401(k) allocation advice please

Hi everyone,

I'm 24 year old working fulltime with no college loan debt. I am currently vesting 12% of my salary into my firm's 401(k) though no match yet from my employment.

I'd like to share my allocation with you and see if I've done my strategy correctly. I'm no finance guru, so any advice would be great.

ML EQUITY INDEX TRUST XIII (index fund S&P500) 25%
ML INTERNATIONAL INDEX CT TR 5 (int'l cap) 22%
ML LARGE CAP VALUE TRUST TR 1 (large cap) 18%
VICTORY INSTIT DIVRSFIED ST FD (large cap) 15%
ML SMALL CAP INDEX CT TIER VII (small cap) 11%
HOTCHKIS&WILEY MID CAP VAL I (mid cap) 3%
MANAGERS AMG ESSEX SML MICRO (micro-small cap) 3%
NTGI QM CT AGG BD INDEX TIER M (bond, fixed income) 3%

Again, I'm 24, so I'm going aggressive. I can increase the small cap% but not sure if that's good idea with economy these days :(

any new suggestions? am i on good track? thank you and happy turkey day!

I like the Kiplinger top 25 when it comes to asset allocation. They have a suggested portfolio for aggressive investors like yourself. If you are a passive investor, use their expertise. Why re-invent the wheel?

If you want to be more of a hands-on investor and you want expert help, try these guys.
www.emtrendadvisors.com

Recognizing you are working with the available funds offered by your 401k, the Kiplinger 25 ( http://www.kiplinger.com/investing/kip25/ ) may be of little help.

You could go to Morning Star for some input to help evaluate the funds you have available: http://www.morningstar.com/homepage/default.aspx

First you should contribute to the 401k plan just enough to qualify for the maximum employer matching. Then contribute the maximum to your ROTH IRA, and if you have a spouse, make sure you have contributed to their ROTH IRA too. One advantage of using an IRA is you have freedom to choose your investment. Then if you still have some money that you want to invest in retirement plans, put more into the 401k plan.

Here are some funds that I use in my ROTH IRA: http://www.smifund.com/

jiwonstr,congrats on taking initiative on your future of building wealth but there is a lot of variables required other than the info presented.More importantly if your firm is not contributing your already in creeper gear going up a steep hill.You should think about a IRA that would gain you more rewards than your current 401K for the simple fact of the rule of 72 @ 12% being your age would gain a greater amount at retirement.By the way if you do a direct rollover,there would be no penalties.
Good luck