401k management
 

I know Financial Engines manages 401k for Delta. I also have flown with quite a few Snider Method investors; which seems manageable doing once a month trades. Also lots of individual investors using brokeragelink accounts managing it all themselves.

Anybody with advice on how these methods are working for them or advice on other 401k management options! Thanks

I self manage through brokerage link. Worked good so far. I’ve only been doing it since 2016 but I’ve had pretty good returns. Ok about 50/50 mix among stock and mutual funds. I use several different stock advisor services for ideas.

3 years ago I switched to the Roth 401k. I believe the fidelity website has a calculator to compare what is best for oneself. Have a small percentage in the brokerage link that is self managed.

Target date fund is pretty good if you dont want to actively manage. I have 15% in target date +5 to be a bit more aggressive longer towards retirement (2045 is my mandatory retirement, so target date fund of 2050 for myself.)

One reason I am sticking with Roth - One should consider where our tax bracket will be in the future and the current trillions of dollars recently added into the economy that has to be paid back.

Fidelity has a Delta Financial Advisor/trader that works specifically with us. They are your best source for free financial advise.

Books on investing.
My favorite is "The Elements Of Investing" by Burton Malkiel. This is a simple to understand book. Talks about broad based index funds.
"The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Grahm. A guide on value investing. Most importantly, the author also describes the psychology of investing. Very long book. Nice for commuting.

I'm with RAA and really value their service.

Here is their contact info from the last email. Airline pilot focused investing service....
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I'm not knocking any reputable Financial Advisor like an RAA, Fidelity, etc, but it would behoove you to spend an hour or ten browsing bogleheads.org before making any decisions. Think of it as APC for personal finance. Most subscribe to the low-cost, low-fee index fund investing model over there but you can find info on ANY personal finance topic. You are going to pay a management fee to any advisor if they manage your money and a fee as low as 1% can have enormous drag on your portfolio over the long haul. So can excess trading, trying to "beat" the market, and utilizing poor diversification. Bogleheads can educate you on all of those things and won't cost you 10's of thousands of dollars if not more on the backend of the growth of your nest egg. The best thing a financial advisor is for, if you have a decent knowledge of personal finance, is to play the role of a psychologist by talking you down off a ledge when the world and markets are on fire.

I never thought of it that way, but you are absolutely correct. I've got a decent knowledge of personal finance (minor in college) and my CFP is an expensive person to bounce ideas off of. Sometimes she says "Great idea. You're absolutely on the right track here" and others she says "You're out of your mind and this is why". Not all ideas are good ideas and I think its important to work with someone who is willing to say that.

I would add that it's nice to have someone who has a top down, unemotional view of my full financial picture. I found that as I got older and my finances got more complicated it was harder to keep an eye on everything. Having someone come in and harmonize everything for max efficiency and effect going forward was/is the main benefit for me. In addition, it's nice to have someone with the experience and knowledge to catch/prevent mistakes that I might have made without adult supervision.

I'm probably paying more than I should and a lot of the time she's not saying anything I couldn't have figured out on my own. But the "ah ha moments", coaching, perspective and ability to be a little more hands off are worth it IMO.

Any of you doing Snider Method? I know a bunch of them are on CC. Wondering if it is worth the time learning the system

Selling covered calls can be very labor intensive, subject to operator error(Selling a put instead of a call for instance), higher commissions, etc. You MUST know what you are doing with options before doing this. You need to educate yourself extensively because utilizing the sale of options incorrectly can have have devastating financial implications. It is active investing. Not saying not to do it, but for most individuals that are investing long term utilizing index funds, it runs counter to that idea.

Google, "covered calls bogleheads" and you will find lots of thoughts on this method(thats what the snider method is - selling covered calls).