so i'm trying to figure out where to put this tiny scrap of money each week and i really can't find any options (at least in the packet i was given) that don't include weapons, oil, or pharmaceuticals. Or Tyco or Microsoft. What the fuck? Is there any way i can have a 401(k) without feeling like a complete warmongering ass?

this is pissing me off.

You're opposed to antibiotics? Do tell!

Yeah, if you're not in a specifcally designated 'conscious investment' fund you'll never avoid all those buying mutual funds. You could buy t-bills or something but you're still funding government action then, and they're pretty warmongering a lot of the time.

I was looking into other options when I was filling out my stuff for my new company...I was just not going to use them and have one setup on my own through Fidelity Investments, but it seemed easier to go through the company so that's what I did...

as long as you at least do the 401k, then you're good.

if pfizer just made antibiotics, i'd celebrate them with each passing breath. as it is, though, i want nothing to do with any of them.

and i'm doing the whole thing because now that social security is fucked i might as well. either way, i hate this crap. a financial panther i am not.

You are out of luck as far as 401K's. There are socially conscious mutual funds you could look at. You could also build your own portfolio which would keep your money where you want it but it would require a lot of research and time.

Unfortunately, finding stocks that fulfill your standards will be tough because just about everybody's hands are dirty in some way these days.

Also, there is the issue of wanting your investments to accomplish something. Eliminating stocks because they don't fit into your worldview is admirable, but you are then left with sectors that may underperform and that defeats the entire purpose of investing.

It's tough to balance all that. Good luck.

Steve

if you go 401K make sure you split up your contribution among several of the portfolio options

i would agree with DunwoodyDude and say that munis are your best bet if you are looking to be socially responsible with your investing. im not sure what options your 401k gives you and investing that money outside the 401k program will cost you your company match.

i have a few friends that are making a shit load of money my investing against the dollar....

the problem is that i can't even maintain a fantasy basketball team, let alone a portfolio.

you don't need to maintain it, that's the beauty of it. you diversify your deposit across 4 portfolios that the company has. Example:

You invest $X per month. You could put it like so

30% - Portfolio A (High Risk)
20% - Portfolio B (Low Risk)
15% - Guaranteed Savings Account (Like a money market fund, with a guaranteed low % return.)
35% - Portfolio C (Medium Risk)

The theory is that the low risk slowly build over time. The high risk might do really bad the first 10-15 years, but then explode in 20 years, and are nice and fat when you retire.

My old company, just took a lump from my check and when they deposited it to my account, it got split up to the right portfolios like above. I don't have any thought in it, but theoretically, you should review it every 5-10 years to make sure it's doing what you want, and nothing unexpected is happening. You also should change your percentages based on how close you are to retirement, like when you start out and are young, you want to invest in high risk stuff, but as you get closer to retirement, you want to move it to low risk stuff, so it's there in a couple years when you retire and you don't have to wait for anything to "recover".

i'll be dead in 20 years.
i'm goin' shoppin' today.

if it's as easy as my company makes it (just log on to a website and view/change contributions), then i would suggest reviewing it every quarter.

diversify that bitch!

i just wish mine would grow a little more quickly.

You're young, right, Cotton? Do what timmyjoe says... diversify within your 401(k). Don't knee jerk and change options if certain funds aren't doing so well... that's the beauty of your youth. You've got a long time before you retire, and with the markets being cyclical, things are bound to improve over time.

I think with the Olympics coming up in Beijing, international options would be a good idea.

random fact I heard from our 401(k) coordinator here: most people in America don't invest in 401(k) until their 40s. Believe me, if you have the option to do it now, do it. Also, put aside as much as you can... I'm at 15% right now and fully vested.

i only put in about 7% as I need the cash for other things. I am only 60% vested...100% in 2 years.

shit, i need to look into this... i was just thinking about this the other day. my company has a good 401k program where they match the amount you deposit or something like that. my only concern is, i can't even balance my checkbook let alone think about saving for the future!

being an adult sucks.

Chico guys like you and me are never going to be able to retire so just do what i did and take the Sixers plus 9.5 and let's go have a drink whilst they blow it.

heh. that's why i'm only putting in 5%, bubba. i wonder if i can vest it when i'm like 43, a year before i die. I want to put my dog as my second beneficiary or something but i need to provide a social security number. those assholes.



and guys, i have it spread out across three funds right now, two high risk and one mid, but it's more the ethics of funding so many inherently evil companies with one foul swoop. It's one thing to buy a cheeseburger because i take that as a karmic writeoff. McDonald's is bad, but I go there once every year or so i don't sweat it. To systematically deposit a certain percentage of my paycheck to Raytheon on the other hand is just not really something i can live with.

you should invest exclusively in "sin tax" items like liquor and cigarettes, in particular cigarettes.

can't i just give you money instead?

yes. yes you can. i reiterate i took philly plus 9.5 last night, but you can do what you want.

i should just take all that money and invest in real estate - my house is going up in value about 4x as fast as my 401k.

Yeah, if you can figure out the whole right place in the right time thing, real estate can be really good.

Apparantly, there are also real estate funds now. I don't know much about any of it, I'm just getting started. But I've heard about diversifying a 401(k) from a lot of people. Seems like the way to go.

what you can also invest in is a hedge fund on real estate - basically bet that real estate values will go down. i should do this in the bay area....just not sure how long that boom can last.

Don't invest in mutual funds; mutual funds suck. Most of them consistently underperform the market. ETFs (exchange traded funds) are SO much better. I gotta say, it's hard to decide where to put your money these days. I am steering clear of bonds right now, because I think they're WAY overpriced.

For my own personal investing, I'm not a fan of diversifying. I prefer to find a few companies with solid balance sheets and good earnings history/potential and who are selling at a reasonable price, or hopefully even a low price.

For people who don't know that much about finance or investing, I would suggest a mix of index funds, plus a few good solid companies and possibly some riskier ones, though I would keep that to a minimum. This would be taking more a hands-off approach, which is what I think most people are looking for. Look for large companies that have a good history of paying dividends, and solid earnings growth. I can provide some suggestions later, when I'm not at work and have a little more time

Another thing, never ever make an investing decision based on what someone else thinks is good. Just cause your friend thinks that ford is a great buy, doesn't mean that it actually is! ALWAYS know what you're getting into.