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You’ve Been Robbed…The Hidden Fees in Your Retirement Account
from Outsider Club:
When I opened my latest retirement fund statement, everything seemed like it was going just fine.
In the five years I’ve been working here at Outsider Club, my 401(k) has grown into a nice little nest egg. If I were to look at the simple chart of my account returns, I’d think my broker is doing a great job. There is a nice, sturdy upward trend since I started the account.
Psychologically, it seems like everything is going peachy… mainly because every time I dare to look at it, there is more money in the account. It’s easy, it’s stress-free and I can go about my day without rending my clothes and tearing my hair out thinking about how much money I’ll need to save.
One reason for this is that the money is taken — sight unseen — out of my paycheck and plunked into some vanilla mutual funds. It keeps growing every time I look at it, which is very rarely. And I’m not alone — most people treat their 401(k) or IRA as a “set-it-and-forget-it” situation.
Even Vanguard founder Jack Bogle — whose company has around $3 trillion in assets under management — seems to agree with this head-in-the-sand approach.
“You’re gonna get a statement every month,” says Bogle. “Don’t open it. Never open it. Don’t peek.”
While psychologically, this makes sense: if you don’t look, you aren’t tempted to try and beat the market by making hasty, short-term mistakes. Financially, however, it is a very dangerous approach. Though Bogle recommends you don’t look at your account, he also went on to include a warning for those that dare to sneak a peek…
