Investors’ Malaise a Double-Edged Sword

Investors’ general inertia has caused most of them to stick with their 401(k)s. On the one hand, it’s a good thing they aren’t trading in and out of their retirement funds, but their lack of interest is hurting them, Dow Jones reports.

Hewitt Associates just reported that savings and investing habits remained virtually unchanged in 2008, despite a median loss of 28% in 401(k)s, with the average plan balance dropping from $79,600 to $57,200. Likewise, Fidelity found that only about 5% of investors made trades in their 401(k)s last year.

Investors would be wise to revisit their risk tolerance and asset allocations, in light of the last few years of volatility and poor market returns, advisers say. But for the most part, they tend to stick with the original choices they made when they first enrolled in their 401(k).

As Dow Jones puts it, does it make sense for a 30- or 40-year-old to wear the same outfit they did when they were 20? Unless an investor has a majority of their money in a target-date fund, it’s probably time to revisit their holdings.

“Don’t keep contributing blindly,” said John Sweeney, senior vice president of planning and advisory services in the personal and workplace investments division of Fidelity. “Look at your holdings. Look at yourself. You want to make sure you have the proper target allocation, and then go rebalance the portfolio to it.”

Sweeney added: “After what we all have lived through, it’s important that investors check their portfolio to make sure it still meets their time horizon and risk tolerance.

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