Amazon 401k Choices


 Updated 3/11/2018
I have spent some time reading about Jack Bogle lately.  Jack Bogle was the founder of Vanguard, he also was the inventor of the index fund.  Most of the funds in the Amazon 401k at Vanguard are index funds.  I have cut down the amount of funds in my plan to 3 not including my company match of Amazon stock.  So my investments are spread over three funds.  It would be two funds, if Vanguard had a Russell 1000 index blend fund. Which they do not, so I have the growth and value fund in my investment mix.  Jack Bogle would probably frown on the idea of not having any bond funds in my investment mix.  My own personal opinion is that with interest rates rising, bond funds will have to drop in value to increase fund yields.  The drop in price will out pace the increase in yields.  My bond fund thoughts will change when the fed stops raising rates. 


I am against target date funds.  Why am I against target date funds?

You essentially pay five fees for four funds.  Each fund in the plan charges a yearly fee for ownership.  That is four separate fees for each fund.  Then the target fund also charges another fee on top of the other four fees.  So you will never see me choose a target fund for my own accounts, retirement or otherwise.  


So what three funds am I investing in for this year?


  • Vanguard Institutional 500 Index Trust

  •  State Street Russell Large Cap Value Index Non-Lending Series Fund; Class C

  • State Street Russell Large Cap Growth Index Non-Lending Series Fund; Class C


 Updated 1/21/2014




The ones in blue are the ones in my current portfolio.   I have added international funds to my portfolio.  I would have liked to keep my international funds limited to just Europe.  However, we do not have access to a "Brokerage Window"  So I am limited to what our 401k offers.  On the bright side all of our international fund choices have increased their exposure to Europe.
One thing missing from this table is Price/Book which was also considered while considering allocations of my investment mix.



Ticker
3 yr Beta
Treynor Ratio
Sharpe Ratio
Price
Yield
ANJIX
0.96
6.47
0.45
22.95
2.11
IGFRX
0.83
10.09
0.64
33.72
1.47
VTSNX
1
5.14
0.38
111.21
2.72
AVFIX
1.37
11.75
0.94
27.1
0.47
VINIX
1
16.08
1.3
168.5
1.85
VEXRX
1.3
13.7
1.07
96.69
0.2
TRLGX
1.2
15.58
1.2
27.65
0.04
VWNAX
0.99
16.25
1.3
64.79
2.03
VFTNX
1.04
16.47
1.3
11.65
1.38
AMZN
0.67


399.61
0

All data  from http://finance.yahoo.com/  on 1/21/2014 or from Vanguard.com  on 1/21/2014




12/23 Update coming soon:  I am doing some forecasts for 2014, should be done in a few days.

These are the choices I narrowed down for myself based on their categories (i.e. small cap/large cap  value/growth).  Then I did a quick and dirty spread sheet to analyze two important ratios that measure a portfolios returns. These are the Treynor and Sharpe Ratios.  I also wanted to analyze the risk involved with the funds, so I added in the 3 and 5 year betas to evaluate my risk/reward.  I also included the year to date percentage increases.





AVFIX



TRLGX



VEXRX



VFTNX



VINIX



VWNAX



International Stock Funds
ANJIX



IGFRX



VTSNX






ticker
3 yr beta 5 yr beta Treynor Ratio Sharpe Ratio Ytd %
AVFIX
1.32 1.29 9.97 0.7 13.71
TRLGX
1.17 1.09 11.6 0.78 5.51
VEXRX
1.25 1.16 12.44 0.83 7.55
VFTNX
1.04 1.13 12.35 0.84 7.92
VINIX
1 1 12.55 0.86 10.6
VWNAX
1.03 1.02 11.55 0.79 5.74
ANJIX
0.92 1.05 7.95 0.48 3.45
IGFRX
0.84 0.82 10.27 0.57 2.5
VTSNX
1 1.05 4.33 0.31 2.91
All data  from http://finance.yahoo.com/  on 5/27/13


Disclaimer:  You should not treat any opinion expressed by Jay as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of his opinion and no one elses. Jay’s opinions are based upon information he considers reliable.   Past performance is not indicative of future results. I

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