Vanguard ETF: | 7.4%* | ||
Diversified Core: | 8.1%* | ||
Six Core Asset ETFs: | 7.3%* |
Articles on VWELX
- H&R Block Can Use Its Financial Prowess to Help Its Own 401K Plan
06/24/2011
Retirement investing is a long term process. This report reviews H&R Block Retirement Savings Plan. We will discuss the investment choices and present the plan rating by MyPlanIQ. Asset allocation portfolios and their performance are presented.
Plan Review and Rating
H&R Block, Inc. (HRB), through its subsidiaries, provides tax preparation, retail banking, and various business advisory and consulting services. It operates in three segments: Tax Services, Business Services, and Corporate.
H&R Block Retirement Savings Plan's 401K plan consists of 21 funds. These funds enable participants to gain exposure to 3 major assets: US Equity, Foreign Equity, Fixed Income.
Asset Class Ticker Name Foreign Large Blend RERFX American Funds EuroPacific Gr R5 LARGE GROWTH RGAFX American Funds Growth Fund of Amer R5 LARGE VALUE DODGX Dodge & Cox Stock Target Date 2000-2010 FFFBX Fidelity Freedom 2000 Target Date 2000-2010 FFFVX Fidelity Freedom 2005 Target Date 2000-2010 FFFCX Fidelity Freedom 2010 Target Date 2011-2015 FFVFX Fidelity Freedom 2015 Target Date 2016-2020 FFFDX Fidelity Freedom 2020 Target Date 2021-2025 FFTWX Fidelity Freedom 2025 Target Date 2026-2030 FFFEX Fidelity Freedom 2030 Target Date 2031-2035 FFTHX Fidelity Freedom 2035 Target Date 2036-2040 FFFFX Fidelity Freedom 2040 Target Date 2041-2045 FFFGX Fidelity Freedom 2045 Target Date 2050+ FFFHX Fidelity Freedom 2050 Retirement Income FFFAX Fidelity Freedom Income SMALL BLEND HASCX Harbor Small Cap Value Instl Intermediate-Term Bond PTTRX PIMCO Total Return Instl Mid-Cap Growth VMGRX Vanguard Mid Cap Growth LARGE BLEND VINIX Vanguard Institutional Index Moderate Allocation VWELX Vanguard Wellington SHORT GOVERNMENT STABLEVALUE STABLEVALUE As of Jun 23, 2011, this plan investment choice is rated as average based on MyPlanIQ Plan Rating methodology that measures the effectiveness of a plan's available investment funds. It has the following detailed ratings:
Diversification -- Rated as poor (10%)
Fund Quality -- Rated as great (87%)
Portfolio Building -- Rated as below average (31%)
Overall Rating: average (41%)The plan is clearly a traditional U.S. and developed country centric plan. Important asset classes such as emerging market stocks(EEM) and REITs (IYR) are missing. This plan is rated very high in its fund quality ranking but lags dramatically in terms of diversification.
Portfolio Building
The chart and table below show the historical performance of moderate model portfolios employing strategic and tactical asset allocation strategies. For comparison purpose, we also include the moderate model portfolios of a typical 3 asset SIB (Simpler Is Better) plan . This SIB plan has the following candidate index funds and their ETFs equivalent:
US Equity: SPY or VTI
Foreign Equity: EFA or VEU
Fixed Income: AGG or BND
Performance chart (as of Jun 23, 2011)Performance table (as of Jun 23, 2011)
Portfolio Name 1Yr AR 1Yr Sharpe 3Yr AR 3Yr Sharpe 5Yr AR 5Yr Sharpe H&R Block Retirement Savings Plan Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 9% 66% 7% 73% 8% 82% H&R Block Retirement Savings Plan Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate 11% 128% 5% 28% 6% 43% Three Core Asset ETF Benchmark Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 4% 22% 3% 23% 4% 38% Three Core Asset ETF Benchmark Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate 17% 126% 4% 12% 5% 20% Again, because of its low cost and high quality fund choices, the plan's strategic asset allocaiton portfolio outperforms the standard three asset class portfolio.
To summarize, with the global economy being well developed and more balanced, we would expect H&R Block can use its financial savvy (that they use to help their customers in their personal finance) to improve their own 401k plan offering. Adding funds to enable exposures in emerging markets and alternative investments such as Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) is a good direction to pursue.
Symbols: HRB, VTI, VEU, BND, RERFX, RGAFX, DODGX, PTTRX, VWELX, 401k
Exchange Tickers: (HRB), (STABLEVALUE), (VTI), (VEU), (BND), (RERFX), (RGAFX), (DODGX), (FFFBX), (FFFVX), (FFFCX), (FFVFX), (FFFDX), (FFTWX), (FFFEX), (FFTHX), (FFFFX), (FFFGX), (FFFHX), (FFFAX), (HASCX), (PTTRX), (VMGRX), (VINIX), (VWELX) - Adobe Systems 401K Can Benefit from More Diversified Funds in Emerging Market Stocks and REITs
06/22/2011
Retirement investing is a long term process. This report reviews Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan. We will discuss the investment choices and present the plan rating by MyPlanIQ. Current economic and market conditions are discussed in the context of the investment portfolios in the plan. We will then show how participants in Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan can achieve reasonable investment results using asset allocation strategies.
Plan Review and Rating
Adobe Systems Incorporated operates as a diversified software company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It offers a line of creative, business, Web, and mobile software and services used by creative professionals, knowledge workers, consumers, original equipment manufacturers, developers, and enterprises. Adobe is famous for its Acrobat PDF suite of tools, Photoshops and Flash products.
Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan's 401K plan consists of 25 funds. These funds enable participants to gain exposure to 3 major assets: US Equity, Foreign Equity, Fixed Income.
The following is the list of funds available in the plan.
Asset Class Ticker Name SMALL VALUE DFSVX DFA U.S. Small Cap Value I Foreign Large Value DODFX Dodge & Cox International Stock Intermediate-Term Bond PTTRX PIMCO Total Return Instl Small Growth VEXPX Vanguard Explorer MID-CAP BLEND VIEIX Vanguard Extended Market Idx Instl Foreign Large Blend VFWIX Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Inv LARGE GROWTH VFTNX Vanguard FTSE Social Index Instl Inflation-Protected Bond VIPSX Vanguard Inflation-Protected Secs LARGE BLEND VINIX Vanguard Institutional Index LARGE GROWTH VMRAX Vanguard Morgan Growth Adm ROOT CASH CASH Target Date 2000-2010 VTOVX Vanguard Target Retirement 2005 Target Date 2000-2010 VTENX Vanguard Target Retirement 2010 Target Date 2011-2015 VTXVX Vanguard Target Retirement 2015 Target Date 2016-2020 VTWNX Vanguard Target Retirement 2020 Target Date 2021-2025 VTTVX Vanguard Target Retirement 2025 Target Date 2026-2030 VTHRX Vanguard Target Retirement 2030 Target Date 2031-2035 VTTHX Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Target Date 2036-2040 VFORX Vanguard Target Retirement 2040 Target Date 2041-2045 VTIVX Vanguard Target Retirement 2045 Target Date 2050+ VFIFX Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 Retirement Income VTINX Vanguard Target Retirement Income Intermediate-Term Bond VBTIX Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Inst Moderate Allocation VWELX Vanguard Wellington LARGE VALUE VWNFX Vanguard Windsor II As of Jun 20, 2011, this plan investment choice is rated as average based on MyPlanIQ Plan Rating methodology that measures the effectiveness of a plan's available investment funds. It has the following detailed ratings:
Diversification -- Rated as average (46%)
Fund Quality -- Rated as average (64%)
Portfolio Building -- Rated as average (59%)
Overall Rating: average (56%)Current Economic and Market Conditions
Last week markets were somewhat stabilized a bit. Key observations are
-
Commodities (DBC) had a negative week while gold (GLD) was again strong. Gold is now ranked on top among all major asset trend scores.
-
U.S. REITs (VNQ) recovered and now stood on number 2 position.
- Fixed income continued to be strong, especially long term government bonds (IEF) or (TLT).
Overall, markets are still struggling to decipher various economic indicators and figure out where global economy is heading.
For more information on how these assets are ranked, please see here.
Portfolio Discussions
The chart and table below show the historical performance of moderate model portfolios employing strategic and tactical asset allocation strategies. For comparison purpose, we also include the moderate model portfolios of a typical 3 asset SIB (Simpler Is Better) plan . This SIB plan has the following candidate index funds and their ETFs equivalent:
US Equity: SPY or VTI
Foreign Equity: EFA or VEU
Fixed Income: AGG or BND
Performance chart (as of Jun 20, 2011)Performance table (as of Jun 20, 2011)
Portfolio Name 1Yr AR 1Yr Sharpe 3Yr AR 3Yr Sharpe 5Yr AR 5Yr Sharpe Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 8% 85% 9% 87% 9% 87% Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate 10% 129% 4% 26% 6% 41% Three Core Asset ETF Benchmark Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 4% 22% 3% 23% 5% 38% Three Core Asset ETF Benchmark Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate 17% 126% 4% 12% 5% 20% Currently REITs and Commodities are doing well. But these asset classes are not available to Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan participants.
To summarize, Adobe's 401k plan has low cost Vanguard funds and several solid long term funds such as PIMCO Total Return Instl (PTTRX) and Dodge & Cox International Stocks (DODFX). This plan is again a developed country and U.S. centric with no exposure in emerging market stocks and real estate investment trusts (REITs). Adding funds to allow exposure in these two asset classes can increase diversification effect dramatically.
Symbols: ADBE, EEM, IYR, DODFX, PTTRX, VWELX, VWNFX
Exchange Tickers: (ADBE), (CASH), (VTI), (VEU), (BND), (DFSVX), (DODFX), (PTTRX), (VEXPX), (VIEIX), (VFWIX), (VFTNX), (VIPSX), (VINIX), (VMRAX), (VTOVX), (VTENX), (VTXVX), (VTWNX), (VTTVX), (VTHRX), (VTTHX), (VFORX), (VTIVX), (VFIFX), (VTINX), (VBTIX), (VWELX), (VWNFX) -
- UPS, Fedex Square off in Retirement Plans
04/19/2011
The combination of a robust U.S. equity market and the proliferation of company-sponsored retirement plans helped push total assets in 401(k) pans over the $3 trillion threshold at close of last year, up 13% from 2009. The incidents in Japan, the Middle East and even as far back as New Orleans teach us the danger of living on borrowed time, the reactors, the governments the levees keeping things going -- just one more year. The temptation to delay until next time is very seductive until disaster strikes and the cost to repair, dwarfs the cost to prevent. Many working people put off their retirement investing -- just one more year until it becomes a "hair on fire" problem -- which it now is for baby boomers for whom retirement is a near and present danger.
The starting point for any retirement investing is the company provided retirement plan. Not all plans are created equal. Not all plans have the same number of choices, asset classes, quality of funds and, most importantly, risk adjusted returns.The list of minor asset classes covered by UPS Savings Plan The list of minor asset classes covered by Federal Express (FedEx) 401K Plan for Pilots Emerging Markets Bond: BAEDX
Foreign Large Blend: EFA
Inflation-protected Bond: BPRAX
Intermediate-term Bond: SSINX, SBMRX
Large Blend: SVSPX
Mid-cap Blend: MDY
Real Estate: VGSIX
Retirement Income: VTINX
Small Blend: IWM
Target Date 2000-2010: VTENX
Target Date 2011-2015: VTXVX
Target Date 2016-2020: VTWNX
Target Date 2021-2025: VTTVX
Target Date 2026-2030: VTHRX
Target Date 2031-2035: VTTHX
Target Date 2036-2040: VFORX
Target Date 2041-2045: VTIVX
Target Date 2050+: VFIFXConservative Allocation: VSCGX
Foreign Large Blend: VGTSX
Foreign Large Value: VTRIX
Inflation-protected Bond: VIPSX
Intermediate-term Bond: VBTIX
Large Blend: VIFSX
Large Value: VWNDX
Mid-cap Blend: VEMSX, VMISX
Moderate Allocation: VWELX, VSMGX
Retirement Income: VTINX
Small Blend: VSISX
Target Date 2000-2010: VTENX, VTOVX
Target Date 2011-2015: VTXVX
Target Date 2016-2020: VTWNX
Target Date 2021-2025: VTTVX
Target Date 2026-2030: VTHRX
Target Date 2031-2035: VTTHX
Target Date 2036-2040: VFORX
Target Date 2041-2045: VTIVX
Target Date 2050+: VFIFXAsset Class UPS Savings Plan Federal Express (FedEx) 401K Plan for Pilots REITs 1 0 Balanced Fund 10 14 Fixed Income 4 2 Sector Fund 0 0 Foreign Equity 1 2 US Equity 3 5 Other 0 0 Total 19 23 Fedex has more funds but have one less asset class -- UPS has REITs and Fedex does not. Neither company provides Emerging Markets or Commodity funds.
Both companies have a wide choice of Target Date funds which may appeal to some but are expensive and have mixed reviews as to their value for money.
It is interesting that UPS has emerging market bonds but no emerging ma
There are easy ways to improve these plans with emerging market and commodity exposure.As of Apr 18, 2011, UPS Savings Plan investment choice is rated as average and Federal Express (FedEx) 401K Plan for Pilots investment choice is rated as below average based on MyPlanIQ Plan Rating methodology that was designed to measure how effective a plan's available investment funds are . It has the following detailed ratings:
Attribute UPS Savings Plan Federal Express (FedEx) 401K Plan for Pilots Diversification above average (85%) below average (13%) Fund Quality below average (21%) average (47%) Portfolio Building above average (66%) below average (31%) Overall Rating average (58%) below average (31%)
Performance chart (as of Apr 18, 2011)Performance table (as of Apr 18, 2011)
Portfolio Name 1Yr AR 1Yr Sharpe 3Yr AR 3Yr Sharpe 5Yr AR 5Yr Sharpe UPS Savings Plan Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 10% 77% 10% 102% 10% 98% UPS Savings Plan Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate 7% 55% 1% 9% 3% 11% Federal Express 401K Plan Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 4% 39% 7% 73% 7% 69% Federal Express 401K Plan Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate 8% 87% 4% 36% 6% 41% Six Core Asset ETF Benchmark Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 10% 71% 9% 73% 13% 91% Six Core Asset ETF Benchmark Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate 13% 103% 3% 20% 7% 35%
Currently Commodities, Real Estate and US Equity are doing well. US Equity and Real Estate available to UPS Savings Plan participants Only US Equities are available to FedEx participants.When we add the six asset class SIB benchmark to the table, it is possible to see how the two compare against a reference.
Takeaways
- The UPS plan with its extra asset class has a three point lead over the FedEx plan when comparing tactical asset allocation
- The Six asset class benchmark has a three point lead over the UPS plan when comparing tactical asset allocation
- The FedEx plan without the recent burden of the Real Estate crash beats UPS when comparing strategic asset allocation
- The Six asset class benchmark beats the FedEx plan over five years where emerging markets and commodities offset the drag of real estatewhen comparing strategic asset allocation
With either plan, augmenting a retirement portfolio with emerging market equities and commodities will provide better diversification and likely higher risk adjusted returns. As inflation seems like a near certainty, commodity exposure becomes increasingly important.
Disclosure:MyPlanIQ does not have any business relationship with the company or companies mentioned in this article. It does not set up their retirement plans. The performance data of portfolios mentioned above are obtained through historical simulation and are hypothetical.
Symbols: UPS, FDX, BAEDX, EFA, BPRAX, SSINX, SBMRX, SVSPX, MDY, VGSIX, VTINX, IWM, VGTSX, VTRIX, VIPSX, VBTIX, VIFSX, VWNDX, VEMSX, VMISX, VWELX, VSMGX, VTINX, VSISX, AGG, BND, VTI, VNQ, IYR, DBC, VWO, EEM, EFA
Exchange Tickers: (UPS), (FDX), (BAEDX), (EFA), (BPRAX ), (SSINX), (SBMRX), (SVSPX), (MDY), (VGSIX), (VTINX), (IWM), (VGTSX), (VTRIX), (VIPSX), (VBTIX), (VIFSX), (VWNDX), (VEMSX), (VMISX), (VWELX), (VSMGX), (VTINX), (VSISX), (AGG), (BND), (VTI), (VNQ), (IYR), (DBC), (VWO), (EEM), (EFA)
- Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan Report On 06222011
06/22/2011
Retirement investing is a long term process. This report reviews Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan. We will discuss the investment choices and present the plan rating by MyPlanIQ. Current economic and market conditions are discussed in the context of the investment portfolios in the plan. We will then show how participants in Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan can achieve reasonable investment results using asset allocation strategies.
Plan Review and Rating
Adobe Systems Incorporated operates as a diversified software company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It offers a line of creative, business, Web, and mobile software and services used by creative professionals, knowledge workers, consumers, original equipment manufacturers, developers, and enterprises. Adobe is famous for its Acrobat PDF suite of tools, Photoshops and Flash products.
Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan's 401K plan consists of 25 funds. These funds enable participants to gain exposure to 3 major assets: US Equity, Foreign Equity, Fixed Income.
The following is the list of funds available in the plan.
Asset Class Ticker Name SMALL VALUE DFSVX DFA U.S. Small Cap Value I Foreign Large Value DODFX Dodge & Cox International Stock Intermediate-Term Bond PTTRX PIMCO Total Return Instl Small Growth VEXPX Vanguard Explorer MID-CAP BLEND VIEIX Vanguard Extended Market Idx Instl Foreign Large Blend VFWIX Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Inv LARGE GROWTH VFTNX Vanguard FTSE Social Index Instl Inflation-Protected Bond VIPSX Vanguard Inflation-Protected Secs LARGE BLEND VINIX Vanguard Institutional Index LARGE GROWTH VMRAX Vanguard Morgan Growth Adm ROOT CASH CASH Target Date 2000-2010 VTOVX Vanguard Target Retirement 2005 Target Date 2000-2010 VTENX Vanguard Target Retirement 2010 Target Date 2011-2015 VTXVX Vanguard Target Retirement 2015 Target Date 2016-2020 VTWNX Vanguard Target Retirement 2020 Target Date 2021-2025 VTTVX Vanguard Target Retirement 2025 Target Date 2026-2030 VTHRX Vanguard Target Retirement 2030 Target Date 2031-2035 VTTHX Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Target Date 2036-2040 VFORX Vanguard Target Retirement 2040 Target Date 2041-2045 VTIVX Vanguard Target Retirement 2045 Target Date 2050+ VFIFX Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 Retirement Income VTINX Vanguard Target Retirement Income Intermediate-Term Bond VBTIX Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Inst Moderate Allocation VWELX Vanguard Wellington LARGE VALUE VWNFX Vanguard Windsor II As of Jun 20, 2011, this plan investment choice is rated as average based on MyPlanIQ Plan Rating methodology that measures the effectiveness of a plan's available investment funds. It has the following detailed ratings:
Diversification -- Rated as average (46%)
Fund Quality -- Rated as average (64%)
Portfolio Building -- Rated as average (59%)
Overall Rating: average (56%)Current Economic and Market Conditions
Last week markets were somewhat stabilized a bit. Key observations are
-
Commodities (DBC) had a negative week while gold (GLD) was again strong. Gold is now ranked on top among all major asset trend scores.
-
U.S. REITs (VNQ) recovered and now stood on number 2 position.
- Fixed income continued to be strong, especially long term government bonds (IEF) or (TLT).
Overall, markets are still struggling to decipher various economic indicators and figure out where global economy is heading.
For more information on how these assets are ranked, please see here.
Portfolio Discussions
The chart and table below show the historical performance of moderate model portfolios employing strategic and tactical asset allocation strategies. For comparison purpose, we also include the moderate model portfolios of a typical 3 asset SIB (Simpler Is Better) plan . This SIB plan has the following candidate index funds and their ETFs equivalent:
US Equity: SPY or VTI
Foreign Equity: EFA or VEU
Fixed Income: AGG or BND
Performance chart (as of Jun 20, 2011)Performance table (as of Jun 20, 2011)
Portfolio Name 1Yr AR 1Yr Sharpe 3Yr AR 3Yr Sharpe 5Yr AR 5Yr Sharpe Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 8% 85% 9% 87% 9% 87% Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate 10% 129% 4% 26% 6% 41% Three Core Asset ETF Benchmark Tactical Asset Allocation Moderate 4% 22% 3% 23% 5% 38% Three Core Asset ETF Benchmark Strategic Asset Allocation Moderate 17% 126% 4% 12% 5% 20% Currently REITs and Commodities are doing well. But these asset classes are not available to Adobe Systems Inc 401K Retirement Savings Plan participants.
To summarize, Adobe's 401k plan has low cost Vanguard funds and several solid long term funds such as PIMCO Total Return Instl (PTTRX) and Dodge & Cox International Stocks (DODFX). This plan is again a developed country and U.S. centric with no exposure in emerging market stocks and real estate investment trusts (REITs). Adding funds to allow exposure in these two asset classes can increase diversification effect dramatically.
Symbols: ADBE, EEM, IYR, DODFX, PTTRX, VWELX, VWNFX
Exchange Tickers: (ADBE), (CASH), (VTI), (VEU), (BND), (DFSVX), (DODFX), (PTTRX), (VEXPX), (VIEIX), (VFWIX), (VFTNX), (VIPSX), (VINIX), (VMRAX), (VTOVX), (VTENX), (VTXVX), (VTWNX), (VTTVX), (VTHRX), (VTTHX), (VFORX), (VTIVX), (VFIFX), (VTINX), (VBTIX), (VWELX), (VWNFX) -