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PTBAX - Principal LifeTime 2020 A

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Principal LifeTime 2020 A (PTBAX)
Expense Ratio: 1.11%
Expected Lifetime Fees: $32,678.95


The Principal LifeTime 2020 A fund (PTBAX) is a Target Date 2016-2020 fund started on 06/28/2005 and has $5.20 billion in assets under management. The current manager has been running Principal LifeTime 2020 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

iShares S&P Target Date 2020 (TZG)
Expense Ratio: 0.11%
Expected Lifetime Fees: $3,595.26


The iShares S&P Target Date 2020 (TZG) is an Exchange Traded Fund. It is a "basket" of securities that index the Target Date 2016-2020 investment strategy and is an alternative to a Target Date 2016-2020 mutual fund. Fees are very low compared to a comparable mutual fund like Principal LifeTime 2020 A because computers automatically manage the stocks.




The Following Target Date 2016-2020 Funds Have Lower Fees Than Principal LifeTime 2020 A (PTBAX). Why are these metrics important?
Mutual Fund Name Ticker Symbol Turnover Assets (M) Annual Fees
AllianceBern 2020 Retirement Strat A LTHAX 14.0% 283 1.02%
AllianceBern 2020 Retirement Strat I LTHIX 14.0% 283 0.72%
AllianceBern 2020 Retirement Strat K LTHKX 14.0% 283 0.97%
American Century LIVESTRONG 2020 A ARBMX 4.0% 615 1.06%
American Century LIVESTRONG 2020 Instl ARBSX 4.0% 615 0.61%
American Century LIVESTRONG 2020 Inv ARBVX 4.0% 615 0.81%
American Funds Trgt Date Ret 2020 A AACTX 7.0% 2,100 0.75%
American Funds Trgt Date Ret 2020 R3 RCCTX 7.0% 2,100 1.07%
American Funds Trgt Date Ret 2020 R4 RDCTX 7.0% 2,100 0.74%
American Funds Trgt Date Ret 2020 R5 RECTX 7.0% 2,100 0.44%
American Funds Trgt Date Ret 2020 R6 RRCTX 7.0% 2,100 0.39%
BlackRock LifePath 2020 Institutional STLCX 4.0% 1,100 0.85%
BlackRock LifePath 2020 Investor A LPRCX 4.0% 1,100 1.10%
DWS LifeCompass 2020 S SPGRX 26.0% 214 0.98%
DWS LifeCompass 2020 S SRG1Z 26.0% 214 0.98%
Fidelity Advisor Freedom 2020 I FDIFX 18.0% 2,700 0.66%
JHancock2 Retirement Living 2020 R4 JLDGX 24.0% 910 1.08%
Manning & Napier Target 2020 I MTNIX 49.0% 113 0.89%
MFS Lifetime 2020 A MFLAX 19.0% 150 1.06%
Oppenheimer Transition 2020 Y OTWYX 16.0% 122 0.77%
Principal LifeTime 2020 R5 PTBPX 8.8% 5,200 0.99%
Russell LifePoints 2020 Strategy E RLLEX 24.0% 240 0.95%
Russell LifePoints 2020 Strategy R1 RLLRX 24.0% 240 0.70%
Russell LifePoints 2020 Strategy R2 RLLTX 24.0% 240 0.95%
Russell LifePoints 2020 Strategy S RLLSX 24.0% 240 0.70%
Russell LifePoints 2020 Strategy S RLSSZ 24.0% 240 0.70%
Schwab Target 2020 SWCRX 15.0% 284 0.68%
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2020 TRRBX 15.6% 14,300 0.69%
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2020 Adv PARBX 15.6% 14,300 0.94%
Vanguard Target Retirement 2020 Inv VTWNX 23.0% 14,000 0.17%
Wells Fargo Advantage DJ Target 2020 A STTRX 35.0% 2,300 1.01%
Wells Fargo Advantage DJ Target 2020 Adm WFLPX 35.0% 2,300 0.85%
Wells Fargo Advantage DJ Target 2020 I WFOBX 35.0% 2,300 0.50%
Wells Fargo Advantage DJ Target 2020 Inv WFDTX 35.0% 2,300 0.91%



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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.