401(a) Plan
The CERF Savings Plan offers a broad range of investment options from the conservative, such as guaranteed investment options, to the more aggressive, such as international or small company stock funds. Generally, conservative investments with a lower investment risk offer a lower potential return over time, whereas more aggressive investments offer a greater potential return but with more investment risk.
The plan is flexible; you can put all of your money in a single investment option or you can invest in a combination of options. Enrollment forms have funds listed on them for selection upon enrollment. Until you select your investment options, your money will be invested in the most conservative option, the Empower Retirement Portfolio fund.
A major key to success when investing is diversification since asset classes perform differently in any given year. For example, large cap domestic equities may struggle while international stocks do very well, or bonds may under-perform while small cap stocks do well. Markets move in cycles and it is very difficult, if not impossible to time them.
Chasing last year's hot returns is a recipe for disappointment. Studies have shown that spreading your money over different asset classes provides the greatest opportunity over the long term with lower risk than putting all of your money in a single asset class.
One way to utilize diversification is to choose one of the Profile funds. Profile funds are a variety of different mutual funds chosen by Empower Retirement ranging from conservative to aggressive. The other way is to pick your own individual funds from different asset classes. Please consult your financial advisor for more details as CERF cannot provide investment advice.
For detailed information about the investment options that are available to you, contact Empower Retirement at (877) 895-1394, or visit www.empower.com. You will need to have your User ID and personal identification number (PIN) provided by Empower Retirement to obtain this information.
The CERF 401(a) plan will accept eligible rollover distributions of contributions from other qualified 401(a), 401(k) or 403(b) plans.