Preface
Have you ever felt like an outsider hoping to get a glimpse of what actually is going on behind the scenes in your 401(k) plan? Wading through all of the financial and legal jargon involved in participating in a 401(k) plan can be an overwhelming and not all that exciting task. Who knows–maybe it could be like a sausage factory, and you would not want to know what goes into it. This is not really the case. Instead, you should appreciate that government policy makers, plan sponsors and their staff, and other experts put much thought, time, and energy into developing, implementing, and administering savings vehicles to help you save for a secure future. This book is your backstage tour through retirement savings vehicles, such as 401(k) plans, showing you how to profit in these current uncertain times through day trading your retirement savings portfolio.
Like sausage, these plans are made up of a myriad of ingredients, such as layers of savings and investment options, interwoven with structure, like tax law and other rules. It is all in how the ingredients are used that makes the difference between producing a mediocre or an exceptional result. Over time, sausage makers have modernized their operations to make more sausage with the same amount of ingredients. That is good news for its primary ingredient–the pigs–whose numbers are not being depleted as rapidly.
Likewise, financial institutions have adopted technology to efficiently administer more 401(k) accounts. Yet, for ...
