Locating Funds Within Your Retirement Plan

Q: My retirement plan at work has a "self-directed" option. I thought I would be able to start Upgrading, but only a handful of top-quartile funds are available as options. What gives?

A: If you're searching your plan using the ticker symbols in the Fund Performance Rankings (FPR) , that could be the problem.

Often, funds offered through a retirement plan are in a different "fund class" than what we list. This means your plan's version of the same fund may have a slightly different ticker symbol.

If you can't find a fund by ticker symbol, try searching instead by fund family (Fidelity, Eaton-Vance, etc.), then by the fund name. You can use our Fund Directory (the last several pages of SMI's FPR) as a guide.

• Got a question or comment about this article? Discuss it on our Message Boards.

• Refer A Friend to SMI and for each one that joins, you'll get two free months of SMI!