Originally Posted by
notEnuf
I agree that it is early but with 60% bonds and 40% equities I figured on more stable returns. Two negatives allocations this early has me concerned and looking for more transparency. I definately don't need daily updates however, 17% (and 18% eventually) of my last 4 months of yearly earnings going into this is $25K per year. That is a significant amount to blindly accept quarterly allocations that are negative.
Not for nothing.. you dont have to "blindly accept" anything. The PWA language is fully transparent as to how the money is invested. Ill quote in case you dont have a PWA handy:
"The investment strategy for the MBCBP will target an allocation of:
a. 40% to global public equity markets in a manner similar to the MSCI All Country World Index
b. 60% to U.S. intermediate bonds in a manner similar to the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index."
According to the documentation from last summer, this allocation closely tracks the "LIRIX" fund offered by Blackrock. The summary prospectus from that fund states:
"As of March 31, 2024, the Fund held approximately 41% of its assets in Underlying Funds designed to track particular equity indexes, approximately 59% of its assets in Underlying Funds designed to track particular bond indexes"
On a cursory look, my MBCBP investment return tracks almost perfectly with LIRIX, as advertised.
How is the MBCBP not "transparent" if a) it is fully disclosed how the funds are invested (just like any other public fund), and b) it tracks very closely to a public fund that was disclosed before you opted into the plan. If you could look on your Fidelity account and see the money attached to the "LIRIX" ticker symbol, would that feel more "transparent" to you?
FWIW, based on the performance of LIRIX in May, Id fully expect a positive allocation. Regardless of that, performance over one month means absolutely nothing when discussing investment options for retirement. Ask anyone who was in VOO or QQQ during 2022. Some months were bloodbaths. That does not mean that VOO or QQQ are bad investments over time, quite the contrary.