Roth IRA and 410K

[LordSnailz]

If my investment strategy is aggressive, wouldn't my roth ira and 401k be the same in terms of what I'm investing in? Different mutual funds but pretty much the same idea right?

Also, is there a good link that talks about the difference between, Large Growth, Large Blen, Large Value, Mid-Cap Growth, Mid-Cap Blend, Mid-Cap Value, Small Growth, Small Blend, Small Value ?

 

[FeathersMcGraw]

Agressive shouldn't mean non-diversified.

If you're under 30, I would focus on growth. Since your 401(k) probably has fewer investment options than an IRA, see what it provides you in that category of investments, then use your IRA to complement it (i.e. if you only have large-cap growth in your 401(k), consider investing in small or medium-cap growth in your IRA). You might also want to look at investing internationally.

Don't neglect bonds altogether, but your best bet is if the bulk of your retirement investment is in stocks, and you shift percentages to safer investments as you approach retirement.

 

[LordSnailz]

Thanks - that's basically what I had in mind. I'm 26 and I'm planning on pushing everything in stocks and as my horizon time becomes smaller, I'll slowly move the investments to a safer area.
I just realize that Large growth is not the most aggressive, it's actually small growth, correct?

 

[nitsuj3580]

I got a Target Retirement fund with Vanguard (the 2045) for my Roth IRA. They basically do everything for you. I'm 24 right now so the fund is very aggressive (90% stocks, 10% bonds). As I get older, the fund will gradually become more conservative (Vanguard does all this for you).

 

[DaveSimmons]

Small-cap has just had a couple of years of big gains, so for the short term it might not be good to over-invest in it.

You should also be considering index funds for part of your investment instead of all actively-managed funds. An S&P500 index fund will out-perform almost all actively-managed funds (small-cap and large) over time.