I’d also disagree with #1, because the whole point of a target date retirement fund is to “set it and forget it”. Someone who chooses a retirement date of say 2030 isn’t going to care what his retirement fund does tomorrow, 10 years for now etc. If they do, then they would of never of picked a target retirement date to begin with.

As far as #3 goes, I’d day it’s a toss-up.

I personally don’t agree with using these funds, just because I like to be more hands on and these target funds can not give you the extreme risk you want. Now, if you allocate 20% to a target date fund, then you have 80% which you can invest in emerging markets, tech, blue chips etc.

The bottom line is a target date retirement fund is simply a fund for people who don’t want to manage their money, but want something they can choose and lock in, which will mature 5, 10, 20, 30 or more years down the road.

For people who don’t want to manage their money, they can pick one of these funds, and it should grow at a steady pace, probably similar to the S&P 500 over the long term.