Personal Finance

Elspeth Bolton · Guest

Hello..new here..I have my entire IRA in this fund..Jennison Natural
Resources with Prudential. Now..I would like to take credit for picking
this but I did not..about two years ago when I looked at my statement my
previous investment in a utility fund had dropped about 10K..I was
aghast..called up Pru and was told that they could (of course) not
advise me but the lady I spoke with asked me if I wanted to know the
name of their best performer to date..I said yes..and (of course) told
her to put my IRA there. WOW..that thing has tripled and have made up
my loss plus! My question..should I still keep it all in that one
fund..diversify now..or watch the market and if things start to so South
for Natural Resources..move some then. I don't want to repeat
history..like stupidly staying in utilties..oh..I am 53 and this is my
only investment of any kind...thanks

Ed · Guest

The short answer is you should probably sell the fund.

Do you pay a sales charge when you buy these shares? I don't see PMNYX
listed with the Jennison funds. If you pay a sales charge they are obligated
to advise you, that's what you're paying for.

Anyway, sector funds are very risky. You were in the right fund at the right
time but those big gains are history IMHO. I don't know why you went through
Prudential but you must be paying something in the way of sales charges
because you did.

If you are looking for a one fund investment you should consider Vanguard
STAR, Oakmark Equity & Income, or T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation.

I think you should have more than one fund though, that is if your portfolio
is large enough and I believe that it is based on what you've said.

I think you'd be better off with something like this:

25% large cap value
25% mid cap value
30% international
20% bonds

You can rebalance periodically. I don't believe in rebalancing by the
calendar, I think you should do it when one part of your allocation gets
20% - 25% away from the targets above.

Putting all of your money in a sector fund is not a good idea. It's great
when your sector is in favor and a nightmare when it's not.

"Elspeth Bolton" <elspeth53@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:12158-43762397-442@storefull-3311.bay.webtv.net...

L.Lee Skandera · Guest

Thank you Ed...Ooops..that's PGNAX..my mistake...sorry!
Years ago a friend of mine was working for Prudential and sold me an
IRA..he has long left but Pru only charges me $12 a yr so have just
stayed put..as far as I know..they must sell Jennison Dryden funds as
well because I have never delt with Jennison. My portfolio went from
27K this March to 34K to date..again..WOW! I never buy any shares..they
are just carried over from my original investments approx. 20 yrs
ago..and I have contributed nothing in the past 15 yrs. Do you still
think I am pressing my luck? Yes..I did learn the hard way with that
utility fund..or did I? All help is appreciated..

Ed · Guest

The fund has done well but sector funds can be very dangerous. I think you
should diversify using an allocation similar to the one I posted.

I don't know how important this money is to you but you could have a bad
year just when you need it most.

PGNAX comes with a 5.50% front end sales charge. This fee entitles you to
guidance from Pru. I don't know why they told you they couldn'y advise you.

If I were you I would transfer that account to a no-load fund company like
T. Rowe Price or Vanguard. These are large companies with many choices and
all of the funds are no-load, no 5.5% sales charge.

How do you transfer your account? You can go to either website and download
the transfer form or call them and ask them to send you one. Fill it out and
mail it back to them. they will do the rest.

"L.Lee Skandera" <Larueskan@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:4129-43763F35-131@storefull-3314.bay.webtv.net...

Elspeth Bolton · Guest

Thanks for realizing that larueskan is me..Elspeth..was on that site
and mistakenly posted from there!
I had no idea that I was charged a sales fee when Pru moved me to the
Jennison fund..it was never mentioned..just assumed it was part of
service..then again..you know what happens when you
assume..however..think the joke is definitely on me..costly one at that!
I'm going to go look for my old statements to find out exactly how much
that fee was! Question..were they obligated to inform me first of this
fee?
Would you know if there is a fee to transfer from one IRA holder to
another..I think it is time to leave Pru..Vanguard sounds like a good
choice..saw Mr. Bogle on TV a few years ago and liked him a lot..altho I
think he has retired..thanks muchly Ed..

Ed · Guest

I don't know if there is a fee involved if you move out of the Pru into
something else.
Some charge $10 for closing the account and transfering it. You would have
to ask them. Anyway, I believe you own A shares and that costs you 5.50%
everytime you buy more.

Bogle is retired. Brennan is running Vanguard now and he's not as investor
friendly but the annual fees are very low and there is no sales charge. If
you are a buy and hold investor Vanguard would be a good choice.

"Elspeth Bolton" <elspeth53@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:23626-43765AFC-20@storefull-3318.bay.webtv.net...

Elspeth Bolton · Guest

Yes Ed..I am a buy and hold investor and this money is very important to
me as it is my only retirement fund. For many years I worked in my
former husband's office off the books..(big mistake)..after my divorce
in '76 I started the IRA. Now..for me..an IRA was akin to the Holy
Grail..should have read Dan Brown's book sooner..LOL..JK JK!.. So..as I
was very busy raising two teenagers, building a new life for myself, I
paid little attention to my IRA..just thought it was safe.. and it was
for many years. However..there is NO excuse for my just blindly
ignoring my IRA..I noticed some ups and downs but figured that was
normal..I didn't have access to CNBC or the inclination to become
informed..big mistake. So..I hope someone reads my posts and learns
something from them..1. do not ignore your IRA..no one is looking out
for you like you might think they are..2..don't be afraid to move your
IRA somewhere else...the sky won't fall..ok..thanks Ed..I am now smarter
and I hope somewhat wiser and will DIVERSIFY ASAP!!

Ell · Guest

If you don't diversify, you're taking on more risk. By keeping it all in one
fund, I would say you're actually seriously gambling.

Cash it in now and diversify it into index funds per portfolio allocation
tools. For ideas on allocation, try some of the many free online allocation
planning tools. I list several at my site
http://home.earthlink.net/~elle_navorski/id4.html .

Every person I know who invests has made a financial mistake s/he wishes
s/he could undo. Learn from it. Move forward.

--

"Elspeth Bolton" <elspeth53@webtv.net> wrote

Elspeth Bolton · Guest

thank you elle..that's what I plan to do now..diversify..I'll check out
your site as am unsure of my asset allocation but think that Ed's
recommendations look good for/to me...

Ell · Guest

Ed's suggestion is in the same vein as what the various free
online asset allocation tools will spew out for your
situation. OTOH, did you say you were in your 50s, with not
long to retirement? If so then the online tool
recommendations will likely be a tad more conservative than
Ed's. Remember, this is not an exact science. No one can say
without the benefit of hindsight what the choice to yield
the best return should be.

As long as you don't wish to gamble (and I think that wise),
it sounds like you're on the right track. Good luck.

--

"Elspeth Bolton" <elspeth53@webtv.net> wrote

Ed · Guest

The online asset allocation tool will suggest that you put more money into
bond funds. I think that would be a big mistake for two reasons.
1. You aren't going to die at retirement, in fact if you do a seach for life
expectancy tables you will learn that a woman at 53 has about 29 years left.
A woman at 65 has 20 years left.
Even at 65 and expecting to live another 20 years you would be a long term
investor.
2. We are in a rising interest rate environment. Bond funds do not do well.

Another example:
If you look at one of the target retirement funds and check their allocatios
you'll see that you shouldn't have 50% in bond funds (100 - your age, 53 =
47. This is the amount the rule of thumb suggests you have in stock. Said
another way, your age should equal you bond fund allocation). Phooey.
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2015 has 56% domestic stock, 21.5% domestic bond,
15% foreign stock, 6.7% cash. Only 21% bonds.
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2010 has 52.1% domestic stock, 23.7% domestic
bonds, 13.0%foreign stock, 10.4% cash. only 24% bonds.
The whole idea of investing for retirement is to keep the value of your
money ahead of inflation and the stock markets are the best way to do that.

"Elspeth Bolton" <elspeth53@webtv.net> wrote in message
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