Welcome to Your Post-Election Job Layoff! Sigh.

I’m sorry if you’re reading this because you were just laid off from your job.  America is changing rapidly, and you got caught in the crossfire.

I don’t have much advice for you about your next job hunt, etc., but I do want to give you a fact or two about your retirement account at your former company.

If you had a 401(k) account, or another rollover-eligible account, here’s what you do:  you need to set up an IRA account somewhere.  Please, do not pick an insurance company.  Pick a bank, discount broker, full-service broker, or mutual fund company.

The financial company will have you fill out forms to transfer your retirement account money into the new IRA.  It will take several weeks for the money to arrive.  Generally speaking, when the money arrives, it begins earning interest in a money market fund within your IRA, and you can take your time with the subsequent investment decisions.  One key exception is for people who are transferring this money into a mutual fund company’s IRA.  Those folks usually pick their investments ahead of time, and the moment the money arrives, it becomes fully invested.

Your financial advisor at your full-service brokerage firm should be able to answer all of your questions about partial withdrawals, Roth IRAs, taxes, assigning beneficiaries, and the complete scope of investment choices.  Personally, I would NEVER take this kind of advice from anyone who worked at a bank, mutual fund company, or discount broker.  Remember, you get what you pay for.  When I was “in the business”, people who couldn’t cut it at full-service brokerage firms went to work at those lesser-places.  Be careful.

All investments have fees; some are hidden.  So ask about the fees.  For example, if you give your money to the bank, and you’re earning 2% interest, how do they make their money?  They loan the money to other customers at a higher interest rate while they pay you the lower interest rate.

Best of luck to you, and happy investing!

Crista Huff

Goodfellow LLC

* * * * *

(Attention website visitors: You may have access to a free one-month trial, and our newsletter via email, by clicking here.  Free trial subscribers receive access to all of the articles containing stock recommendations.)

* * * *

Investment Disclaimer

Release of Liability: Through use of this website viewing or using you agree to hold www.GoodfellowLLC.com and its employees harmless and to completely release www.GoodfellowLLC.com and its employees from any and all liability due to any and all loss (monetary or otherwise), damage (monetary or otherwise), or injury (monetary or otherwise) that you may incur.

Goodfellow LLC and its employees are not paid by third parties to promote nor disparage any investment. Recommendations are based on hypothetical situations of what we would do, not advice on what you should do.

Neither Goodfellow LLC nor its employees are licensed investment advisors, tax advisors, nor attorneys. Consult with a licensed investment advisor and a tax advisor to determine the suitability of any investment.

The information provided herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness. When information is provided herein from third parties — such as financial news outlets, financial websites, investment firms, or any other source of financial information – the reliability or completeness of such financial information cannot be guaranteed.

The information contained on this website is provided for informational purposes only and contains no investment advice or recommendations to buy or sell any specific securities. This is not an offer or solicitation for any particular trading strategy, or confirmation of any transaction. Statements made on the website are based on the authors’ opinions and based on information available at the time this page was published. The creators are not liable for any errors, omissions or misstatements. Any performance data quoted represents past performance and past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Investments always have a degree of risk, including the potential risk of the loss of the investor’s entire principal. There is no guarantee against any loss.

* * * *

Goodfellow LLC is a subscription-only stock market website. We strive to identify financially healthy companies in which traders and investors can buy shares and earn dividends and capital gains. See disclaimer for the risks associated with investing in the stock market. See your tax advisor for the tax consequences of investing. See your estate planning attorney to clarify beneficiary and inheritance issues associated with your assets.