My company allowed us to contribute to a 401K plan via our Union pre-tax dollars in June. I made the following allocations. Now with the markets the way they are should I make some changes to what I have chosen in this list or leave it as is? Thanks.

5% High quality bond
5% Infl-prot sec
6% High yield bd
5% Val & inc
11% Value
11% Gr & inc
22% Eqty growth
5% Mid cap value
5% Mid cap growth
3% Sm cap value
4% Spec eqty
3% Sm cap growth
15% Intl

The short answer is that there is no reason to change your fund allocations just because the market has gone down. Assuming that you aren't retiring in the next five years, I wouldn't do anything. Just sit tight. Remember: the stock market goes up, and it goes down. People -- and the news media -- like to forget the last part of that sentence.

Now I'm going to answer a question you didn't ask. In my opinion, you appear to be overly diversified. It looks like you just put a little money in every fund offered in your 401k plan. I would suggest subscribing to Money or Kipplinger magazine ($12 per year). These magazine offer basic investing knowledge that might help you focus in on the funds that best meet your objectives, i.e. when you want to retire.

Congratulations on starting your savings and investing plan. By far, the most important thing is how much you save, not what you put your savings in.

Thanks!



The short answer is that there is no reason to change your fund allocations just because the market has gone down. Assuming that you aren't retiring in the next five years, I wouldn't do anything. Just sit tight. Remember: the stock market goes up, and it goes down. People -- and the news media -- like to forget the last part of that sentence.

Now I'm going to answer a question you didn't ask. In my opinion, you appear to be overly diversified. It looks like you just put a little money in every fund offered in your 401k plan. I would suggest subscribing to Money or Kipplinger magazine ($12 per year). These magazine offer basic investing knowledge that might help you focus in on the funds that best meet your objectives, i.e. when you want to retire.

Congratulations on starting your savings and investing plan. By far, the most important thing is how much you save, not what you put your savings in.