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When to Bail on Your Company Retirement Plan
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When to Bail on Your Company Retirement Plan

Are you being cheated by "dominated funds"?

"I honestly think you should take your money out of 401(k)s."

That's author and podcaster James Altucher's advice for young, match-less workers in one of Business Insider's latest financial videos.

"This is what is actually happening in a 401(k)," Altucher said. "You have no idea what's happening to your money."

He argued that young investors who shovel money into a 401(k) are getting ripped off and they could get better returns somewhere else: investing in themselves.

Watch below:

Is Altucher's advice right for you?

If you're young and you work at a company that doesn't offer a 401(k) contribution match, almost definitely.

Just look at Ian Ayres' and Quinn Curtis' paper, "Beyond Diversification: The Pervasive Problem of Excessive Fees and Dominated Funds in 401(k) Plans."

The February 2014 study found that 16 percent of 401(k)s charged such high management fees that they wiped out any tax advantage for young employees.

More than half of 401(k)s boast "dominated funds" — horrible investments for which a cheaper or better-performing alternative exists — the study found.

The one advantage 401(k)s do have over individual retirement accounts: higher contribution limits.

But if you can't go past $5,500 in a year and you're not getting a company match, you might want to ditch your 401(k).

Follow Zach Noble (@thezachnoble) on Twitter

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