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| Investment Documents:
It Pays to Read |
| Maybe you read everything from the back of the cereal box to the latest bestseller on your Kindle. Or maybe you're so busy that the only thing you read is your email and the text messages from your friends. Either way, you should take the time to look through a few important documents connected with your defined contribution (DC) plan. |
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| Before you invest in any mutual fund that your DC plan offers, you'll want to review its prospectus. This is the fund's primary selling document, and contains valuable information, such as the fund's investment objectives or goals, strategies for achieving its goals, past performance, and risks of investing in the fund. It also will include information on expenses and a fee table. That table includes an example that shows the costs associated with investing a hypothetical $10,000 in the fund over a 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year period. It's a great way to compare fees among the available funds on your plan's lineup. |
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| After you've bought a fund, you'll get reports on how the fund is doing–though you may have to ask your plan administrator to send them to you if they don't automatically. Alternatively, most funds provide their reports online in a PDF format. These reports will tell you how your fund has performed, tell you what affected its performance, and provide you with details on what it owns. |
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| Finally, amidst all the bills and junk mail you get, your DC plan statement will arrive in your mailbox at least a couple times a year. It contains several key facts such as how much money you've socked away for retirement and how much your employer has given you in matching contributions. |
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| Of course, there are a million other things to do besides reading about your DC plan. But by taking a few moments to look over these documents, you'll have fewer surprises and stay on top of your investments. Spending time with these documents is well worth the investment. |
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