IBM 401 (K) PLUS PLAN Investment Options

Basic steps for IBM 401 (K) PLUS PLAN investments

1. Understand Your Goals and Risk Tolerance: Consider your retirement goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance when choosing investments. Are you saving for retirement, or do you have other financial goals in mind? How comfortable are you with market fluctuations?
2. Diversification: Diversification is key to managing risk in your investment portfolio. Spread your investments across different asset classes (e.g., stocks, bonds, cash equivalents) and sectors to reduce the impact of market volatility.
3. Asset Allocation: Determine the appropriate mix of assets for your investment portfolio based on your goals and risk tolerance. This may involve allocating a percentage of your portfolio to stocks, bonds, and cash equivalents.
4. Review Investment Options: Evaluate the investment options available within IBM 401 (K) PLUS PLAN (see below for more detailed investment options). Look for funds with low fees, consistent performance, and a track record of meeting their investment objectives.
5. Consider Target-Date Funds: Target-date funds are a popular option for retirement savings because they automatically adjust the asset allocation over time based on your expected retirement date. These funds can be a convenient option for investors who prefer a hands-off approach to investing.
6. Monitor and Rebalance: Periodically review your investment portfolio and make adjustments as needed. Rebalance your portfolio to maintain your desired asset allocation and ensure it remains aligned with your goals and risk tolerance.
7. Seek Professional Advice: If you’re unsure about which investments to choose or how to allocate your assets, consider seeking advice from a financial advisor. They can help you develop an investment strategy tailored to your individual needs and circumstances.

By following these steps, you can set up a 401(k) plan and choose investments that align with your long-term financial goals and objectives. Remember that investing involves risk, and it’s important to carefully consider your options and seek professional advice if needed.

Investment Options

IBM 401 (K) PLUS PLAN provides a list of funds (mutual funds and collective investment trusts — custom-made mutual funds for the plan):

How to invest

Key principles in retirement investing:

• Proper asset allocation among stocks and bonds, the two major assets. Proper assess your risk tolerance level based on your age, financial situation, personal emotional level to tolerate up and down, and retirement expectation.
• Invest in (ultra) low cost index funds if possible. Don’t get caught up with flashy funds.
• Invest for a long term: financial markets are up and down and investment values are subject to fluctuation. However, viewed as business investments, you can be assured that diversified funds (stocks and bonds) have solid business fundamental that eventually will deliver inflation beating returns for stocks.

See Four-Step Guide for 401(k) Retirement Investing.

Basic asset allocation templates

The following asset allocation templates are based on popular lazy portfolios. These are core or major asset class-based portfolios using ultra-low-cost index funds for each asset class. Once you have decided on your proper risk asset (stocks) allocation, you can utilize these lazy portfolio templates to scale the allocations to your risk allocation level. See Asset Allocation Portfolio Templates for a guide:

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