<<My husband currently has his 403(B) invested in 3 Scudder Mutual Funds (Emerging Markets, Growth, etc.). He has the opportunity to transfer the funds to an S&P 500 Index Fund.>>

<<Should he move the entire 403(B) to this account? He has 20 years till retirement.>>

Please don't neglect the detail of *which* S&P 500 index fund is available. Vanguard and some others offer an excellent expense ratio and no hidden fees. There are some, however, that offer you an unmanaged fund with fees and loads matching the managed funds. Please do the research and make an informed decision.

In my case, I moved most of my 403(b) to an S&P 500 index fund after verifying there were no hidden expenses, so obviously I agreed with the option you're considering. My priorities and tolerance for risk may be different from yours though, not to mention the exact option I was given, so you shouldn't just take my decision for an answer. I based my decision on the observation that managed fund returns have pretty much a bell curve. Each year a few outperform the market substantially, a few underperform substantially, and most underperform by about the amount of their expenses and management fees. I see no sign that the "hot" managed funds do better through anything except luck, with the exception of perhaps 2-3 funds (such as Buffet's Berkshire-Hathaway) that weren't available to me.

Marc G

Dad-Of-Preschool-Elementary-Youngsters

dopey38@ivillage.com