My mom works for a company that allows her to save between 2-20% of her pay to be put into retirement funds, and the company will match the first 6%. So she decided to put 10% of her monthly salary into it. She has no clue how to pick funds, and I have a small idea, but I figured it would be better to ask the experts. Her monthly salary is only around 2000 a year, so she's only putting in about 200 a month if that changes anythings. Keep in mind that she's a 50 year old woman, so safety is just as important as equity.
1) Becton Dickinson Common stock, or BDX. It's a biotech company.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=2y&s...amp;q=l&c=
2) Fixed Income Fund. This is the one I wasn't sure about. Is this like a bond? I'm assuming she wants this if safety is a big concern, right? The APR over the past 5 years was 4.82%.
3) S&P 500 Index.
4) S&P Midcap Index
5) International Equity Fund. Emphasizes in Europe, Canada, Australia, and Far Easy. 14.45 APR over past 5 years.
6) Small Cap Index Fund.
My first thought was 40$ Fixed income fund, 20% international, 20% small cap, and 20% S&P. Would you guys recommend anything else?