Mechanics of 401K Investing

[w_gibbs]

I am completely new to investing and I have been reading everything I can find to get up to speed on the topic. I am about to take a good job with 401K matching and plan to invest responsibly by probably maxxing out my 401K up to the allowed value for employer match (which in my case is 6% base salary).

The folks at the company said that I will go through the Benefits orientation on the first day of work, but I would like to know what to expect. I understand that I can have money deducted each month, but how does that actually work? Where does the money go? Who manages it for me? Do I choose the individual companies to buy stock in? I haven't read anything that tells these basics. Obviously most people are told once they work, but I would like to be prepared. I have read all the stickies but most of the discussion assumes you know the basics. I'd be most appreciative if you could just explain the basics to me or provide a good reference. Thanks in advance.

[PokerFox]

The money goes into your 401(k) plan, it's juat a bank account, more or less. In most large companies, you can choose how the elections are contributed. Often times, you can access it on the corporate intranet and change your contribution level and elections (elections are the types of funds you invest your $$ in) online.

edit to add: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/401(k)

[dopp16]

In many companies, if the advisors who set up the pension are good, they will come in and sit individually with you and go over your situation and recommend an allocation. With that said, they will often try to push life insurance on you or something else, but they can take a risk tolerance/time horizon questionairre and reasonably allocate your funds.

In larger companies, often times the advisors will educate the HR person in charge of the pension. The manager/owner of your company should get you the name of the person/persons in charge of administering the plan and they will help you accordingly.

['Chair]

example...my company's 401k is through schwab. My company opened an account for me (but its my account...I login and change the passwords and set up the distribution) and money gets deducted from each paycheck and deposited by my company in *my* schwab account.

I had a list of funds to allocate my money...I only chose 3
American Beacon Lg Cap Value Plan -- $x -- 20%
William Blair International Growth -- $x -- 20%
Schwab Managed Retirement 2040 -- $x -- 60%

SideQuestion: is that ^^^ too conservative?

Sidenote: Trust
Primary Beneficiaries Details
Name Share
FFK 100.00%


Matching: At the end of the year, I get a lump sum deposit from my company for the matching. It is not vested for 3 years...meaning if I closed my account/cashed out...I wouldn't get that money until it is vested.

Description Amount Vested % Vested Amount
Emp Deferral $x 100% $x
Emp Match $x 0% $0

['Chair]

I'm 25 btw...