| If you have a 401k plan from your job then you | | | | company that doubles in price. |
| must wonder what is it and how does it work? In | | | | To pick the best mutual funds in your retirement |
| your retirement account you will notice a lot of | | | | account is to look at ones that are performing |
| names which are called mutual funds. | | | | the best over the past 6 months. These are the |
| These mutual funds are a collection of many | | | | leaders at the end of 12 months. Become familiar |
| companies such Walmart, Exxon, Verizon, Apple | | | | with the S&P 500 Index because this |
| and even Google. There are hundreds of | | | | considered the bench mark for the over all |
| companies in each mutual fund. The word mutual | | | | market. The S&P 500 Index consist of 500 |
| fund means that the stocks of these companies | | | | biggest companies in the world. The same |
| are bought and sold in the stock market. The | | | | companies in your mutual funds are in this index. |
| word stock means it is a certificate of the | | | | 75% of mutual fund managers do not beat this |
| company. Each company issues millions of these | | | | index on a long term basis. The S&P 500 |
| certificates. Yes, they are just paper but it a legal | | | | Index is known as the stock market because of |
| document of ownership. You have to own more | | | | its more established companies. Other indexes |
| than 50% of these stocks to have any power of | | | | such as the Dow Jones and Nasdaq mimic the |
| a company. | | | | direction of the S&P 500. If you want to |
| In your case since you are employed with a | | | | save the value in your retirement account then |
| company, you do not have to worry about | | | | you need to become active. There are countless |
| controlling a company. The employee of a | | | | strategies that offer advice. I have the best one I |
| company with a 401k plan is just worried about | | | | consider or else I would not have wrote this. If |
| not losing money in their retirement account. | | | | you are serious about protecting your retirement |
| When you get your statement every three | | | | funds then it would be in your best interest to |
| months you need to look at it and see the | | | | read the information I provide on my website. No |
| change in value. The mutual fund names on your | | | | one else will tell you the way it really is except |
| statement can be viewed on the website from | | | | me. Know the understanding for a bear market. |
| the company that offers them. This way you get | | | | When you look at any stock chart, the time |
| a better understanding of what kind of companies | | | | frame has to be set on month to month and not |
| are in the fund. | | | | day to day. The by month period will eliminate all |
| I have done this since 1994 so I do have a clue | | | | the zig zags you see in the chart. This should |
| on what I am talking about. There is no reason to | | | | come by as common sense and needs no |
| feel like this is the most complicated thing in the | | | | explanation. Believe it or not, this is the first step |
| world. Mutual Funds are a group of stocks from | | | | to understanding the stock market. Look at any |
| many companies. You only have to worry about | | | | chart over the past 12 months using the month |
| one fund and not one stock. Investing in stocks is | | | | to month price and not the day to day price and |
| too risky because it is to hard to find the one | | | | you will see the stock market trend. |