From: "Mark" 

Yes, that was what I was saying, that if all you've got is the ESOP at work
then you should be doing an IRA as well so you have that diversification.
On that 10% return, I do agree with the pessimists to a degree, in that
there is no guarantee of future returns, but I see no reason not to expect
positive returns over most or all 10 year periods and certainly over 15
years.

The actual argument is not whether 10% or more can be achieved, but what
the odds are of doing worse than 3% or so, so as to have a result that's
poorer than that of Social Security. I think those negative odds to be
essentially nonexistent and quite high that you'll do considerably better.

"Glenn Meadows"  wrote in message
news:420a4e84$1{at}w3.nls.net...
> But it's a BAD investment for a 401k, IF the require all of the
> contributions to be in your own company stock.  Stock tanks, you're wiped
> out.
>
> Give me a choice of funds to pick from, let me set my own mix of
> risk/return.  I'll pick a mix of 3-4 different funds.  I think if you keep
> your investments to funds that have a minimum of a 5 year track record,
> and take those that show the steadiest return, you can keep your return in
> the 10%/year range.  Over just about any 10 year period, you'll see an
> average gain in the 10% range.
>
> --
>
> Glenn M.
> "Mark"  wrote in message
news:420a491c$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>> Yes, ESOPs are a horse of another color altogether, I think the premise
>> behind them is a good one -- it allows a company owner to transfer that
>> ownership to the employees over a period of time with favorable tax
>> treatment, so it benefits him and the employees both. However, though it
>> is included in the realm of "retirement" plans, it's
really more of a
>> transfer of ownership of an asset and offers zero diversification and
>> practically nonexistent liquidity.
>>
>> "Bill Lucy"  wrote in message
>> news:MPG.1c73f7edd3c5e3e2989688{at}news.barkto.com...
>>> In article , nomail{at}hotmail.com says...
>>>> We need more laws (or more enforcement) preventing companies from
>>>> forcing
>>>> people to invest 100% of their 401(k) in company stock, or rather,
>>>> making a
>>>> maximum level of any one stock in any 401(k) a low one at that -- if
>>>> you
>>>> want to speculate (as is your right) and buy a dot.com
startup, you can
>>>> do
>>>> it outside your accounts that enjoy favorable tax
treatment from state
>>>> and
>>>> federal government.
>>>
>>> The loophole here is that the company may only offer an ESOP and not a
>>> 401(k).
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

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