Getting Your 401(k) In Shape


plan, remember that the contribution levels and investment options must be adjusted, based on your personal savings needs and attitude toward risk.

  • Remember to rebalance your portfolio occasionally so that the mix of investments you originally chose–the proportions of stocks and bonds in your asset allocation plan–is maintained.
  • Don’t over manage your 401(k). Even if your employer provides you with Web access to your account and allows you to change your investment options as often as you wish, it’s a bad idea to drop whatever went down yesterday in favor of whatever is going up today.
  • Focus on the long term. Even if your 401(k) is not performing as well as you’d like today, remember that saving for retirement is a marathon, not a forty-yard dash.
  • From the book Take on the Street, by Arthur Levitt ©2002 by Arthur Levitt. Reprinted by arrangement with Pantheon Books a division of Random House Inc. (Log on to www.black enterprise.com to order a copy.)


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