Financial Goals

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Homebuyers choose the number of years they’d like their mortgage to last. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is by far the most popular, followed by the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, but terms of 10, 20, 25, and even 40 years are available.

The term that will work best for each borrower largely depends on the monthly mortgage payment they can handle and how long they plan to keep the property.

What Is a Mortgage Term?

The term is the number of years it will take to pay off a home loan if the minimum payment is made each month.

During the pandemic, homeowners have kept their homes for eight years on average, according to the 2021 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Knowing how long you plan to stay in your home can affect the type of home loan that fits your situation when you shop for a mortgage — short or long term, fixed or adjustable interest rate?

How Mortgage Terms Work

For fixed-rate home loans, payments consist of principal and interest, with a fixed interest rate for the life of the loan. With mortgage amortization, the amount going toward the principal starts out small and grows each month, while the amount going toward interest declines each month.

A shorter term, conventional loan generally translates to higher monthly payments but less total interest paid, and a longer term, vice versa. A shorter-term loan also will have a lower interest rate.

This mortgage calculator tool includes an amortization chart that shows how payments break down over a fixed-rate loan term. And total interest paid is predictable.

Most adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) also have a 30-year term. You can’t know in advance how much total interest you will pay because the interest rate changes.

How Long Can a Mortgage Term Be?

A few lenders out there offer 40-year mortgages. Qualifying is more difficult, and the rates are the highest among fixed-rate loans, while ARMs can be unpredictable.

The long term means a borrower will make the lowest possible monthly payments but pay more over the life of the loan than any other.

Fixed-Rate Mortgages vs Adjustable-Rate Mortgages

When you’re first choosing mortgage terms or looking at different types of mortgages, start with one of the basics.

A fixed-rate mortgage is exactly what it sounds like. You lock in an interest rate for the entire term. If market rates rise, yours will not.

An adjustable-rate mortgage is much more complicated. An ARM usually will have a lower initial rate than a comparable fixed-rate mortgage, and a borrower may be able to save significant cash over the first years of the loan.

Recommended: Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) vs. Fixed Rate Mortgage

But a rate adjustment can bring a spike in mortgage payments that could be hard or impossible to bear. With the most common variable-rate loan, the 5/1 ARM, the rate stays the same for the first five years, then changes once a year.

An interest-only ARM has an upside and downside. You’ll pay only the interest for a specified number of years, when payments will be small, but you will not be paying anything toward your mortgage loan balance.

An ARM may suit those who are confident that they can afford increases in monthly payments, even to the maximum amount, or those who plan to sell their home within a short period of time.

ARM seekers may want to apply for more than one loan and compare loan estimates. It’s a good idea to know the answers to these questions:

•   How high can the interest rates and my payment go?

•   How high can my interest rate go?

•   How long are my initial payments guaranteed?

•   How often do the rate and payment adjust?

•   What index is used and where is it published?

•   Will I be able to convert the ARM to a fixed-rate mortgage in the future, and are there any fees to do so?

•   Can I afford the highest payment possible if I can’t sell the home, or refinance, before the increase?

Looking to take out a mortgage?
See what SoFi Mortgages has to offer.

Comparing 15-Year and 30-Year Mortgages

Clearly, paying off a mortgage in 15 years rather than 30 sounds great. You’ll get a lower rate, pay much less total interest, and be done with house payments in half the time. The catch? Higher monthly payments.

Here’s an example of how a 30- and 15-year fixed-rate mortgage might shake out, not including property taxes and insurance and any HOA fees.

30-Year vs. 15-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage

Type Loan Specs Rate Payments Total Interest Paid
30-year Appraised value: $375,000
Down payment: $75,000
Loan size: $300,000		 4% Mortgage payment: $1,432 $215,607
15-year Appraised value: $375,000
Down payment: $75,000
Loan size: $300,000		 3.2% Mortgage payment: $2,101 $78,130

There’s a reason that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reigns supreme: manageable payments that ideally leave enough money for emergencies and retirement savings. Borrowers making lower payments can always pay more toward the principal if they want to pay off the mortgage early.

Then again, borrowers with stable finances who can afford the higher payments of a 15-year home loan may find it quite appealing.

The Takeaway

How to pick a mortgage term? Look at your budget, decide how long you plan to stay in the home, and weigh your financial goals and priorities.

Speaking of terms, SoFi offers fixed-rate home loans with a variety of terms to fit your needs.

The SoFi home loan help center also covers mortgage refinancing, which may change an existing loan rate and term.

SoFi rates are competitive, and finding yours takes just minutes.

SoFi Loan Products
SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., NMLS #696891 (Member FDIC). For additional product-specific legal and licensing information, see SoFi.com/legal. Equal Housing Lender.

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Terms, conditions, and state restrictions apply. Not all products are available in all states. See SoFi.com/eligibility for more information.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

Third-Party Brand Mentions: No brands, products, or companies mentioned are affiliated with SoFi, nor do they endorse or sponsor this article. Third-party trademarks referenced herein are property of their respective owners.

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Source: sofi.com

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FLEXOFFERS

If you’re looking for comprehensive financial planning advice, but you don’t want to pay the high fees typically charged by financial advisors, Facet may be exactly the service you’re looking for. They provide all the services of traditional financial planners, but at much lower fees. And they’ll even include investment management in the package. This can be especially beneficial for those with portfolios under $500,000, since traditional financial planners often won’t work with smaller clients.

In this comprehensive Facet review, we’ll break down their comprehensive service offering, and help you decide whether this type of financial planning is right for you.

About Facet

Based in Baltimore, Facet was launched in 2016, to serve those who are looking for something of a hybrid between automated, online investment platforms (robo advisors) and full-service financial advisors. Instead of focusing only on investment management, they provide holistic financial management, covering all aspects of your financial life.

Also Read: Wealthfront Review – Low Cost Robo Investing and Financial Planning

But rather than charging annual fees based on a percentage of your assets under management, they instead charge a flat annual membership fee.

And unlike robo advisors, where your portfolio is invested on an automated basis with very little direct human contact, you’ll instead work directly with a dedicated Certified Financial Planner™ professional. The CFP® professional will work with you to establish your financial goals, and immediate and future needs, then come up with an action plan to help you get to where you want to go.

Investment management is available and it’s included as part of the basic annual membership fee. For that reason, it’s not possible to do a direct price comparison between Facet and robo advisors, most of whom don’t offer life financial planning advice.

Related: Personal Capital Review – A Free Wealth Management Tool

How Facet Works

When you sign up with Facet you’ll work directly with a dedicated CFP® professional. However, all contact is either by phone, video chat or email. There are no in person meetings, though due to technology that’s becoming increasingly unnecessary.

You don’t need a certain minimum amount of investable funds to work with Facet either. You can work with them even if you don’t have anything to invest. This is unlike traditional financial planning services, which typically require large minimum account balances to provide advice.

All information relating to your financial situation will appear on an intuitive dashboard, enabling you to get a 360° view of your financial life on the platform.

If you do choose the investment management option, one big advantage is that they do provide investment recommendations for employer-sponsored retirement plans, like 401(k)s. They can’t directly manage employer plans, but the advice they provide will help you better manage your plan going forward.

Financial Services Provided by Facet

As you’ll see, Facet goes well beyond simple investment management provided by robo advisors. They provide investment management, but also comprehensive financial planning services, including the following:

Retirement Planning: Your CFP® professional will put together an action plan to help you reach your retirement goals, as well as help you to understand the strategies behind it.

Education Planning: If you have children, they’ll present options to pay for their future education.

Life Planning: Your Facet advisor will help you to plan for what’s most important in your life.

Asset Management: This is the investment management part of the Facet program. It will include constructing a well-diversified portfolio to help you achieve your long-term goals.

Income Tax Planning: This service involves minimizing the impact of taxes while implementing your financial plan and investing activities.

Insurance Planning: If you don’t know a whole lot about insurance, your financial advisor can help. They’ll recommend the best types of plans to provide specific protections you need for yourself and your family.

Estate Planning: Facet will work with your personal attorney to create an estate plan to provide for your loved ones after your death.

Legacy Planning: This involves creating a plan to make provisions for either your family or a favorite charity. It will enable you to structure your finances in such a way that you will be able to provide for the people or organizations you care for most.

Retirement Income: Apart from retirement planning, it’s also important to successfully manage income in retirement. Your financial advisor will take into consideration your income from Social Security and pensions, in creating a distribution plan from your retirement savings.

A Facet CFP® professional can even help you choose your employee benefits and provide assistance in making the right decisions with your company’s stock option plan.

Also Read: Blooom Review – Finally, a Robo-Advisor for Your 401(k)

Facet Investment Strategy

If you sign up for Facet to take advantage of the financial planning services, you’ll also get investment management at no additional cost. Investment funds are managed through four major brokerages, including Fidelity, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and Apex. There is no minimum initial investment requirement.

Because those are among the largest investment firms in the industry, there’s a good chance you invest with one of them already. But if you don’t, and you want to take advantage of Facet investment management, you’ll need to transfer your current account to one of those four platforms.

Investments will be managed using primarily mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs), though the company does indicate use of individual stocks and bonds are possible on a discretionary basis.

Portfolios are designed based on your personal investment risk tolerance, as well as your time horizon and investment goals. Your portfolio may be constructed based on the following risk levels:

  • Aggressive
  • Moderately Aggressive
  • Moderate
  • Conservative

Your portfolio will be fully managed by Facet, including periodic reviews, which will be conducted at least annually. More frequent reviews may take place based on a change in your personal investment objectives, as well as in response to investment market conditions, or upon request.

Other Facet Features and Benefits

Investment accounts that can be managed: Taxable brokerage accounts, and any self-directed retirement plans, including traditional, Roth, rollover, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, as well as solo 401(k) plans. And though they can’t manage them directly, Facet will provide management assistance with employer-sponsored plans, like 401(k) and 403(b) plans.

Availability: All 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Customer contact: One of the advantages of working with Facet is that you will have a direct line to your dedicated CFP® professional. When you call in, it won’t be to a call-in center. Contact is by phone, videoconference, or email, all of which are available mornings, evenings, and even on weekends.

Fees: Membership fees will vary by the services you need performed, and are not determined by the size of your portfolio.

Prices range from $2,400/year ($167/month) to $8,000/year ($667/month). Most members fall in the middle of that range.

There are no cancellation fees – but any annual fees already paid will not be returned.

How to Sign Up with Facet

To sign up with Facet you’ll start by scheduling a 30-minute introductory call with a dedicated CFP® professional. That person will work with you to determine your needs and goals, as well as your budget for the service.

When you schedule your introductory call, you’ll be required to provide basic information, as well as financial information, such as investment accounts, and to list important financial goals.

If a Facet membership feels right to you and you agree to sign up, you’ll go through Facet’s digital onboarding process which is a guided experience that consolidates all your key information in one place. The full process takes 30 – 45 minutes but you can leave and revisit the process at your convenience. Once the digital onboarding is complete, the first meeting with your planner will be scheduled. They will come to this meeting prepared after reviewing all the information you submitted during the digital onboarding process and can start discussing your financial priorities.

The CFP will create an individually designed financial plan, though the creation of that plan may require several direct sessions to complete. Once again, the fees you’ll pay for that plan will depend on the individual services you want.

The CFP will create an individually designed financial plan, though the creation of that plan may require several direct sessions to complete.

Facet Pros and Con

  • Flat fee structure — This will work very well for those with larger portfolios.
  • No minimum to begin investing — There are no upfront fees.
  • Full service financial planning — Facet takes a holistic view of your entire financial life, rather than focusing exclusively on investment management. Investment management is included in your complete financial planning package.
  • The company is a fiduciary — This legally requires them to represent your best interests, and not to promote their own products to generate additional income.
  • Works with major investment brokers — Facet works with four big investment platforms.
  • Can be pricey — The flat fee structure will be high for those with smaller portfolios.
  • No face-to-face meetings — All contact is by phone, email or video chat.
  • Difficult to estimate costs — Since fees are based on the level of service, actual costs can be difficult to determine upfront.

Alternatives to Facet

If you’re interested in what Facet has to offer, but you’d like to check out the competition, we recommend the following financial management services:

Probably the most popular investment platform among robo advisors with personal financial advice is Empower. The platform is free to use, if you’re looking for budgeting tools and limited investment advice. But with a minimum initial investment of $100,000, you can take advantage of Empower Wealth Management, that provides full investment management. And with at least $200,000, you can have regular access to financial advisors. Management fees start at 0.89% for a portfolio up to $1 million, but slide down to 0.49% for portfolios greater than $10 million.

Betterment’s Premium plan works similar to Personal Capital, but at a lower fee. They charge an annual management fee equal to 0.40% of your account balance, and there’s no upfront fee. That means you can have a $250,000 portfolio managed for $1,000 per year. The service provides automated portfolio management (robo advisor), with unlimited access to Betterment certified financial planners. Qualification requires a minimum account balance of $100,000.

But at an even lower fee structure is Vanguard Personal Advisor Services. The minimum required investment is $50,000, and the annual fee is just 0.30%, sliding all the way down to 0.05% for portfolios of $25 million or more. An investor with $250,000 can have his or her portfolio managed for just $750 per year. The service offers unlimited access to personal financial advisors, including a dedicated advisor if your portfolio is $500,000 or more.

Facet vs. Robo Advisor

Those considering Facet might find themselves debating between Facet and a robo advisor for managing their money. The truth is that both types of service have something to offer different customers.

A robo advisor is an algorithm that manages your investments based on a risk tolerance that is set upon signing up for the service. Robo advisors occasionally offer personalized advice, but this often comes with a fee. At best, you’ll have limited access to a financial planner. Fees are usually set based on a percentage of what you invest, plus set fees (although exact details depend on the robo advisor).

Whether or not you want a robo advisor depends on whether you want to take a hands-on or hands-off approach to managing your money. Robo advisors are automated investment strategies, and are therefore a very hands-off approach. Facet allows you more freedom to customize your plan, with real access to human advice, and a fee structure that isn’t only based on how much you invest.

Both types of investment have a lot to offer, so it will depend on the person to decide which is most suited to their personal risk tolerance and investing goals.

What Others are Saying – Facet Reviews

To get a better understanding of what people think about Facet, it helps to look at third-party reviews. Reviews are a great way to get a non-biased perspective of what others are saying about Facet. Prospective clients will be happy to learn that Facet reviews are mostly positive overall.

Better Business Bureau has Facet at an A+ rating. A+ is the highest rating available on BBB’s 100-point rating scale. The rating scale is based on an aggregate of factors, including the business’s complaint history, transparent business practices, time in business, advertising issues, licensing and government actions, and more. An A+ is an encouraging sign for prospective customers of Facet.

Business Insider has also given Facet a positive review. They state that Facet is “best for comprehensive financial advice and those with modest or sizable assets”. Business Insider had overall positive things to say about the service, but also said that those with modest assets or one-off questions may not benefit from Facet. Business Insider gave Facet a rating of 4.6/5.

Facet FAQs

What is a Certified Financial Planner™ professional, and why is having one so important?

CFP® professionals are required to be certified, and have experience in all aspects of financial planning. Not only can they provide the information you’ll need, but they can recommend third-party sources for additional advice when necessary. A dedicated CFP® professional is part coach, part advocate and all partner. Working with a CFP® professional means you never have to deal with financial concerns alone.

Why is it important that Facet is a Fiduciary?

A fiduciary is a financial professional with a legal and ethical relationship of trust to you as a client. They’re legally required to make financial recommendations in your best interest alone. All Facet CFP® professionals are fiduciaries.

Why do I need Facet when I can just use a robo advisor to manage my portfolio?

Because Facet will provide investment management services, comparable to a robo advisor, but they also work with you to better manage your entire financial life. For example, they can provide investment advice on how to better manage your employer-sponsored retirement plan. They can also work with you in other critical areas of your life, such as insurance, estate planning, and preparing for your children’s college educations.

How does Facet help me manage my employer sponsored retirement plan?

Facet doesn’t directly manage your retirement plan. But they can provide you with advice on portfolio allocation, as well as selecting from the best investment options in your plan. This may include certain funds that will create a more well-balanced portfolio, as well as include investments with lower fees.

How do I know a Facet CFP® professional will work in my best interest?

As fiduciaries, Facet CFP® professionals are legally required to work in the best interest of their clients. Additionally, because Facet charges flat fees, there are no worries associated with CFP® professional giving you bad advice to profit off commissions. Facet also boasts a rigorous recruitment process to vet every person they hire, putting a particular emphasis on kindness and honesty.

Related: How to Evaluate an Investment Portfolio

Is Facet the Right Choice for You?

If you’re looking for an investment advisor, but you also want comprehensive financial advice, schedule your introductory call is worth checking out. They provide professional level financial advice, including retirement planning, estate planning, education planning, and income tax planning for a fraction of what you’ll pay to an independent CFP® professional.

It’s also an excellent choice if you’re not simply looking for the type of automated investment management provided by robo advisors.

However, if you’re mainly interested in investment management, the value of the service may depend primarily on the size of your investment portfolio. For example, if you have a $1 million portfolio under management, and your total annual membership fee is $2,400, the fee will work out to be 0.24%, which is lower than most robo advisors.

But if your portfolio size is $100,000, and you pay the same $2,400 annual membership fee for Facet, it will be the equivalent of a 2.4% annual fee. That’s many times higher than what robo advisors will charge, and even higher than traditional human investment advisors.

However, you also have to consider the value of the financial planning advice being provided. If you’re looking for ongoing financial advice, the Facet fee will be well worth paying. But if you’re looking for one-time advice for very specific areas of financial planning, and mostly interested in ongoing investment management, it may be more cost-effective to invest through a robo advisor, and to get the needed financial planning advice from an independent CFP® professional.

At the end of the day, you need to consider your own financial goals, personal risk tolerance, and what you want from a financial services provider. Only with a proper understanding of these personal preferences can you make the choice that’s right for you.

Source: doughroller.net

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Rebalancing is the process of buying and selling assets in a portfolio to bring your allocations back into line with your investment goals. If you’re new to rebalancing 401(k) savings, it helps to know how it works and how often you might want to do it.

Making 401(k) contributions can help you build retirement wealth while enjoying some tax advantages. Periodic 401(k) rebalancing can ensure that your asset allocation aligns with your risk tolerance and financial goals.

What Is Rebalancing Your 401(k)?

When you’re talking about a 401(k) rebalance, you’re talking about buying or selling investments in your workplace retirement plan to bring them back into alignment with the original percentages you started with.

Example

If you started with 50% in equities (stocks) and 50% in bonds, over time that portfolio balance will drift as the value of those securities rises or falls. You can then rebalance your portfolio to restore the original 50-50 ratio. (Or you can adjust your allocation according to a new ratio that reflects what you’re comfortable with today.)

Rebalancing isn’t the same as changing your 401(k) contributions. That usually refers to increasing — or decreasing — the amount of your salary you defer into your plan. If you’re wondering can you change your 401(k) contribution at any time, the answer is usually yes, though it might depend on your plan administrator’s rules.

When you rebalance 401(k) assets, you’re changing where you invest the money you contribute. How you determine your retirement goals and your risk tolerance can shape your ideal asset allocation.

When to Rebalance Your 401(k)

How often should I rebalance my 401(k)? It’s a common question, but there’s no uniform answer, as every investor’s needs and goals are different. As a general rule of thumb, you might revisit your 401(k) allocation at least once a year. But rebalancing 401(k) savings could make sense at any time when your allocation no longer matches up with your investment goals.

Life changes might affect your decision of how often to rebalance 401(k) assets. For example, you might need to take a second look at your assets if you get married, have a child, or get divorced. Any of those situations can influence the way you approach investing, including how much risk you’re comfortable taking and how much you might need your 401(k) to grow to hit your retirement target.

Age is also a consideration for deciding when to rebalance a portfolio. When you’re younger with years ahead of you to ride out periodic ups and downs in the market, you might not be too concerned with rebalancing your 401(k) assets. You can afford to take greater risks at this stage to earn greater rewards with your investments.
As you get older, however, you might naturally begin to gravitate toward more conservative investments. If you find yourself growing less tolerant of risk, that’s a sign that it might be time for some 401(k) rebalancing.

Recommended: Average Retirement Savings by Age

Example of Rebalancing a 401(k)

Rebalancing 401(k) assets is a fairly straightforward process. First, you’d need to decide what you want your target asset allocation to look like. From there, you’d either buy or sell assets until your portfolio achieves the right balance.

Let’s say that you’re 35 years old and your target 401(k) portfolio allocation is 85% stocks and 15% bonds. Upon checking your latest statement, realize that your asset makeup is actually 75% stocks and 25% bonds. You could rebalance 401(k) investments by selling 10% of your bond holdings, then reinvesting the proceeds into stocks.

You can do that without any tax consequences as long as you’re not withdrawing money from your plan. Should you decide later that it makes more sense to move back to a 75%/25% split, you could sell off some of your stocks and purchase bonds instead.
💡 Quick Tip: Want to lower your taxable income? Start saving for retirement by opening an IRA online. The money you save each year is tax deductible (and you don’t owe any taxes until you withdraw the funds, usually in retirement).

Benefits of Rebalancing Your 401(k)

What is rebalancing meant to do for you? A few things, actually, and there are good reasons to consider regular 401(k) rebalancing.

Here are some of the main advantages of paying attention to your 401(k) allocation.

•   Manage risk. Rebalancing your retirement savings can help ensure that you’re not taking more risk with your investments than you’re comfortable with. At the same time, it allows you to see if you’re taking enough risk in order to reach your goals.

In the example above, rebalancing the portfolio so it has a higher percentage invested in stocks will increase the portfolio’s risk/reward ratio. Stocks tend to be higher-risk investments, with a higher risk of loss and a higher potential for rewards.

•   Maximize returns. If your 401(k) allocation becomes too conservative, you could miss out on opportunities to earn greater returns. Rebalancing can prevent that from happening so that you have a better chance of achieving the level of returns you’re looking for.

•   Keep pace with changing goals. As mentioned, life changes and age can influence your asset allocation preferences. Should your goals or needs change, rebalancing can help you adjust your financial plan both for the short- and long-term.

Is there a downside to 401(k) rebalancing? There can be if the investments you’re buying underperform and don’t deliver the level of returns you’re expecting. Another unintended consequence centers on cost. If you’re swapping out lower-cost investments in your 401(k) for ones with higher fees, that could offset any benefits you might realize in the form of better returns.
💡 Quick Tip: Before opening any investment account, consider what level of risk you are comfortable with. If you’re not sure, start with more conservative investments, and then adjust your portfolio as you learn more.

Steps for Rebalancing Your 401(k)

Ready to rebalance your 401(k)? The process itself isn’t that difficult, though you may want to spend some time researching the different investment options offered through your plan.

Calculate Current Asset Allocations

The first step in 401(k) rebalancing is figuring out what kind of asset split you currently have. In other words, what percentage of your account is dedicated to stocks, bonds, or other assets.

You may be able to do that by logging in to your 401(k) plan and checking your asset allocation. Many plan administrators offer online investment portfolio tracking so you can see at a glance how much you have invested in stocks, bonds, or other securities.

If your plan doesn’t automatically calculate your allocation, you can figure it out yourself by identifying the amount of money assigned to each investment, dividing it by the total value of your account, then multiplying by 100.

For example, say that you have $120,000 in your 401(k) and $72,000 of that is in stocks. If you divide $72,000 by $120,000, then multiply by 100, you get 60%. That means 60% of your 401(k) portfolio is stocks. You can perform the same calculation for each type of investment in your plan.

Compare to Target Asset Allocations

Once you know how your 401(k) assets break down, you can compare those percentages to your target percentages. For example, if you’ve got 60% of your 401(k) in stocks and your goal is 80% stocks, then you know you’ve got a 20% gap to close.

How you set your target allocations is entirely up to you and, again, it can depend on things like:

•   Your age

•   Risk tolerance

•   Investment goals

•   Time frame for investing

You might try using a basic rule of thumb like the rule of 100 or rule of 120 to find a starting point for allocating assets. These rules suggest subtracting your age from 100 or 120, then using that number as a guide for allocating your portfolio to stocks.

For example, if you’re 35, then based on the rule of 120, stocks should account for 85% of your portfolio. You could also look at how much you have saved versus what you need to save. This kind of retirement gap analysis can tell you how close or how far away you are to your goals and where you might need to adjust your savings strategy.

Sell Overweight Assets

Now that you know what your target allocation should be, you can take the next step and sell off overweight assets. These are the ones that are causing your asset allocation to skew away from your ideal alignment.

If you need more stocks, for example, then you’d sell off bonds. And if you want a more conservative allocation, you’d sell some of your stocks so you can use the money to buy more bonds.

Buy Underweight Assets

The last step is to buy underweight assets in order to bring your 401(k) portfolio back in line with where you want it to be. There are a couple of ways you can do this.

First, you could make a large, one-time purchase using the proceeds from the overweight assets that you sold. That might be easiest if you don’t want to make any changes to future allocations of your 401(k) contributions.

The other option is to change your allocations to direct future 401(k) contributions to underweight assets. What you have to keep in mind here is that once you reach your target allocation, you may need to change your future allocation preferences again so that you don’t accidentally end up overweight in one asset class.

One more possibility when considering how to manage 401(k) asset allocation is to check with your plan administrator to see if automatic rebalancing is an option. An automatic rebalance 401(k) feature could make keeping your allocation easier so you don’t have to spend as much time worrying about your assets.

Consider a Target Date Fund

If you want to skip rebalancing altogether, you might consider investing in a target date fund in your 401(k). Target date funds have an asset allocation that shifts automatically over time as you get closer to retirement.

You choose a target date fund based on your expected retirement date and the fund does the rest. Target date funds offer convenience since you don’t have to actively rebalance, but they might not be right for everyone. If the fund’s allocation doesn’t adjust in a way that’s consistent with your goals, you might be overexposed or underexposed to risk.

The Takeaway

When can I retire? It’s a big question, and if you’re contributing to a 401(k), it helps to know how to make the most of it. Rebalancing your 401(k) can help you stick to an asset allocation that makes the most sense for you. You also have the option of changing your allocation if your risk tolerance changes or your goals shift.

Ready to invest for your retirement? It’s easy to get started when you open a traditional or Roth IRA with SoFi. SoFi doesn’t charge commissions, but other fees apply (full fee disclosure here).

Easily manage your retirement savings with a SoFi IRA.

FAQ

Is it good to rebalance your 401(k)?

It’s a good idea to rebalance your 401(k) if you’re concerned about taking too much risk — or not enough — with your investments. Rebalancing 401(k) assets is usually recommended when you experience life changes that affect your retirement goals and as you get older.

Should I rebalance my 401(k) before a recession?

Whether it makes sense to rebalance a 401(k) before a recession can depend on your current asset allocation and what you perceive the biggest threat to be should a recession occur. If you’re heavily invested in securities that are typically recession-proof or tend to fare well in economic downturns, then rebalancing might not be necessary. On the other hand, you might need to make some shifts in your 401(k) assets if you think a recession could expose you to more risk than you’re comfortable with.

Does it cost money to rebalance 401(k)?

It shouldn’t cost you any money to rebalance a 401(k), since you’re buying and selling assets in the same plan. You may want to ask your plan administrator whether any transaction fees will apply before you move ahead with 401(k) rebalancing. Keep in mind that taking money out of your plan to buy investments could cost you, since early withdrawals are subject to tax penalties.

Should I rebalance my 401(k) in a bear market?

Whether you should rebalance your 401(k) in a bear market can depend on the type of assets you’re holding and where you think stocks might be headed next. Bear markets can be opportunities for investors who are comfortable taking more risk, as you might be able to find investments at bargain prices when the market is down. Once the market recovers, those discounted investments might pay you back in the form of substantial gains as prices rise again.

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