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Choosing investments for your retirement savings plan

Brent Shakespeare
Financial Adviser
Brent Shakespeare

Your employer-sponsored retirement plan offers a variety of investments to choose from. How do you know which ones may be right for your needs? And how much should you direct to each one? The keys to answering these questions are to understand your options and consider how they relate to your own personal circumstances.

Mutual funds: instant diversification

For the most part, investors cannot purchase individual stocks, bonds, and other "securities" through a retirement plan. Rather, they can access them by choosing from a variety of mutual funds.

Mutual funds pool the money of many different investors to buy a series of securities. By investing in a fund or several funds, you own small portions of each individual security. The fund's manager chooses securities for the fund based on its stated objective, which is usually growth, income, or capital preservation. Generally, growth funds invest in stocks; income funds, in bonds (or dividend-paying stocks); and capital preservation funds, in stable value or cash securities. (Please note that while dividend-paying stocks are intended to provide income, the amount of a company's dividend can fluctuate with earnings, which are influenced by economic, market, and political events. Dividends are typically not guaranteed and could be changed or eliminated.)

Investing through mutual funds is an ideal way to utilize an investing principle known as diversification, which is the process of combining different types of investments in your portfolio to help manage risk. The thinking is that when one investment performs poorly, another may be holding steady or gaining in value.

Asset allocation: putting the pieces together

After familiarizing yourself with the investment options in your plan, the next step is to put together your mix, or "asset allocation." Although many factors will contribute to your asset allocation, three are particularly important--your savings goal, risk tolerance, and time horizon.

•Savings goal: How much do you need to accumulate in your plan to potentially provide the income you'll need throughout retirement? Targeting a goal will help you develop your strategy. After all, before mapping a route, you should first know where you're going.

•Risk tolerance: How much loss — 5 percent, 10 percent, 15 percent--would it take to make you worry? Risk tolerance refers to your financial and emotional ability to withstand dips in your account value as you pursue your goal, and also helps you determine how to allocate your plan contribution dollars among the investments you select.

•Time horizon: How much time do you have until you will need to tap the money in your account? The longer you have, the more time you may have to ride out those dips in pursuit of long-term results.

Generally speaking, a large goal, a high tolerance for risk, and a long time horizon might translate into an ability to take on more risk in a portfolio. The opposite is also true: smaller goals, a low tolerance for risk, and a shorter time horizon might warrant a more conservative approach.

In many cases, your plan's education materials will provide tools to help you set a goal, gauge your risk tolerance, and choose investments for your strategy. You might also seek the assistance of a financial professional, who can provide expertise and an objective viewpoint.
