no email replies from Vanguard....

[Keyboard Ninja]

I've emailed Vanguard twice in 2 weeks and haven't heard anything. Our phone usage has been restricted so I can't call them to ask either .

GF wants to put her money away into something conservative. She is already matching her employer's contribution of 3% with her Transamerica 401k.

I read up on VWINX, and that looks like a good start for her. She doesn't have $3,000 up front for the initial investment, but she does have $200/month. Does anyone know if Vanguard accepts payments? She prefers $100 every two weeks if that is at all possible into a pre-tax account.

[Keyboard Ninja]

Oh, and her 401k already looks pretty conservative. I don't want to steer her wrong, but I haven't educated myself enough yet to tell her to invest in something else.

JPMorgan Government Securities Ret Acct Bond 10 %

Vanguard Target Retirement 2045 Ret Acct Hybrid 35 %

Transamerica Partners Mid Value Ret Acct Large/Mid Value Equity 10 %

American Funds AMCAP Inv Acct Large/Mid Growth Equity 12 %

Thornburg Core Growth Ret Acct Large/Mid Growth Equity 5 %

Alger SmallCap Growth Ret Acct Small Company Equity 8 %

Oppenheimer Global Ret Acct Global Equity 5 %

AIM International Growth Ret Acct International Equity 5 %

SSgA International Stock Index Ret Acct International Equity 5 %

Thornburg International Value Ret Acct International Equity 5 %

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Nope, vanguard doesnt take payments towards the minimum. You can buy their Star fund for IIRC $1000 to start and small increments. Its not a bad fund. A fund of actively managed funds with good historic returns at a fair price for what it is.

I dont think I'd characterize VWINX as conservative.

In the 401k, I'd put it all into the vanguard TR 2045 fund. I'm sure the majority of the rest of the funds charge a high expense fee, and I doubt you're extracting much value from those higher fees. That does of course presume that 2045 is approximately when she'll be retiring.

[Keyboard Ninja]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cute fuzzy bunny Nope, vanguard doesnt take payments towards the minimum. You can buy their Star fund for IIRC $1000 to start and small increments. Its not a bad fund. A fund of actively managed funds with good historic returns at a fair price for what it is. I dont think I'd characterize VWINX as conservative. In the 401k, I'd put it all into the vanguard TR 2045 fund. I'm sure the majority of the rest of the funds charge a high expense fee, and I doubt you're extracting much value from those higher fees. That does of course presume that 2045 is approximately when she'll be retiring.

It should actually be 2055 or 2060, but I haven't seen that yet. Also if she goes ahead and puts 100% of her 401k into the Vanguard 2045 will it be ok to just stick to her 7% contribution even though her company only matches 3%?

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Umm...so your girlfriend is somewhere between 8 an 13 years old?

Well in that case the 2045 would be "a little conservative" since it'll slide faster to bonds than a later TR fund.

I'd contribute as much as I could to get the maximum match, as long as she can afford that.

[Keyboard Ninja]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cute fuzzy bunny Umm...so your girlfriend is somewhere between 8 an 13 years old? Well in that case the 2045 would be "a little conservative" since it'll slide faster to bonds than a later TR fund. I'd contribute as much as I could to get the maximum match, as long as she can afford that.

How did her age work out to be 13 years old? She's 20, and I added 40 years for her retirement age and....

Awww crap. I knew I should have opened up the calculator

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cute fuzzy bunny I dont think I'd characterize VWINX as conservative.

For a 20-year-old, I think it is extremely conservative.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

For a minute there I thought that perhaps investing wasnt your biggest concern

I didnt have an age at the time I wrote that, but in any case, would you recommend a 100% equity fund to your young girlfriend given it might give up another 15-30% of its value in the next few months?

By the way Zig, if you have a young girlfriend, once again we have to look at concerns and their varying levels of criticality...

[Bestwifeever]

Best thing Keyboard Ninja could do would be to teach the girlfriend to fish for herself imho .

[Keyboard Ninja]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever Best thing Keyboard Ninja could do would be to teach the girlfriend to fish for herself imho .

It gives me an excuse to use the internet

[Marquette]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever Best thing Keyboard Ninja could do would be to teach the girlfriend to fish for herself imho .

I need some sleep... I missed the 'for' and read the 'h' as a 't' and then wondered, aside from prep for the current market climate, if that'd really help long-term or not.

Thankfully, Amazon does have some lovely books on the subject.

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marquette I need some sleep... I missed the 'for' and read the 'h' as a 't' and then wondered, aside from prep for the current market climate, if that'd really help long-term or not. Thankfully, Amazon does have some lovely books on the subject.

On fishing for herself ? That reminds me that tonight would be a good time to capitulate with DH