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Samson · 06-19-2007, 11:15 AM

Thank you all very much for your advice. You all have convinced me on not needing bonds at this point. I looked at the Freedom Fund 2040, but the expense ration of .76 bothers me. I do have additional items I could use help with, though:

Under the description "Large Blend", there are 3 index funds: Spartan Total Market Index Fund - Investor Class, Spartan 500 Index Fund - Investor Class, and Vanguard 500 Index Fund - Investor Class. The first two have expense ratios of .10, while Vanguard's is .18. Is there any advantage to having some of each of these, or is one enough? (I'm not sure what the difference is between "500 Index" and "Total Market". I've read info on each of these at Fidelity's website, but if the difference is in the descriptions, I've not been able to identify it.) Is it that the first trys to mirror the s&p 500 and the second trys to mirror s&p, Dow Jones, etc? (I could be all wet on that guess / supposition!)

I'm also looking at the Spartan Extended Market Index Fund (under "mid blend") with an expense ratio of .10. What is meant by "Extended Market"? Also, the Spartan International Index fund (classified as "International/Global") with an expense ratio of .20. I've read on this forum (and HFWR also stated in his replay) that it is important to have international exposure. Is it important enough to warrant twice the expense ratio?

In your opinion and based on your experience, would it make sense to do the following:

10% Spartan International Index Fund (international)
30% Spartan Extended Market Index Fund (mid blend)
30% One of (which?) / a combination of all 3 of the "Large Blend" items listed in paragraph 2 above
30% Spartan US Equity Index Fund

Thank you for your advice and patience with me.

P.S. As Cute Fuzzy Bunny says, I'm looking forward to learning more about how to screw up my portfolio!

06-19-2007, 11:15 AM	#9
Samson Confused about dryer sheets Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 3	Thank you all very much for your advice. You all have convinced me on not needing bonds at this point. I looked at the Freedom Fund 2040, but the expense ration of .76 bothers me. I do have additional items I could use help with, though: Under the description "Large Blend", there are 3 index funds: Spartan Total Market Index Fund - Investor Class, Spartan 500 Index Fund - Investor Class, and Vanguard 500 Index Fund - Investor Class. The first two have expense ratios of .10, while Vanguard's is .18. Is there any advantage to having some of each of these, or is one enough? (I'm not sure what the difference is between "500 Index" and "Total Market". I've read info on each of these at Fidelity's website, but if the difference is in the descriptions, I've not been able to identify it.) Is it that the first trys to mirror the s&p 500 and the second trys to mirror s&p, Dow Jones, etc? (I could be all wet on that guess / supposition!) I'm also looking at the Spartan Extended Market Index Fund (under "mid blend") with an expense ratio of .10. What is meant by "Extended Market"? Also, the Spartan International Index fund (classified as "International/Global") with an expense ratio of .20. I've read on this forum (and HFWR also stated in his replay) that it is important to have international exposure. Is it important enough to warrant twice the expense ratio? In your opinion and based on your experience, would it make sense to do the following: 10% Spartan International Index Fund (international) 30% Spartan Extended Market Index Fund (mid blend) 30% One of (which?) / a combination of all 3 of the "Large Blend" items listed in paragraph 2 above 30% Spartan US Equity Index Fund Thank you for your advice and patience with me. P.S. As Cute Fuzzy Bunny says, I'm looking forward to learning more about how to screw up my portfolio!