Anonymous wrote:The Vanguard Total Index Fund is 98% domestic stocks. Is it really a good idea to invest your retirement savings in that high of a percentage of stocks? Shouldn't there be some balance?

Portion of allocation to stocks depends only on years to retirement. If you have more than twenty, 98 percent is fine. Now to ease in over a couple of purchases, that's sound. Put 1/2 in now, another quarter in two months regardless of the price, and the final quarter two months after that. If it's up all the way, you will be happy, if it's down after your first purchase, you'll get some at the lower price. Relevant mostly to someone just starting out who may find it hard to live with the belief in long term results if early days bring some lower prices. Not "losses" really, because you didn't sell and are holding for some far off date.

Vanguard Star is a good overall fund.

Anonymous wrote:The Vanguard Total Index Fund is 98% domestic stocks. Is it really a good idea to invest your retirement savings in that high of a percentage of stocks? Shouldn't there be some balance?

Since she has a small amount of money, the Vanguard Total Index Fund is a good start with. It gives her a potential to earn a good return with a reasonable risk. If she has enough money to diversify her porfolios later, she can add Total International Stock Index fund and Total bond Market Index fund. These will give her very good diversified porfolios.

The Vanguard Total Index Fund is 98% domestic stocks. Is it really a good idea to invest your retirement savings in that high of a percentage of stocks? Shouldn't there be some balance?

Anonymous wrote:DH has a small amount in an IRA and it needs to be invested. Is an asset allocation fund with a target date the best thing to do, or should I try and split the small amount into a few different types of funds. We have our money with Fidelity, so I don't know that Vanguard funds are available to us.

Since this is a small amount, put all of them into Vanguard Total Market Index fund. Total Market Index fund contains over 3000 companies. You should be ok.

Head to Vanguard or any funds with the lowest fees.

The fidelity freedom index funds are ok, or the fidelity spartan (but the fidelity freedom funds aren't great)

DH has a small amount in an IRA and it needs to be invested. Is an asset allocation fund with a target date the best thing to do, or should I try and split the small amount into a few different types of funds. We have our money with Fidelity, so I don't know that Vanguard funds are available to us.