Red Hat 401k Plan PSDS Scan 12-31-2011

The Red Hat 401k Plan options are mostly from Fidelity the Plan trustee. The Balanced portfolio invested less than 5% of Plan assets in any equity option including company stock RHT. The stock has a nice 5yr APR over 12% but is very volatile which reduced the 5yr average return from 25% to 12% as volatility always does. Volatile growth company stock in a 401k is a difficult issue for those nearing retirement. The Balanced portfolio invested only 3.1% of the portfolio in RHT. This 401k has above average investment options that produced only average returns the last 5 years. I have no information on the employee portfolio.

Pentair 401k (RSSIP) Plan PSDS Scan 12-31-2011

The Pentair 401k Plan got a boost yesterday when company stock PNR was up over 6% on news of a large acquisition.That does not happen often if ever in most 401k profit sharing plans. In this case the Pentair employee portfolio had 19.2% of their portfolio in company stock. The Balanced portfolio had only 2.3% in company stock and it has a modest 5yr APR of only 3.46%.The 2 largest holdings in the Balanced portfolio were JCBRX (49.2%)  a bond fund and FMIP2 (30%) a stable value fund from Fidelity. As nice as yesterday was for employees those near retirement need to invest more of their portfolio in income options in my opinion.

Praxair 401k (RSP) Plan PSDS Scan 12-31-2011

The Praxair 401k continues to be helped by company stock PX and the Balanced portfolio invested 10.2% of the portfolio in the stock this year. The employee and Balanced portfolio are about the same as last year with small incremental improvement in both. The employee portfolio has much less invested in bond funds than the Balanced portfolio and a bit more in the stable value fund FMIP in the scan. This plan is about average and company stock is above average but volatile.

Watson Pharmaceuticals 401k Plan PSDS Scan 12-31-2011

On 1-1-2011 Watson Pharmaceuticals made Charles Schwab the 401k Plan trustee and custodian and announced that future contributions would be directed to Schwab Retirement Services. This is described in the SEC 11-k report. At the start of the transition the 401k Plan was almost all in cash and cash equivalents.The scan posted here is my best effort at interpreting the SEC 11-k report changes. About all I know for sure is that company stock WPI has done very well the last 5 years and the Balanced portfolio invested 16.4% of the Plan in company stock. More on all this next year.

Oak Ridge 401k (CM) Plan PSDS Scan 12-31-2011

The Oak Ridge National Lab 401k Plan investment options are 4 asset allocation model portfolios consisting of 7 mutual funds provided by Charles Schwab the service provider. In this scan the employee portfolio is the Conservative Model (CM) that is similar to the Balanced portfolio in that 70% of the portfolio is invested in a stable value fund SVF.hpx and a Wells Fargo domestic bond fund WTRZX. The other 30% is invested in the equity options NFJEX, AIVSX, AGTHX and AEPGX that add to a prudent asset allocation for the long term in my opinion.

Range Resources 401k Plan PSDS Scan 12-31-2011

This 401k continues to be helped by company stock RRC and the Balanced portfolio invested 5.4% in the stock which is volatile. The employee portfolio invested 41.3% in the stock. That is too much for a retiree and most others. Many plans limit company stock holdings to 20% or less. The stable value fund SVF.hpx in the scan is the largest holding in the Balanced portfolio and second largest in the employee portfolio. All in all a good plan with an above average 5yr APR of 6.23% with a Sharpe ratio of 1.68.

ConAgra 401k Plan (RISP) PSDS Scan 12-31-2011

The ConAgra 401k has changed little from last year. The Balanced portfolio this year has only 3 investments over 5% of Plan; VIPSX, VBMFX and FRTXX all income investment options. Company stock CAG is 2.0% of that portfolio and 22.2% of the employee portfolio. It is their largest holding. The Plan has a GIC investment but it is not Participant directed and is not in the scan. The Balanced portfolio 5yr APR of 5.14% with a Sharpe ratio of 1.64 is about average for 401k Plans.

Goldman Sachs 401k Plan PSDS Scan 12-31-2011

The Goldman Sachs 401k Plan investment options are little changed from last year. Company stock GS has done poorly the last 5 years and is not in the Balanced portfolio. The largest holding in that portfolio and the employee portfolio is the stable value fund SVF.hpx in the scan. Neither portfolio has much invested in the 401k Plan equity options that as you can see have not done well the last 5 years. This Plan could use a few 5star equity options. The current 401k is below average as is the stock.

Healthcare Services Group 401k Plan PSDS Scan 12-31-2011

This 401k Plan has not changed a lot from last year's scan. Company stock HCSG has a nice 5yr APR of 10.04% and the STD is 22.04%.  I still like this Plan and stock and hope the PEG ratio drops a bit so I can afford to buy a few shares. The employee portfolio 5yr APR is only 1.72% and they invested less in HCSG than the Balanced portfolio. Interesting. Their largest holding is the money market fund PINXX which serves as a stable value fund I suppose but it does not compare well with the Hueler stable value fund index.

H.J. Heinz 401k (ERSP) PSDS Scan 12-31-2011

The Heinz 401k continues to be helped by company stock HNZ but not as much as last year. While it was up in 2011 it was not up as much as in 2006 bringing down the 5yr return. The Balanced portfolio invested 9.8% in the stock and the employee portfolio invested 18.2% in the stock. The Plan has several very good investment options but 2011 was not very kind to mutual funds. As you can see in the scan the portfolio cloud of points has dropped a bit compared to last year. This is a good 401k Plan and stock but both are in a market still trying to recover from 2008.

SAIC Inc. 401k (RP) Plan PSDS Scan 12-31-2011

The SAIC 401k is a Vanguard Plan with several good options and a not very good company stock SAI. The stock now has 5yr market data and every year since the IPO save the first has been down. The Balanced portfolio invested over 5% of plan in 7 income options but no equity options were over 5% of Plan. The employee portfolio's largest holding is company stock. If you are nearing retirement you may want to shift some money into the Balanced portfolio holdings.

NewMarket 401k (SP) Plan PSDS Scan 12-31-2011

The NewMarket 401k Plan continues to be helped by company stock NEU which is very volatile. This year the SEC 11-k report shows a second stock ALB in the Plan and there were a few other changes from last year. In the scan the stable value fund is VRST5 and it is the largest holding in the Balanced portfolio. Company stock NEU is the largest holding in the employee portfolio and the stable value fund is second largest. A good 401k Plan and a good but very volatile company stock. Keep in mind volatility kills compounding.