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PALTX - Principal LifeTime Strategic Inc A

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Principal LifeTime Strategic Inc A (PALTX)
Expense Ratio: 0.99%
Expected Lifetime Fees: $29,510.90


The Principal LifeTime Strategic Inc A fund (PALTX) is a Retirement Income fund started on 06/28/2005 and has $727.20 million in assets under management. The current manager has been running Principal LifeTime Strategic Inc A since 03/24/2011. The fund is rated by Morningstar. In addition to trading fees and broker commissions, this fund has 12b-1 fees of 0.25%

MarketRiders Prefers The Following ETF

Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND)
Expense Ratio: 0.10%
Expected Lifetime Fees: $3,271.86


The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) is an Exchange Traded Fund. It is a "basket" of securities that index the Retirement Income investment strategy and is an alternative to a Retirement Income mutual fund. Fees are very low compared to a comparable mutual fund like Principal LifeTime Strategic Inc A because computers automatically manage the stocks.




The Following Retirement Income Funds Have Lower Fees Than Principal LifeTime Strategic Inc A (PALTX). Why are these metrics important?
Mutual Fund Name Ticker Symbol Turnover Assets (M) Annual Fees
American Beacon Retirement Income and Appreciation Fund Class Y ACRYX 54.0% 160 0.80%
American Century LIVESTRONG Inc Instl ATTIX 10.0% 373 0.55%
American Century LIVESTRONG Inc Inv ARTOX 10.0% 373 0.75%
BlackRock LifePath Retirement Instl STLAX 4.0% 601 0.85%
Fidelity Advisor Freedom Inc I FIAFX 24.0% 304 0.47%
Fidelity Advisor Freedom Inc T FTAFX 24.0% 304 0.97%
MFS Lifetime Retirement Income A MLLAX 20.0% 168 0.97%
Principal LifeTime Strategic Inc R5 PLSPX 19.8% 727 0.88%
T. Rowe Price Retirement Income TRRIX 12.5% 2,600 0.56%
T. Rowe Price Retirement Income Adv PARIX 12.5% 2,600 0.81%
Vanguard Target Retirement Income Inv VTINX 14.0% 8,500 0.17%
Wells Fargo Advantage DJ Target Tod Adm WFLOX 46.0% 961 0.80%
Wells Fargo Advantage DJ Target Tod Inv WFBTX 46.0% 961 0.86%
Wells Fargo Advantage DJ Target Today A STWRX 46.0% 961 0.96%
Wells Fargo Advantage DJ Target Today I WOTDX 46.0% 961 0.45%



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Why Are These Metrics Important?


Turnover
Turnover represents how much of a mutual fund's holdings are changed over the course of a year through buying and selling. Active mutual funds have an average turnover rate of about 85%, meaning that funds are turning over nearly all of their holdings every year. A high turnover means you could make lower returns because: 1) buying and selling stocks costs money through commissions and spreads and 2) the fund will distribute yearly capital gains which increases your taxes. Look for funds with turnover rates below 50%. For comparison, ETF turnover rates average around 10% or lower.

Assets
Generally, smaller funds do better than larger ones. The more assets in a mutual fund, the lower the chance that it will beat its index. Managers outperform an index by choosing stocks that are undervalued. In order to find these undervalued stocks, the manager has to know more than his competitors to develop an "edge." There are only a finite number of stocks a mutual fund manager can reasonably analyze and actively track to gain such a competitive edge. When the fund has more assets, the manager must analyze large companies because he needs to take larger positions. Large companies are more efficiently priced in the market and it becomes increasingly difficult to get an edge.