Maximizing Your 401(k), and Is Retirement Bad for Your Brain?

Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing

The Motley Fool

Investing, Business

4.3 • 3.1K Ratings

🗓️ 9 May 2026

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you’re like most working Americans, your No. 1 strategy for accumulating enough money to retire is by contributing to a defined-contribution plan such as a 401(k), 403(b), or the federal Thrift Savings Plan. Consequently, when you retire will depend largely on how well you manage your account. Robert Brokamp provides 11 tips for making the most of your employer-sponsored retirement plan. Also in this episode:-The S&P 500 is near all-time highs, but small caps and international stocks are doing even better so far in 2026.-A new study finds that retiring before 65 may accelerate cognitive decline.-The U.S. government’s debt-to-GDP ratio is now over 100%, nearing the all-time high set after the end of World War II. Host: Robert BrokampEngineer: Bart Shannon Disclosure: Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. The Motley Fool and its affiliates (collectively, “TMF”) do not endorse, recommend, or verify the accuracy or completeness of the statements made within advertisements. TMF is not involved in the offer, sale, or solicitation of any securities advertised herein and makes no representations regarding the suitability, or risks associated with any investment opportunity presented. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult with legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. TMF assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages arising from this advertisement.We’re committed to transparency: All personal opinions in advertisements from Fools are their own. The product advertised in this episode was loaned to TMF and was returned after a test period or the product advertised in this episode was purchased by TMF. Advertiser has paid for the sponsorship of this episode.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Making the most of your 401k and does retirement make your brain decay? That and more on this Saturday
0:07.8	personal finance edition of the Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing podcast. I'm Robert Brokamb,
0:18.7	but this week I lay out 11 steps to making sure you're maximizing the value of your work-based retirement plan.
0:23.6	But first up, some headlines that caught my eye this past week.
0:26.8	The SB 500 is up 6.4% so far this year, while the S&P 600 index of small caps is up 15.7%.
0:34.7	And the Futsi Global All-Cap XUS index of international stocks is up 10.6%.
0:41.3	And I came across a couple of articles this week on both of these asset classes that I thought
0:45.3	were worth highlighting. The first was published on wealthmanagement.com and comes from Larry Swedro.
0:50.3	He points out that the so-called small cap premium, and that's the amount that small
0:54.6	companies have historically outperformed large companies, seems to have disappeared in recent years,
0:59.3	and many have questioned whether it actually ever existed. Larry cites a study from the Bridgeway
1:04.4	Capital Management Group, which argues that the problem isn't the premium itself, but how we
1:09.5	define small cap.
1:16.8	Their key insight, two groups are dragging down returns at obscuring a premium that is actually robust and persistent. The first group were labeled Fallen Angels, which are former large
1:21.1	caps that recently crashed in value. If you take out the stocks that became Fallen Angels over
1:26.5	the traveling for years, the returns
1:28.4	of small caps improve by 1.57% annually since 1960.
1:34.0	And the other group is new market entrants like IPOs, SPACs, spin-offs, which tend to underperform
1:40.3	often by 2% to nearly 6% per year.
1:43.8	Moving on to international stocks, a recent article from Morning Stars, Christine Benz,
1:47.1	pointed out that after years underperformance, non-U.S. stocks surged in 2025,
1:52.4	returning 32% for the year compared to 18% for U.S. stocks.
	...

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