In order to maximize my Roth IRA contributions, I automatically deposit $166.67 twice a month (on or about the 1st and 15th of each month) into a mutual fund with TIAA-Cref, which offers a no-fee account. (There are low fund management fees, but not as low as Vanguard‘s. Unfortunately Vanguard has a minimum deposit requirement which I couldn’t make when I initiated the Roth IRA in June, 2003.) This year, in order to increase my diversification, I decided to switch funds.
I have almost $10,000 in the TIAA-Cref Equity Index fund [TCEIX], but as of the other day, my contributions are going into the company’s Small-Cap Equity fund [TCSEX]. Not only will this provide me with a more balanced portfolio in the long run, I’ll have a more interesting fund symbol. The fund has only existed since 2003, and 2005 was its worst performing year at +3.24 percent. The prior two years were +20.44 percent and +47.05 percent.
While I continue to invest in TCSEX twice each month, I’ll let TCEIX sit and hopefully grow.
I’ve made some changes to my 401(k) allocation as well, and I’ll explore the new information over the weekend (or later, depending on how much time I have).
Updated February 6, 2012 and originally published January 19, 2006. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
