May 8, 2009
I watched my 401K plan fall daily for months. In the evening news, the declines in my stock mutual funds were attributed to hedge funds selling short and driving stock prices down. Hedge funds and short selling appear to adversely impact stock mutual funds. The rules of the 401K permit only a limited number of investment changes within a month. Hedge funds and the tremendous amount of money they move daily have undermined the investment opportunities of the average American. Ultimately, hedge funds' actions will negatively impact savings in 401K's and may create even greater budget problems for the federal government as more Americans retire and do not have adequate savings in their retirement accounts.