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saving & investing
                            YOUR MONEY




























































                                                                 WE BREAK DOWN

                                  VANGUARD’S ‘HOW AMERICA



                                                    SAVES’ 2019 REPORT





                                by Erin Arvedlund                                                                            women earning $50,000 to $74,999
                                                                           MORE THAN 100                                     participated in their employer’s plan
                                           ant  some  highlights  of                                                         —compared with 78% of men in the
                                           how Americans save for                                                            same income group.
                                 W retirement? We read               MILLION AMERICANS                                          During 2018, only 13% of
                                Vanguard’s latest “How America                                                               investors saved the maximum dollar
                                Saves” 2019 report issued on Tuesday                                                         amount of $18,500  ($24,500 for
          ALAMITOS              for trends and other takeaways.       ARE COVERED BY DC                                      participants age 50 or older). Investors
           HEIGHTS              Vanguard’s report on the popular                                                             who contributed the maximum
                                   Here are some key highlights from
         REAL ESTATE EDGE       workplace “defined contribution”         PLAN ACCOUNTS,                                      tended to have higher incomes, were
                                                                                                                             older,  had  longer  tenures  with  their
               Publisher        (DC) retirement plans, those filled                                                          current employer, and accumulated
             Allison Van Wig    by matching contributions  from the   WITH ASSETS OF MORE
             CA DRE #00985700                                                                                                substantially higher account balances.
                                employee and the employer and do
           Cindy Hinderberger   not promise specific benefits. More   THAN $7.5 TRILLION.
             CA DRE #01902607                                                                                                  ACCOUNT ACCESS TRENDS
                                than 100 million Americans are                                                                  Vanguard investors have four ways
                                covered by DC plan accounts, with                                                            to check accounts: phone calls to
                                assets of more than $7.5 trillion.                                                           humans, phone calls to an automated
                                   In 2018, the average account  averaged 5.2% annually.      holding a single target-date fund
                                balance for Vanguard participants   Among continuous investors— traded in 2018.”             voice-response system, a mobile
                                was $92,148; the median balance was  those with balances at year-end 2013                    application, and the website.
                                                                                                                                Overall, the website remained the
            4435 E Village Rd   $22,217.                       and 2018—the record was far better.   EMPLOYER MATCH          most widely used channel in 2018—
          Long Beach, CA 90808     In 2018, Vanguard participants’  Median account balance rose by 78%   Among plans offering a matching
                                average account balances declined  over five years, reflecting ongoing  contribution in 2018, seven in 10   half  of investors used  the website,
           562-754-8802         by 11% compared with 2017 and  contributions and the bull market.  (covering two-thirds of Vanguard   compared with 12% who used
          Allison@superbroker.com  median account balances declined by                        investors with this type of retirement   telephone with humans.
           www.SuperBroker.com  16 percent. (Note that this report looks   VERY LITTLE TRADING  plan) provided a match, such as 50   Introduced between 2009 and
                                at “defined contribution” retirement   During 2018, only 8% of “defined  cents on the dollar on the first 6%   2011, mobile applications were used
                                plans typically tax-deferred, like a  contribution” plan investors traded  of pay.           by 28% of investors.
                                401(k) or a 403(b), not pension plans). within their accounts, while 92%   In 2018, seven in 10 employers’   In terms of total contacts, the
                                   Three reasons: a changing  did not. That  means more than 9  retirement plans had a participation  website dominates, but mobile is
                                business mix—new plans converting  out of 10 Vanguard investors did  rate of 80% or higher, while less than  also  becoming  a  preferred  channel.
                                to Vanguard recently have lower  NO trading last year. Talk about  10% of plans had a participation rate  Website interactions accounted for
                                account  balances;  the  rising  sticky assets!               of less than half.             53% of all contacts in 2018, averaging
              6425 Busch Blvd.,    adoption of automatic enrollment,   On a net basis, there was a shift                     about 12 website interactions per year.
             Columbus, OH 43229
               877.872.3080     which results in more individuals  of 1.1% of assets to fixed income   WOMEN VS. MEN,        Each distinct logon is counted as a
             www.DiscoverPubs.com  saving, but with smaller balances;  in 2018, with most making only   OLDER VS. YOUNGER    unique contact. Mobile access, though
                                4 in 10 investors had joined their  small changes to their portfolios, the   Men and women invest at about  relatively new, was the second most
            Sudoku, Scrabble, Crossword
            and articles distributed by    plan under  automatic  enrollment;  report said.   the same  level, but those  figures fail  popular channel, accounting for 41%
            Tribune News Services and   and finally, U.S. markets dropped   Over the last decade, Vanguard  to account for the income differences  of all contacts.   n
             Brandpoint where noted.   6% in 2018.             has seen a decline in trading that is  between men and women. At all
             © Copyright 2019 by
            Discover Publications, Inc.  Vanguard’s median one-year  “partially attributable to participants’  income levels, women are more likely   ©2019 The Philadelphia Inquirer.
              All rights reserved.  investor total return was a loss of  increased adoption of target-date  than  men  to  join  their  employer’s   Distributed by Tribune Content
                                6.5% in 2018. Five-year total returns  funds. Only 2% of participants  plan. For example, in 2018, 87% of       Agency, LLC
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