In an ideal world you would start your working career with a great company in your early 20s, steadily climb the corporate ladder, retire at age 65, and draw a sufficient income from your accumulated 401k account to live happily ever after.

Unfortunately, that’s not how the real world works. If you are like most people, you will <a href="http://www.careerstrategy.org/assessment/" target="_blank">change careers</a>, or at least companies, several times. Each time, you'll be faced with the question of what to do with your accumulated 401k benefits.

You will likely have a few choices: keep your 401k with your old employer (sometimes possible), roll the proceeds into your new employer's 401k plan, or put them directly into a self-directed IRA at a brokerage firm of your choice.

Since leaving your 401k with your ex-employer has no benefits whatsoever and most employers will prefer you transfer out anyway, that leaves only the last two as viable options:

Peter Cherry
Investmentwarehouse.com announced the following comments and summary of the most important market sectors on 29 November 2003. The views expressed here are those of InvestmentWarehouse.Com at this time. Investors should always be aware that investments can fall as well as rise in value.

US Equity - The US economy shows signs of revival and stocks continue to rise in many sectors. Economic data is positive however this may be due to the Fed pumping liquidity into the system. The US Dollar looks set to remain weak or weaken further. Our survey shows more bears than bulls t this time though the rise may continue for a while. Position: Hold to Sell

UK Equity - stock prices buoyant and there are still bargains to be had. The bank of England rate rise confirms their belief that the recovery had set in properly. Although much of the easy money may have been made already good fund managers should perform well over the next year. Position Hold to Buy

Gabriel Nijmeh
Indexing is an investment approach that seeks to match the investment returns of a stock or bond index. An investment manager tries to duplicate the target index by holding all the securities in the index. This is what is called a passive management approach which emphasizes broad diversification and low portfolio turnover. There are a variety of indexes to suit each investment style. The largest and well known index is the S&P 500. This index is dominated by the largest blue chip companies and accounts for close to 75% of the U.S. stock market value. Other indexes include the Nasdaq, Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index, S&P MidCap 400, Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe, Australasia, Far East (MSCUI EAFE) and various bond indexes.

Since 1926, the stock market has an average rate of return of 11.3%. Investors have earned more or less depending on the type of investments and risks taken. It is very important to note that this return is before costs have been factored. Therefore, those investing in actively managed mutual funds may have a net return lower due to these costs and thus will earn significantly less than the market average.

Recently I was invited to appear on a live CNNfn television show to discuss my article "How to evaluate Load vs. No Load Mutual Funds." (You can read that article here) As the producer and I were working out the logistics of my appearance, she mentioned in passing that "most people can’t afford an investment advisor." While that wasn’t the time or place for me to discuss this, I realized that many people might have a similar misconception. Had conditions allowed, I would have pointed out the following to her.

There are only two ways an individual can invest in mutual funds: Selecting and investing themselves or using outside help. If they use outside help they’ll have a couple of choices again: A commissioned salesperson (broker, financial planner or Registered Representative) or a fee-based investment advisor. Most people don’t know the difference and often start with a broker who charges about 6% commission off the top to purchase a mutual fund. The fund is usually from a limited selection of fund families the broker has a relationship with. He, of course, would never recommend a no load fund or an exchange traded fund (ETF), since it is not in his best interest -- although it might be in yours.

With the internet such a huge part of our daily lives, many investors have access to a wide range of instant investment information.

Whether you’re into stocks, bonds, mutual funds, futures or options, there are tons of electronic investment newsletters offering to turn your small stake into a giant fortune. All you need to do is subscribe and watch your portfolio soar.

Yeah, right!

As a practicing investment advisor specializing in no load mutual funds, I have received my share of e-mails from disillusioned subscribers wanting to know how to better evaluate newsletter services. While there are no absolutes, I can give you a few pointers that might help you make a better decision:

Philippe Matthews I’ve been extremely lucky to live a lifestyle that allows me to interview self-made millionaires and bestselling authors. One of my favorite persons to talk to is superstar Suze Orman who came from my hometown, Chicago. Suze says, “Money affects each and every one of us, and it is the currency of life and if you think about it, it is a physical manifestation of how we feel about who we are. There are so many people born into poverty who are seriously rich today. Conversely, there are so many people who are born into serious money who are poverty-stricken today – emotions dictate how much you have and get to keep. It has nothing to do with money.”

As with all self-made millionaires in this country, Suze didn’t grow up rich but she became rich when she made the decision to live her making vs. make a living. In a Q&A style interview with the bestselling author of the Laws of Money and Road To Wealth, Suze shared with me some concepts and ideas that I would like to pass on to you. Enjoy!

Cindy Diccianni
People have many different financial goals, but one they share in common is to be financially independent. I define that as the time when we conclude that our annual expenses can be covered for the rest of our lives without working any longer. Calculating your expenses over the next 25-40 years with any degree of accuracy is a very difficult task. The second daunting task is determining your sources of retirement income.

To determine future expenses, we need to answer the following questions:

- How much will it cost my spouse and I to live?
- How long will my spouse and I live?
- Will I need to support anyone else like parents, children, and grandchildren?

There are some reasonable assumptions that some financial planners can make, however, as you can see it is very difficult to predict the course of time.

Brian DeLucia
As our world economy shifts to a new informational age, it is becoming imperative that individuals possess the financial education to control their own lives while learning the basics of modernizing their beliefs on money and investing. Those taking control of their money and modernizing their portfolio will be big winners in the future. But individuals who continue relying on conventional methods that worked in the old economy face an extremely risky future. Yet, most experts through the media or sales representatives of financial products continue to preach the same advice in regards to saving money, putting enough away into 401Ks, diversifying, IRAs, and other methods of investing through paper assets. And most of these people are struggling to beat the averages. Isn’t this basically gambling with your money? It is time to look ahead and examine our future challenges.

Most Americans have suffered significant losses off their paper assets. The future of the 401K is bleak. Mutual funds are becoming an outdated resource for many people. And uncertainty within the market in general is becoming too unstable for most general investors. Even more individuals have not been allocating enough resources towards their retirement. Many are failing to realize they lack enough allocated assets to fund their retirements. Retiring today with $500,000 dollars aside in your portfolio might not cover 20 years. Sadly, many others are not even investing one dime into their future. And just leaving money in the bank creates a stalemate. When a large number of individuals leave significant portions of money sitting in the bank, interest rates drop considerably and that money is failing to work for you and many others in the United States…resulting in a slowdown of economic growth.

Cindy Diccianni
The last few years have challenged the American public to rethink priorities and focus on long-term planning. Having lost financial ground as far as retirement assets are concerned, people are reevaluating the risk of their portfolios and seeking stability in investments. Many of you may be included in this group and are seeking help to solve these financial dilemmas. Let’s take a moment to consider financial goals for the upcoming year and take an inventory of what you currently have and which direction you need to go.

Your Life Goals
The faltering market and weak economy may grab your immediate attention. But ultimately, it is, or should be, your life goals that drive your overall personal money management decisions. Are you saving the maximum for your retirement while limiting your current expenses? Do you know how much you need to save now to be able to enjoy your retirement in the way you want? Is your current career path meeting your financial needs? What are the financial consequences of a job or career change? Sometimes, the cost of a job change is worth its weight in gold if you are able to have more leisure time and reduce your stress. How will a career shift impact your overall financial picture now and in the future? An important part of quality living is examining what’s really important to you and then living your life in congruence with your priorities.

Knowing how you want to live now and in the future will help you design financial goals based on the quality of life you want to have. This may be a good time to seek professional financial planning advice to assist you in designing your financial goals.

Cindy Diccianni
How you save your money is just as important as how you spend your money. After all, they really do go hand in hand. You may recall the adage “Pay yourself first”. Let’s discuss the concepts related to saving money and start you on the road to “Financial Freedom”.

Your Approach To Savings
The ability to save relates in part to your perceptions of money. If you have learned to appreciate money, you will think abundantly, reward yourself by developing reserves and saving for the future, put your needs before your wants and control your spending on luxury items. These thought patterns and behaviors demonstrate respect for your money. And as you increase your respect for money, your money will increase for you. It is important to develop good saving patterns while you are young. Teach your children to save for their future by putting small amounts (up to half) of their allowances in a passbook or statement savings account. And teach them not to touch it. Explain how money increases over time through regular interest payments. By showing them this positive aspect of savings, you will reinforce the importance of slow, consistent savings.