Anyone who dares peek at their 401(k) can see the carnage: Many popular funds in workplace retirement savings plans are down more than 10% so far this year. Some are even in, or approaching, bear market territory.
Many of the retirement funds are, unsurprisingly, growth-oriented and heavy on on mega-cap tech stocks such as Amazon.com Inc., which plunged Friday after the e-commerce giant reported a quarterly loss and said it may lose money again in the current period.
The epic bull run in mega-cap tech that began in March 2020 led many funds to become ever more concentrated in a handful of companies. The T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth fund, for example, held more than 46% of the fund in five stocks as of March 31 — Microsoft Corp. (11.6%), Amazon (10.9%), Alphabet Inc. (10.2%), Apple Inc. (8.7%) and Meta Platforms Inc. (5%) — and more than 60% of its assets in the top 10 stocks. The fund is now down almost 22% for the year.
Fidelity Contrafund, another big 401(k) plan favorite, held about 33% of the fund in its top five holdings as of Feb. 28, with Amazon its top stock, at 8%. Contrafund is now down almost 18% year-to-date.
The S&P 500 has lost more than 10% so far this year. While the recent volatility is gut-wrenching for many people nearing or in retirement, it’s an opportunity for millennial investors, said financial planner Thomas Kopelman, the 27-year-old co-founder of AllStreetWealth.
“For young people, the market going down is okay since you aren’t going to be using this money for a very long time,” Kopelman said. “So get the money in, and stop waiting for the perfect time to buy the dip.”
Wells Fargo adds two bank-channel recruits, UBS lands a JPMorgan Chase veteran, and a multi-family office lifts Atlas past $1B
“The state comes down on you in years when you make 40% returns for clients,” said Bill Swayne, the advisor and son of Candace Swayne.
The Independent broker-dealer giant has had “active conversations” with the Claude maker, which is days away from its expected IPO
For Gen X clients entering life after work, answering the financial question isn't enough to solve the entire retirement equation.
Tools from Grantd, Income Lab and Healthspan Wealth aim to keep RIAs involved in clients’ biggest money decisions
Growing wealth, evolving priorities, and untapped opportunities are reshaping how women approach long-term investing.
Knighthead Life entered the market with a competitive MYGA. A strong launch earned advisor confidence and paved the way for FIAs.
