to put all of my 401K equity funds into SPDR if I could.
Vanguard seems to be widely respected on these forums. Do they offer such a fund? Anyone know what their actual costs (not just published costs) are with such a fund?
Oh, and lastly, any ideas on the best way to go about setting up such an account. I don't want a "financial advisor" in the mix as I don't need one, or want one collecting a commission on my dime. Is it possible to go directly to Vanguard without an FA? And does that actually save any money, or does the fund manager simply collect the commissions that would normally go to an FA?
Thanks.
Firstly, let me say that I just discovered this forum a few weeks ago, and it is exactly what I've been looking for! I've been lurking on the forums and there appears to be a lot of great information as I'm considering a partial retirement within the next couple of years. Once I have my thoughts and questions together, I'll post in the appropriate section on that.
However, my question now is about 401K equity funds. My company (10 employees) has Oppenheimer as our 401K funds manager. For many reasons (high fund costs, difficulty dealing with, etc.) we would like to move to a new company.
About two thirds of our funds are still in class B shares however. All new contributions are class A, and some of our oldest class B shares have just started converting, but it'll take another 4-5 years for all of the funds to convert fully to class A.
So currently, to switch, it would cost us about 1 to 2% of our total funds in sales charges. I think I'm at the point however where I'm willing to go ahead and do it and pay the sales charge.
So, here's my question:
I would like a fund manager that offers a fund that essentially mirrors some large index like the S&P500. Oppenheimer offers no such fund. I'd be more than happy to put all of my 401K equity funds into SPDR if I could.
Vanguard seems to be widely respected on these forums. Do they offer such a fund? Anyone know what their actual costs (not just published costs) are with such a fund?
Oh, and lastly, any ideas on the best way to go about setting up such an account. I don't want a "financial advisor" in the mix as I don't need one, or want one collecting a commission on my dime. Is it possible to go directly to Vanguard without an FA? And does that actually save any money, or does the fund manager simply collect the commissions that would normally go to an FA?
Thanks.
