Q&A: Mal Voya(ge)

Q:

How do you like ING funds,for a 401k?

A:

The Dutch financial firm recently decided that ING wasn't a great name for its American subsidiary. So, they hired some expensive branding firm to make up a new totally American name, Voya (which somehow sounds vaguely Latin). Now the ING funds are the Voya funds. New name, same mediocrity (and I'm being generous). The Voya funds sport commissions, high-fees and generally underperform their benchmarks.

Any ethical 401k trustee would have eliminated these before they ever got close to an actual plan. Odds are, their inclusion in your 401k was due to a personal relationship that someone in your firm has with a Voya salesperson.

If you can, bid these funds a hasty "bon voyage" and use almost anything else. If they are your only choice, fund you 401k only to the extent that contributions are matched and then concentrate on funding a nice Roth IRA with Vanguard.