Our company offers a free initial consultation if you have $200,000 in investable assets or are within 3 years of retirement.  The benefit to you of having an initial consultation with one of our financial advisors is that they can help you make decisions about your entire investment portfolio as well as answer other questions you may have.  The meeting can be held at our office in Seattle or on the phone.  To request a meeting, please click here or call 1-800-423-4893 and ask to speak with Laura Shelton.  If you prefer a prerecorded online workshop, please click here.

Please note that we are not the Plan Administrator.  If you need assistance or have a complaint about your 401k plan, please contact your HR department or your Plan Administrator.   If you are having difficulty contacting the employer that sponsored a plan in which you participated, you can contact the Employee Benefits Security Administration at 202-693-8630 or click here.

401k Help Explanation

Merriman applies the same investment philosophy used in the management of our clients’ investments to the selection of funds within 401k plans. Ideally, we would recommend a portfolio comprised of low cost index funds. The equity component would be equally weighted between domestic and international stocks. The domestic and international stock allocations would each have an overweight in value and small cap stocks. There would be an allocation to both domestic and international REITs. The fixed income portion would be allocated among intermediate term, short term and inflation protected U.S. government securities.

In practice, 401k plans may not offer mutual funds representing all the asset classes we think are appropriate. When selecting mutual funds from a 401k plan, we emphasize the lower cost mutual funds within the favored asset classes or their closest substitutes, and will then increase the weighting of the chosen funds to compensate for asset classes not represented in the 401k plan. Allocations may be adjusted based on the tradeoff between the expense ratio of the fund and the representative asset class.

Please visit Fundadvice.com to access our retirement articles.  Please read the articles in the “Must Read Retirement Articles” box, including such articles as: “The Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy-2008 Update,” and “Fine Tuning Your Asset Allocation.”  For investors who are within five years of retirement please read: “Retirement: When Your Portfolio Starts Paying you” and “The Best Mutual Funds: DFA or Vanguard?”  These articles, written by Merriman founder Paul Merriman, will give you more information on our investment philosophy.

According to our records, your current plan options are listed below.  Please let us know if your plan has changed, or if there are additions or deletions to this list by emailing

CREF Variable Annuity Accounts Current Investment Options:

Our CREF Variable Annuity Accounts 401(k) Plan Recommendations:

TIAA Variable Annuity Accounts Retirement Class Mutual Funds Current Investment Options:

Our TIAA Variable Annuity Accounts Retirement Class Mutual Funds 401(k) Plan Recommendations:

Which Portfolio Is Right For You?
Here are our asset allocation recommendations based on the level of risk you decide to take.  To determine your tolerance for risk so that you can choose the portfolio that's right for you, be sure to read the articles linked on our homepage.  It's important that you understand the basis for our recommendations because you'll be more likely to implement them and stay the course.  If you have questions, check our FAQs. 
  

Aggressive Portfolio
When you want to take out all the stops and "go for it," this is the portfolio for you.  Equally weighted at home in the U.S. and abroad, this combination is a favorite of young investors with plenty of time before retirement and the ability to remain calm during market downturns.  It’s also suited for those on a fast track who want or need all the speed and distance they can get from their investments.  Because 100 percent of the portfolio is in equities, the only buffer against the slings and arrows of the market is time. But if you’ve got the time, this is the way to go.

Moderate Portfolio
This combination is a fine choice for many employees and especially for long-term investors. Its 60 percent weighting in equities gives it plenty of power for stock market growth, while the 40 percent in fixed-income provides stability and safety during declines in the market.  This portfolio is most suitable for investors with five or more years until they will need their money.

Conservative Portfolio
This combination stresses safety, with a mix of 40 percent equities and 60 percent fixed-income investments.  It is most suitable for investors who consider themselves conservative, who are close to or past the age of retirement or who, for whatever reason, care more about holding onto their money than making it grow.

DISCLAIMER:
This information is provided by Merriman, Inc., a registered investment advisor, and is believed to be from reliable sources, but no guarantee is made as to accuracy or completeness.  The investment securities and strategies discussed are not suitable for all investors. Recommendations are of a general nature, not based on knowledge of any individual's specific needs or circumstances, and there is no intent to provide individual investment advisory, supervisory or management services.  Merriman, Inc. is not an authorized representative of Microsoft or of its retirement plans.