401k

Related Subjects: Personal-finance
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Book reviews for "401k" sorted by average review score:
The 401(k) Plan Management Handbook: A Guide for Sponsors and Their Advisors
Published in Hardcover by McGraw-Hill Companies (01 May, 1996)
Authors: Jeffrey M. Miller and Maureen M. Phillips
Amazon base price: $55.00
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The 401(K) Plan Handbook
Published in Hardcover by Aspen Publishers (15 January, 1997)
Author: Julie Jason
Amazon base price: $96.00
Used price: $199.00
Average review score:

The 401(k) Plan Handbook is a lifesaver!
Julie Jason's book helped me tackle setting up a 401(k) plan for my company. The book saved me time and money. I loved the charts and samples forms.

The 401(k) Millionaire
Published in Hardcover by Villard Books (01 January, 1999)
Author: Knute Iwaszko
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If you have access to a company-sponsored retirement plan but are virtually clueless about such things as dollar-cost averaging and asset allocation, The 401(k) Millionaire: How I Started with Nothing and Made a Million--And You Can, Too will provide the information required to begin preparing for your financial future. Written by "regular guy" Knute Iwaszko and business journalist Brian O'Connell, this very readable and quite informative primer outlines all of the basics needed for novice investors to start parlaying 401(k) programs offered by their employers into formidable sums by retirement time. Iwaszko--a former chemist, salesman, and innkeeper with no formal knowledge of the workings of Wall Street--constructed his own seven-figure portfolio by following five ironclad rules: start investing early, maximize your contributions, learn all you can, be as aggressive as possible, and never touch any of your money until retirement. By expanding upon this doctrine, and offering the essentials on various investment vehicles and strategies, he shows how practically anyone committed to the process can create a nest egg for his or her postemployment years, no matter when it was started or how much earned. "Anyone can do it and I'm living proof," he writes. --Howard Rothman
Average review score:

Enjoyable and compact
If you are looking at a quick, easy way to learn about 401(k) plans, then pick this up.

Knute Iwaszko does a good job of simply describing what it takes have a successful 401(k) plan. Through "Knutes Knotes" and good commentary, novices to retirement plans will benefit and enjoy. The moral of the book is save as early and as much as you can. As an added bonus, Knute demystifies some of those investing terms that many of us are afraid to ask about.

I wouldn't recommend this book for anyone who is knowledgable with 401(k) plans and investing. This book will just be filled with obvious common sense for them. I feel like I knew a decent amount, and still feel like I took a good deal of information out of it.

Your retirement just may depend upon it.

Changing my ways in 1999!
I never saved much because I didn't believe my small savings could make any difference and I never knew what to do with my money. Read this book to learn why saving is key and time (and compound interest!) are your best friends. The book also suggests money allocation strategies as you get nearer to your goals.

Just Great!
I write as a retired individual who started investing toward the end of my career. When I was young I was advised to save $20 a month, but to someone who was earning $27.50 a week it was not in the cards. Much later when my company came out with a plan to match up to 10% of my contribution I started saving. Unfortunately travel enticed me more and I routinely dipped into these funds. With all of this, I was still, in retrospect and un-knowingly, following his plan. It does work. Too bad for me, that I did not have sufficient discipline and was not satisfied with reading about "Far-away Places". All in all, everything worked out for the best. Give it a chance and you will be very pleased with the results. Way to go Knute!

The 401(k) MarketBuster: A Proven Way to Beat The Market With Your 401k Retirement Plan
Published in Paperback by Pacific Trading Systems Research (19 June, 2002)
Author: Eddie Kwong
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Common Sense Investing
I am kind of surprised and embarassed to admit it (being an accountant) but this is something that I should have figured out for myself if I really sat down and thought about it. Basically, Kwong says that the Fed has a significant influence on the economy and if you manage your investments in such a way that you put your money into the market when the Fed is supporting economic growth and vice versa your nest egg should signficantly outperform the old buy and hold investment strategy. It looks like it helps you avoid major bear markets like what we saw in 2001. As far as I can tell, this MarketBuster strategy is better than putting away my money and forgetting about it. I know a lot of people who have done that and lost a whole lot of money in their retirement accounts because they didn't use a strategy like this.

Sound concepts, but understand the risks first
The concepts touched upon in this book, as one reviewer pointed out, are not new. Strategies looking at fed movements were popularized by Marty Zweig, and have been written about more recently by Mark Boucher. This book is primarily aimed at the layman, and not the professional money manager. It addresses the target audience very well, and lays out a plan in simple terms.

One thing to be cautious about, however, is that monetary stimulus (i.e., trying to stimulate the economy by lowering short term rates...or steepening the yield curve) can be ineffective in times of stagnant to declining prices (i.e., deflation). Therefore, as a reviewer pointed out below, this strategy would have had you long the market from somewhere around 1200 on the S&P. The S&P now sits at ~840 (March 1, 2003). This is a 30% decline, and hardly risk free. If the model incorporated some sort of inflation/deflation measure it might be able to avoid times similar to the one we are currently experiencing.

Also, in regards to a previous reviewer's comment about trading in and out of the market too much (and stating that TradingMarkets.com is a daytrading website). 1.) TradingMarkets.com is for traders of all types - day traders, intermediate term traders, etc. (I am a satisfied member), and 2.)One could use some sort of mutual fund product that was comission free and mirrored the market. Rydex or Profunds have several funds that act as index proxies (check with your broker to see if they are comission free). This would eliminate the transaction costs involved in getting in and out frequently.

In conclusion, if you've never heard about how the actions of the Federal Reserve impact the stock market, or if you're looking for a way to time the market other than your "gut", this is a good place to start.

Simple 401(k) strategy to protect your retirement
This book is actually very simple. The author's point is to watch the Fed for signals on what to do with your 401(k). You keep your money in the market when the Fed is supporting economic growth, and pull your money out of the market when the Fed is not trying to rein in economic growth. If I had followed this strategy, I wouldn't have been holding stocks in the last bear market.

401(K) Today: Designing, Maintaining, & Maximizing Your Company's Plan
Published in Paperback by Berrett-Koehler Publishers (01 September, 1999)
Author: Stephen J. Butler
Amazon base price: $27.95
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Average review score:

An Excellent Overview of the Pension Industry
A very good overview - but by no means an in depth survey - of establishing and maintaining a defined contribution or benefit plan for a company.

Covered are the compliance issues, changes and ammendments to ERISA, and detail on plan distributions.

Not the only book to have on the pension industry - but if you work in the field, one to include in your pension library!

A real standout in this field
Author Butler is famous for the "Butler Index," which shows the hidden costs of having your 401k managed by the wrong people. Because he is not selling anything, unlike many others in the pension advice field, his advice is reliable. Well written and "two thumbs up" for this walking "consumer reports of 401k."

401(k) TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR FUTURE : A Unique and Comprehensive Guide to Getting the Most Out of Your Retirement Plans (Money America's Financial Advisor)
Published in Paperback by Warner Books (22 January, 1998)
Author: Eric Schurenberg
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Excellent book on getting a handle on a 401(k)
This book is an excellent resource for those wishing to understand that mystical employee benefit of the 90's, the 401(k). It inspired me to finally understand mine, and help me make better use of the available options. I recommend it to anyone whose company offers a 401(k)

401(k) Success Stories : Discover How People Invest the Easy Way
Published in Paperback by Financial Literacy Center (01 January, 2001)
Authors: Gina DeLapa, Julyette Jacobs, and Anne Guerriero
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401(k) Plans: A Comprehensive Planning and Compliance Guide, 2nd Edition
Published in Hardcover by John Wiley & Sons Inc (07 September, 1996)
Authors: Michael E. Lloyd, Bruce J. McNeil, and Lowell M., Jr Smith
Amazon base price: $155.00
Average review score:

An Excellent Source for Pension Administrators
Want to know the inside scoop on ACP/ADP testing? What to know the differences between a Defined Contribution and Defined Benefit Plan? Then this is a great place to start. If the Pension Answer Books series was never invented, this would be the primary source of information for Pension Administrators. This book goes into great detail about the compliance and regulatory issues and their application to retirement plans. This book is truly an essential resource to anyone in the Retirement/Pension field.

401(K) Plans
Published in Paperback by Dearborn Trade (01 August, 1997)
Author: Dearborn Financial Institute
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Okay, but not up to date...
In a field as "ever-changing" as retirement plan management and pension administration, it takes a special set of resources to keep up with these changes. Dearborn is excellent, simply top notch with their securities and insurance publications; but with defined contribution and pension plans, unfortunately, their data is lacking, too basic, and out of date. Emphasis should be placed on compliance testing as well as the reform bills passed through congress affecting pension plans. I just don't feel this is covered here.

If you want the creme de la creme of pension books, get Aspen Publishing's pension answer book series.

Much Better Than Previous Version
Pension books are like Y2k Survival Guides. Once the year in question is over, what good is the book? That's what you run into with Pension books nowadays, material that has to be updated on a yearly basis or it's woefully out of date.

As I mentioned in a previous review of the 1996/97 version of this book, it was lacking in the compliance and regulatory sections. These sections are KEY to understanding pension plans.

As a former student of Dearborn's security texts, I can tell you they are THE source for any of the securities exams - absolute top notch. But when it comes to pensions, they need to incorporate more detail and focus separately on defined contribution and defined benefit plans.

401(k) Answer Book: Forms & Worksheets
Published in Paperback by Panel Publishers (July, 2002)
Author: Panel Publishers
Amazon base price: $175.00

Related Subjects: Personal-finance
More Pages: 401k Page 1 2 3 4 5