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Retirement Ideas
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March 4, 2000: 10:38 a.m. ET
Advice for Gen-Xers and pregnant moms, and a look at load funds
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - When it comes to financial planning, women do their homework and men like to be more aggressive. And Gen Xers are already thinking about their retirement planning.
This week CNNfn.com's new retirement planning section took a look at ways that pregnant women can build their nest egg, as well as some load mutual funds that are cheaper than no-loads.
We profiled a top-performing mutual fund manager who got his master's in English literature, and looked at ways for couples to protect their inheritances.
The lowdown on loads
Unless you've just come out of a 10-year coma, chances are you know enough about mutual funds to ask, "Why should I pay a sales charge to invest in a fund when I can just as well buy a comparable no-load?"
You may think you'll automatically save a bundle by steering clear of funds with front-end loads, which are commissions paid to a financial adviser, broker or, less commonly, the fund company itself. But if you're investing for the long haul, the truth is some load funds are actually cheaper, experts say.
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Riskiest bond funds soar
The Russian crisis. Devaluation in Latin America. Plunging commodity prices. Fidelity fund manager John Carlson has weathered it all in recent years -- but lately he's riding high on performance charts.
Emerging markets bond funds such as Carlson's Fidelity New Markets Income Fund have delivered some of the best returns this year, according to figures from fund-tracker Morningstar.
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Battle of the $exes
We've all heard that men and women are from different planets when it comes to communication and relationships. And apparently they are polar opposites when it comes to money, too.
 Women are more likely to seek professional advice, while men tend to be more aggressive in their retirement investment choices, experts say.
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Ode to a fund manager
Some people wonder how Frank Gannon wound up on Wall Street managing a fleet of top-performing mutual funds when he started out in grad school at Boston College studying English literature.
He likes to joke that he decided against the Ph.D. program because he didn't want to teach his little brother, an incoming freshman, introductory English. But the truth is that Gannon's passion is a good story -- whether it's a novella or a stock.
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Comparing your 401(k)
It's hard to know how your 401(k) stacks up against plans at other companies. Many people don't know where to turn to find out if their retirement plan is a lemon.
In response to a reader's question, Marc Collier, a certified financial planner from Wellesley, Mass., and a member of the National Financial Planning Association, explains some key differences between different company plans.
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Protecting inheritances
To love, honor and cherish till death do you part. You took the vows. You meant them. But that doesn't mean you should fork over every penny from the pot your parents leave you.
 In fact, it might be smart if you didn't. Otherwise your heirs might have to pay more in estate taxes than they should. And, unless you plan carefully, you may forfeit control over money you want to leave to your kids if your spouse remarries after you die.
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When a will is not enough
A retired couple from Virginia thought they did the right thing by drafting a will with their attorney to decide how to distribute their $4 million in assets upon their deaths.
But the couple, in their 70s, was concerned about protecting their property from estate taxes, lawsuits, and probate court. So when they called estate planner Don Forbush for advice, he suggested they establish an irrevocable life estate trust to protect those assets from liability during their lifetime.
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GenX preps for retirement
Wake up and smell the cafe latte. That's what Generation X investors are telling themselves after enjoying 20 to 30 percent stock market returns. It just isn't going to last.
Most GenXers started investing in the '90s and have never participated in declines that lasted more than a three-month cycle. During the 1987 market crash, GenXers, those roughly between 22 and 35, were donning cap and gown at their high school graduation or just entering the work force.
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Retirement plans for moms
You and your husband have done the math and found that you can afford to stay home for a few years to run Bambinos Ltd. Or perhaps you discovered it just doesn't pay to hire full-time caregivers.
Either way, when you draw up the one-salary family budget, make sure to include contributions to your retirement plan.
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Turkish delights
U.S. investors seeking more bullish prospects than American markets to bolster their funds might consider investing in Turkey. The Eurasian nation's stock market was one of the world's best performers in 1999, and funds that placed bets in Istanbul have been reaping the rewards.
Take Lexington Worldwide Emerging Market Fund. It rose 113.2 percent in 1999, and is leading the pack among emerging market funds year-to-date with a gain of 24.77 percent as of Feb. 25.
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Starting a Roth IRA
While there is usually a narrow choice of investments in 401(k), a Roth IRA can offer a much wider choice of funds and is tax-free when withdrawals begin.
In response to a reader's question, Barbara Steinmetz, a certified financial
planner from Burlingame, Calif., and a member of the Financial Planning
Association, goes through the ins and outs of the Roth IRA.
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Funds force you to save
After covering the stellar performance George Vanderheiden produced at Fidelity Destiny I Fund and Fidelity Destiny II Fund, some readers wrote to express gratitude for Vanderheiden's work.
But even more wrote to say that the fund's huge sales fees meant they earned considerably less than the S&P 500-beating returns the fund earned when the load is excluded.
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-- compiled by staff writer Lucy Banduci
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