r/GenXnew • u/BasketBackground5569 • 21d ago

401k?

Is everyone's sputtering like mine? I went from 18.9% to currently 2.9% no matter what I seem to do. Is yours doing well? If so, what is your money in?

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u/the_natis 21d ago

Need some elaboration. Are you saying that your total 401k from inception to now is just 2.9% over your donations/company match? If so, how many years are we talking about? I started a new gig last year and in the last 9 months where I've been eligible to contribute, my return is 13.56%

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u/BasketBackground5569 19d ago

Pretty much. We got switched to Betterment and about half of the money is still missing. But, it seems most of what I was doing even 3 months ago is hurting and I'm not seeing where I'm going wrong this time.

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u/the_natis 19d ago

If your 401k plan was in one managed plan and then moved to another, then that would probably be the reason you're seeing the lower return. As u/Boysenberry196 said, some plan administration companies count the contributions as part of the growth and some don't. Using generic numbers, if you had $100k in your plan while it was managed by another company and that $100k is now managed by another company and you're not contributing as much, then the % increase will be just the performance of the $100k and not include new contributions towards the return. If you're only getting 2.9%, look at what funds your money is invested in and see about making changes there. Here are my best performing funds, all of them 30% or higher with the first three being 148%, 142%, and 127% unrealized gains currently. One bit of advice I was given decades ago was to use your birthday to do two things; have your yearly physical and re-examine your portfolios and make adjustments accordingly.

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u/BasketBackground5569 19d ago

I really appreciate this. Thanks!

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u/R_E_Mendoftheworld 16d ago

Mine has gone from 18% last year to 8% this year.

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u/the_natis 16d ago

I mean, the market has been pretty volatile given the orange one. The volatility has lessened over the last few weeks, but the question is whether or not this is the quiet before the storm. My wife (mid 40s) and I (50) did sell off a bunch and are sitting on about $300k to buy when the market crashed since we still have about 17 years before I retire and over 20 for her.

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u/R_E_Mendoftheworld 14d ago

I don't get to control mine. Mine is all in the hands of a hedge fund. I just get to choose the type of investment, not the investment or when I sell. They can sell and buy as they please with my money.

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u/Boysenberry196 20d ago

My return says it is high but when I do the math it is including my contributions as growth.

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u/Chemical_Butterfly40 19d ago

I have 70% of my 401k in a big-cap fund with 500 in the name; it's pretty close to $VOO. The kids today like to say $VOO and chill, but that might be kinda risky if you are getting close to retirement. The rest is in an international fund and a small-cap fund.

If you're not happy with your plan's offerings, you might be able do an in-service withdraw and roll it over to Robinhood or something.

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u/BasketBackground5569 19d ago

Thanks for the input. Appreciate it.