Investment Options

"Pick My Investment Mix" by choosing my own investments

The Core Funds are designed for investors who want to be more "hands-on" in building their own diversified portfolio of funds.

There are 15 Core Funds covering most of the major asset classes (investment categories) including stable value, U.S. stock and international stock. You create a mix that you think will best fit your time horizon and risk tolerance, decide what percentage of your Plan contributions will go into each fund and then review and manage your mix over time, making changes when necessary.

As you consider your asset allocation strategy, you should be aware that there is a risk to holding substantial portions of your assets in the securities of any one company, as individual securities tend to have wider price swings than investments in diversified funds.

U.S. Equity Funds
Invest in Funds that buy stocks of U.S.-based companies of different sizes either through an index Fund or an actively managed Fund:

• Large Cap Index Equity Fund
• Small-Mid Cap Equity Fund
• Small-Mid Cap Index Equity Fund
• All Cap Index Equity Fund

Non-U.S. Equity Funds
Invest in stocks of non-U.S.-based companies:

• International All Cap Equity Fund¹
• International Index Equity Fund¹

Non-Traditional Diversified Funds
Invest in Funds that buy commodities, mortgage-backed securities, emerging markets, derivatives, currencies, hedge Funds, precious metals, or real estate:

• Alternative Alpha Fund²
• Real Asset Return Fund

Fixed Income Funds
Invest in fixed income investment Funds that buy individual bonds, other bond Funds, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), CDs and money market Funds:

• Bond Core Plus Fund
• Bond Index Fund
• Stable Asset Return Fund

Retiree-Focused Funds
Invest in Funds that support individuals moving from the savings-focused life stage to stage of nearing or in retirement:

• Capital Preservation Fund
• Income Focused Fund
• Inflation Protection Fund
• Diversified Growth Fund

Index Funds track to an investment benchmark.
Actively managed Funds try to outperform the investment benchmark.

¹ This Fund maintains a transfer policy that restricts an investor’s ability to make more than one transfer into the Fund within any 45-day period.
² Investment elections for contributions by or on behalf of a Participant cannot have more than a 15% allocation to the Alternative Alpha Fund. Transfers into the Alternative Alpha Fund from the Program’s other Funds available under the Collective Trust or the Personal Choice Retirement Account by or on behalf of a Participant are limited to 15% of the total of the aggregate Unit value of all of the Participant’s investments in the Funds as of the time of investment. These limitations are imposed by Mercer as trustee of the Collective Trust in light of the Fund’s investment objectives, non-traditional strategies and non-traditional risks relating to these strategies.

"Experienced Investor"

Check with your Plan Administrator to see if your plan offers this investment option. You will need to enroll in the Program and invest assets in the Core Funds before setting up a self-directed brokerage account.

Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account^® ("PCRA")* is a self-directed brokerage account designed to complement your retirement plan core investments. PCRA gives you greater access to thousands of additional investment choices.

Learn moreopens in new tab about the brokerage option for experienced investors offered through Schwab by the Program.

* Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account (“PCRA”) is offered through Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Member SIPC), the registered broker/dealer, which also provides other brokerage and custody services to its customers.