4. Being Fee and Cost Conscience is good, but be careful: Reducing the cost-drag related to your retirement investments is often directly proportionate to your rate of return on those same investments. However, some costs are fixed, some are variable, and it's possible that some costs can even can be eliminated. One of the best investments you can ever make is to "invest" a little time in asking questions, being determined to understand the differences of the fees and costs, and know exactly how the “all-in” price of maintaining your retirement investments are allocated and to who. Keeping in mind, however, that some charges or expenses related to accounts or investment management might be well worth it. One basic concept to watch for is referred to as “layering”. When reviewing your total retirement plan (this should be done at least annually, and at least quarterly if you are within 10 years of your target retirement age), if you determine, or suspect, that there are 3 or more different persons and/or entities receiving some part of the overall cost of your retirement plan, it's possible you're a victim of "layered fees". This doesn’t mean, necessarily, that you're paying too much, or that you’ve been misguided, but it should cause enough conccern that you make it a priority to find the TOTAL cost/fee structure of your plan. You owe it to yourself to understand precisely what you’re paying for, and if you need to be paying for it going forward.
Best of luck applying these four guideline-tips to your savings plan. As always, I welcome your feedback and/or questions.
Tom | [email protected] | 404-483-9000