Mutual Fund Small Caps: The Better Choice

© 2013 James Gale. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 03/25/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4772-9669-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-9668-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012923116

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter One: The Stock Market Through The Last Two Decades

Chapter Two: Recessions. Periods To Withdraw From And Re-Enter Equity Funds

Chapter Three: Comparison Of Small Vs. Large Cap Funds, 1999-2010

Chapter Four: 401K And 403B Retirement Plans

Chapter Five: Investing In Ira’s With The Help Of Morningstar

Chapter Six: Regular Monitoring Of An Investment Portfolio

Chapter Seven: Charts Showing Accumulated Savings Dependent On Investment Returns

Epilogue

DEDICATION

To my wife Suzanne

INTRODUCTION

There are many writers offering advice to investors, some of them working for institutions who have a specific agenda to push, for example, annuities, or others who for many years have advocated a mix of equity and bond funds. Some, name specific mutual funds presented by well-known mutual fund families, presumably with the idea that by purchasing shares in them you will be able to accumulate sufficient wealth over time. For 401k and 403b program investors, attempting to save for their retirement, the advice provided can be critical to achieving their goals.

If you are dissatisfied with the results of your progress towards meeting your goals, or simply wish to explore possibly better amendments or options to your current plans, you might find the various proposals discussed in this book helpful. Individuals in 401k and 403b programs usually have very limited opportunities to change their investment options from the 15 mutual funds typically offered. Nevertheless, very importantly, they may be able to avoid the carnage to their assets by periodic recessions.

Proposals I advocate, require specific actions. Particularly in this day and age, you cannot make investments, and then, essentially, walk away expecting that over time, they will necessarily bring about the good returns you will need in retirement. A short time ago, many people considered the value of their house to be rock solid with the future only increasing it. The recent recession has brought about quite a reassessment in that belief when values of housing may have fallen by some 30% or more. While over time, prices are likely to rebound, it could be a long time before previous valuations are fully restored.

Some individuals whose working life started years earlier and are close to retirement may well be among the last recipients of defined benefit plans among for-profit institutions. Even some which did, if they had a plan with a company which went bankrupt, they may have had their pension reduced when transferred to the PGBC( Pension Guarantee Benefit Corp). Most companies have switched to 401k plans in order to save on pension obligations. Nevertheless, it is important to add that matching provisions (mostly offered) are extremely important as so many funds have otherwise had low returns. Without these matching provisions, some investors may have had, close to zero returns.

A Short Personal Financial History

I have been an investor for more than 25 years, first benefitting from a 401k plan when such programs were started in 1984, and then, after retirement in 1997, switching to IRAs. By the sheer luck of legislative timing, I was able to take advantage of a very benign market environment when even with an extraordinarily limited selection of mutual funds offered by an insurance company to a small manufacturing company, one could accumulate some pretty good returns through the rest of the 80’s and all of the 90’s with just occasional bumps along the way.

As a CEO of a small manufacturing company and a minority stockholder, I was able to cash in my stake in 1997 when the company was profitably sold. I, and a couple of years later, my wife, qualified for Social Security retirement benefits. We had no Defined Benefit Plan so that earnings from our 401k and 403b plans were and still are the only means of income besides Social Security distributions. It so happened that my retirement coincided time-wise with the introduction of the