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Should you roll over your 401(k) into a self-directed IRA?
When you change jobs and go from one company to another or retire, you can choose to leave
your money in that company's 401(k) or you can choose to transfer it to an IRA. One reason
you may want to keep your money in a company 401(k) is that you retain the hardship borrowing
privilege, which is not available when you put move to an IRA. Also, if you really like
how your 401(k) has performed, you may want to retain your money there.. However, there
are some very good reasons for transferring your old 401(k) money into an IRA.
First, you have a many more choices with an IRA, thousands of mutual funds and stocks,
for example..
In addition, you can hire a professional money manager to manage your IRA for you.
There are many capable third party money managers available, and they will manage your account
based on your personal tolerance for risk. Hiring a professional money manager can make
a lot of sense if you are not particularly keen on managing your money by yourself or
don't have the time or talent to make the decisions by yourself..
And if you're tired of enduring the ups and downs of the market, you can choose to place
your 401(k) money into safe money instruments like a fixed index annuity IRA which has the
potential for producing higher than average interest rates without the worry of losses
due to stock market declines. With all the possibilities available, many people are finding
it very attractive to move their money out of their old 401(k) and into an IRA.