if you were 30 years old and your 401k offered these funds. How would you allocate?

equity fund
multimanager aggressive equity
multimanager core bond
multimanager high yield
multimanager health care
multimanager international equity
multimanager large cap core
multimanager large cap growth
multimanager mid cap growth
multimanager midcap value
multimanager technology
multimanager largecao value
dodge & cox balanced
eq/alncbernstein value
eq/boston advisor equity income
eq/montag cdw growth
axa mod-plus allocation
us large cap stock
msi us real estate a
spartin extnd mkt index
spartan international index
mid cap growth
axa aggressive allocation
axa conservative allocation
axa fixed income fund
axa moderate allocation

I would look at the 5 and 10 year averages. I would put about 1/2 in higher risk, since you are still young and 1/4 in moderate and 1/4 in secure.

I would not put more than 10 percent in any one fund normally.

Now that is what I would do

You should do some research on each of these funds - check out their histories at Morningstar.com, and pay close attention to the fees they each charge. High fees can be a real drag on performance over time. The Spartan funds are index funds - they have low fees and are great for forming the core of your long-term investments.

My own personal recommendation for a 30-year old would be:

50% large cap domestic stock funds
10% small cap domestic stock funds
20% international stock funds
20% bond fund


Many of the on-line investment firms have tools to help you pick an allocation that's right for your comfort level of risk versus reward. Fidelity has a good one in their retirement section, for example. Play around with them and see what they recommend. Just keep in mind that you are young, and over the course of your career you will probably experience several cycles of market growth and retraction. So don't be too conservative. Whatever mix you choose, plan to stick with for at least the next ten years, then re-evaluate. If you pick a mix and stick with it, and then rebalance your portfolio every year, you will automatically be practicing a "buy low, sell high" method - this strategy can really help your total return over time.

Smart401k - We worry about your retirement account so you don't have to.

These people will evaluate your funds for you and make recommendations. It's fee based $59/qtr or $200 a year, but probably a good idea for someone that doesn't want to research and re-allocate every quarter.