You Own Too Much Company Stock

Okay, perhaps not you personally but in a recent study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the Investment Company Institute (ICI) it was shown that the average employee has approximately 11% of their portfolio in the stock of their employer. This is a fall from 19% back in 1996 but it’s still waaaaay too much to have in any one company, let alone the one that also sends you a paycheck each pay period.

This also doesn’t take into account the fact that plenty of employer 401k programs don’t even offer company stock. For example, my company doesn’t have company stock and so I can’t invest any of my 401k in it; this means that there are lots of folks investing way more than 11% in their own company. The average of those who actually can invest in company stock have 18% to 21% invested. If 11% is way too much, 18% to 21% is certainly way too much.

Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.