investing question

i have an old 401(k) from a previous employer that was automatically rolled over into a traditional IRA. the money is currently sitting as cash.

i'm wondering if it would be wiser to leave it as an IRA or rollover into my current employer's plan. and if i leave it be, what is a good resource to know how to diversify that account.

can anyone point me in the right direction for guidance?

Re: investing question

If it's just sitting in an IRA it probably isn't earning much.
I'd see about rolling it to your current 401K plan so it can be invested with the money you are contributing now and grow more

investing question

How big is it? If it’s sizable - I would transfer it to an investment advisor. My former 401k is now an IRA being managed and making better returns than my current 402k which is invested in the same funds my former one was.

Re: investing question

It doesn’t matter if it’s in an IRA or a 401k. Consolidating it into one account makes it easier to manage.

It shouldn’t be in cash. You need to invest based on your risk tolerance and age.

Read the information on /personal finance and /financial independence on reddit.

You can also read a ton of advice and information on fidelity or vanguards websites.

Re: investing question

It all depends on what your IRA or 401k is invested in. If it's just cash. You arent earning anything.

I would speak to an advisor that can sit down and go over what you expect and help guide your decision.

Message edited 8/1/2019 8:49:40 AM.

investing question

You need to invest it in funds.
As far as whether to roll into your current 401k vs keep as an IRA isn't a super straightforward analysis, however generally I would lean to keeping it as an IRA, but doing something with the money.

A traditional IRA you can invest in pretty much any fund, stock bond whatever you want. your current employers 401k has a limit of funds.
Your current 401k will have a fee structure you don't really have much of a say in, your employer decides how the plan is run, who pays the investment fees, whether they're coming out of your earnings (as a fee), paid by the employer, or built into the fund load. An IRA you generally get a better picture of the fees, and can go somewhere else if you don't like the fee structure.

The long and short of it is, I recommend taking your IRA funds and within the IRA invest them in mutual funds with diversity. The mix should depend a bit on risk tolerance, but should be taking into account when you expect to retire. I generally go for Index funds as they have the lowest fees and actively managing funds really doesn't have a real proven track record long term in beating the market.

Vanguard and Fidelity have some good low fee index funds. Others I'm sure do too.