How to Analyze Your 401(k)

I used to pick my 401(k) funds with a dart board. Now, I know how to figure out which ones make me more money. Read on to find out what I've learned about how to compare one against another.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Internet
• Paper

1. Log on to Fidelity, Vanguard or the financial institution where your 401(k) sits.
2. Write down the name (and ticker if it's there) of each fund in your portfolio.
3. Go to yahoo.finance.com.
4. Type in a stock ticker.
5. Click on "charts" on the left hand side.
6. Add all of your stock tickers to where it says: "add compare symbol(s)." You will have a visual of all your mutual funds on one single chart.
7. Look at your chart and see how well your mutual funds have done over a long period of time. You want to track a long period, 5 or 10 years because the daily, weekly and monthly market is sporadic.
8. If you've got some bum funds, take a look at what other funds available to you that you can exchange. Note their tickers.
9. Chart those compared to your funds to find a replacement.
10. Track your new funds on a quarterly basis to see how well they do.

Tips & Warnings

• Read up on mutual funds. Suze Orman has a lot of easy to understand information.
• If your employer offers informational sessions, sit in on those and ask a lot of questions.
• Call the financial institution's customer service number if you need help.
• This is only one way to analyze the performance of your mutual funds.