Schwab Target 2015 (SWGRX)
Expense Ratio: 0.63%
Expected Lifetime Fees: $19,497.04
The Schwab Target 2015 fund (SWGRX) is a Target Date 2011-2015 fund started on 03/12/2008 and has $61.50 million in assets under management. The current manager has been running Schwab Target 2015 since 03/23/2012. The fund is rated by Morningstar. This fund does not charge 12b-1 fees.
iShares S&P Target Date 2015 (TZE)
Expense Ratio: 0.11%
Expected Lifetime Fees: $3,595.26
The iShares S&P Target Date 2015 (TZE) is an Exchange Traded Fund. It is a "basket" of securities that index the Target Date 2011-2015 investment strategy and is an alternative to a Target Date 2011-2015 mutual fund. Fees are very low compared to a comparable mutual fund like Schwab Target 2015 because computers automatically manage the stocks.
| Mutual Fund Name | Ticker Symbol | Turnover | Assets (M) | Annual Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Century LIVESTRONG 2015 Instl | ARNIX | 4.0% | 892 | 0.58% |
| American Funds Trgt Date Ret 2015 R5 | REJTX | 7.0% | 1,500 | 0.42% |
| American Funds Trgt Date Ret 2015 R6 | RFJTX | 7.0% | 1,500 | 0.38% |
| Fidelity Advisor Freedom 2015 I | FFVIX | 19.0% | 1,700 | 0.62% |
| Vanguard Target Retirement 2015 Inv | VTXVX | 27.0% | 15,200 | 0.17% |
| Wells Fargo Advantage DJ Target 2015 I | WFSCX | 40.0% | 806 | 0.49% |
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.
