Question

My retirement monies are invested at tiaacref.org - pick at least 2 funds, at most 4 funds at tiaacref where my monies should be invested and tell me why. Your reason should be convincing! I'm 57 yrs old and plan to retire at age 66. If the market dips can I ride it out? What's the longest time between a market dip (Dow or S&P 500) and it returning back to the before dip value.

Answer 1

Growth and Income Fund
The Growth and Income Fund has an overall Morningstar rating of four stars. The fund pursues a strategy of long-term appreciation through investing in dividend-paying equities. It primarily purchases stock in large-cap companies with strong management, rising earnings, a history of increasing dividends and the financial stability to maintain dividend payouts. Target companies can also be firms that have the potential to buy back stock, as stock buybacks support and increase share prices. The Growth and Income Fund has a five-year annualized total return of 14.7%.

Equity Index Fund
The Equity Index Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation that comes close to matching the Russell 3000 Index. The fund accomplishes this by buying stock in most, but not all, of the 3000 companies. Investors receive returns very close to the broader stock market from a fund with very low expense fees while getting broad diversity. The Equity Index Fund has a five-year annualized total return of 13.75%.

Managed Allocation Fund
The Managed Allocation Fund seeks a combination of investment income and long-term growth. The fund accomplishes this using a “fund of funds” approach. Rather than buying individual securities, the fund invests assets in other TIAA-CREF funds. It seeks to have 60% of assets invested in equity funds spread across all capitalization classes. The investments are primarily U.S. companies with a reasonable amount of exposure to foreign equities. The remaining 40% of assets is invested in fixed-income funds that spread the investment across a mix of mainly low-risk securities of varying maturities. Fund managers shift allocations among the underlying funds to take advantage of shifting market opportunities and to protect capital. The Managed Allocation Fund provides investors with an extremely high level of diversity and solid returns. Its five-year annualized total return is 8.19%.

Large-Cap Growth Fund
Every retirement portfolio should have a growth component. The Large-Cap Growth Fund provides this through its investments in large-cap equities with rising earnings and underappreciated potential for growth. It looks for companies with strong financials that are well-positioned in expanding markets. Most of the investments are in stocks of U.S. companies, and the fund may invest up to 20% of assets in foreign equities. The Large-Cap Growth fund has an overall Morningstar rating of five stars and a five-year annualized total return of 15.92%.

By observing the S&P 500 index the changes are not constant and rapidly fluctuating . I cannot provide and information on returning back from the dip .

Hope id add value , thank you.