Help me out...what investment options should choose for my 401k?

baer

http://quicktake.morningstar.com/FundNet/snapshot....

amcap r5

http://quicktake.morningstar.com/FundNet/snapshot....

http://finance.google.com/finance?q=raffx

fidelity

http://quicktake.morningstar.com/FundNet/snapshot....

mairs

????

spartan us equity

http://quicktake.morningstar.com/FundNet/Snapshot....

Ahhh! found it!

They hid it real well but i found it.

http://finance.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ%3AFUSEX

Anybody who wants exposure to the stock market but doesnt know what to get, you'll never sound stupid if you say you're in the s&p 500.

The s&p 500 is not a fund, but a list of 500 companies, and funds mirror that list. Your spartan fund is one such type. What's so hot about this? Expense ratio. Look at how much higher it is for the other funds, it's only .1% for spartan. That's the % they're taking off your gains, it'll compound year over year, you want that damn low! Historically, S&P averages 9% gain a year, and its at a 23 year low discount.

This leads to the difference between index funds and managed funds. An index fund is just stocks on a list that doesnt change. A managed fund, we have some genius who picks and chooses what stocks to buy. If he's real smart and gives awesome performance 1 year, his fund will suddenly be flooded with money and he'll have a hell of a time wisely investing it all. Plus, that genius needs a fat salary, and all those trades he makes cost money, hence the larger expense ratio.

So if you're not real close to retirement and want a good return, go for an S&P index.

Those bond funds are for retirees who want a fixed income.

The 2040 fund automatically adjusts your risk depending on your age. I get the sneaking suspicion they'll take the opportunity to sell the brand and get you paying for some high-maintenance funds.

If you're feeling dangerous, go ahead and toss up to a third in the international fund. The worse might be ahead for the developing markets, they may repeat our 2008 in their 2009, but all and all they'll outgrow the us in the long term. Lot of volatility with this choice and a fat expense ratio.

One last thing. Don't put money in the market that you might need in the next couple years. Don't try to time the market. Do not pull out of your 401k under any circumstances!

For someone who knows nothing about stocks... I would recommend one of the target retirement date mutual funds like the Fidelity Freedom 2040 Fund.

All you need to do is look at how old you are and how long you have until retirement. Go with the age of 62 as the age when you retire. What year will that be? If its 2042, then go with the 2040 Fund if its 2023 then go with a 2020 Fund.

The mutual fund will do all the work for you. The younger you are the higher risk they'll take to try to maximize your returns. As you get older the fund takes on less risk in order to preserve your retirement savings since you'll be nearing the time when you'll actually need them.

Most of funds in your list are standard names. Your first decision should be to find the right mix of stocks and bonds for you. It is more important to find the right mix of asset classes such as stocks bonds and commodities than it is to pick fund A or Fund B within the asset class.

The Fidelity Freedom 2040 fund invests in other funds and it will automatically reduce your exposure to risk as you approach your retirement age. If you choose this one fund, you will be investing in US equity, non-US equity, investment grade bond funds, and high-yield bond funds. Assuming you are younger than age 35, you could put a big chunk of your contribution into this fund. I also like the Pimco Total Return and Julius Baer International. I would include those two in my 401K if I had the choice. But watch the expense ratio on Julius Baer. It says A class rather than Institutional Class.

I did not see commodities fund in your list of choices. If you get one in the future, be sure to add that into your portfolio.

Put the same percentage as your age in bonds and the rest in stocks, including about 20 percent in the international fund.

I'd choose to put it all in the Fidelity Freedom 2040 Fund which is designed to become more conservative as you near retirement age.

This way you don't need to tweak it at all over the years.