Investments & Financial Planning

Generally, there are 4 types of Mutual Funds. The four general mutual fund types are Stock funds that buy stocks. Their investment objective is usually specific to a certain stock type such as small cap, large cap, international. Bond funds hold only bonds. As with stock funds, they can be designed to purchase particular grades of bonds. Balanced funds invest in a mix of stocks and bonds. Money market funds usually stick with safe, short-term debt instruments such as commercial paper, banker's acceptances, repurchase agreements and certificates of deposit. They have low risk. They typically provide the lowest returns among mutual funds. Their main uses are to hold money between investments, hold emergency savings and to save for short-term goals. As of 10/2000, the U.S. has over 7,000 mutual funds.

Section 403(b) retirement plans are defined-contribution retirement plans that offer workers a tax deferred investment and savings program. They are similar to 401(k) plans.
They are commonly used by non-profit institutions such as hospitals, public school systems and charitable organizations.
With a 403(b)retirement plan, money is deducted from your paycheck before taxes and deposited in a custodial account made up of mutual funds, depending on your particular plan. Employers have the option of matching part or all of the contribution.

Generally, you have three options for what to do with the vested portion of your 401(k) retirement account. If your vested account balance is $5,000 or more and you are under age 65 then you can leave your money where it is and taxes will not be due until you withdraw money from the account. You can roll over your 401(k) retirement account into a rollover IRA account or into your new employer's 401(k) retirement plan. If you do a direct rollover you should have the money transferred directly into the new account so you will not owe taxes until you withdraw money from the account. If you elect to take your money out of the 401(k) retirement account and not roll it over into a Rollover IRA or another 401(k) plan, you will owe all applicable taxes (plus the 10% early withdrawal penalty if you are under age 59 and a half.)

Yes, The contribution limits set by the IRS for IRAs and 401k plans do not overlap, meaning that your contributions to a 401k plan do not impact your ability to contribute to an IRA, and vice versa. However, your earned income, such as salaries, must equal or exceed your contribution amount.

The "vested" portion of your 401(k) account is the part that belongs to you and cannot be forfeited if you leave the job.
There are two parts of 401(k) contributions. The contributions you make and the contributions your employer makes such as a "matching" contributions.
The money you contribute, adjusted for any investment gain or loss, is always 100% vested. That means this money is always 100% yours. The contribution your employer makes may be subject to a vesting requirement.
This means that you must earn your employer’s contribution over a period of time. Vesting requirements are very common in 401(k) plans. The two most common types of vesting schedules are named Graded vesting and Cliff vesting. With graded vesting you own an increasing portion of the employer contribution each year you work with your company. If your company had a 4 year vesting schedule, you would be 25% vested after one year, 50% vested after two years, etc. By law, the longest vesting schedule a 401(k) plan can have is 7 years. Employees must be at least 20% vested after 3 years, 40% vested after 4 years, 60% after 5 years, 80% after 6 years and 100% after 7 years. With Cliff vesting you become 100% vested after a set period of time. If your vesting requirement is 4 years and you leave your company after 3 years, you will not get any of the employer contributions. The vesting requirement is an incentive for employees to stay employed with the company.

The process of buying a stock share or commodity in one market and selling it in another market. A trader will engage in arbitrage when shares of the same security are trading at different prices in each market.

The Consumer Price Index is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a fixed basket of day to day expenses including food, automobile, gas, registration, clothing, etc.

Emerging Market occurs in a country which does not have a fully developed economy. Mexico and Russia are examples. Investments in these markets are usually characterized by a high level of risk and possibility of a high return. Emerging Market stocks are stock of companies located in developing nations. Politically and economically, these countries are not considered to have reached the degree of Stability associated with developed nations. They are considered to have a lesser degree of economic sophistication.

A Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) is a qualified retirement plan in which employees receive shares of the company stock.