$($Complete questions $1,3,4,$ and $5$ and show full work$)$ You recently graduated from college, and your job search led you to East Coast Yachts. Because you felt the company$$s business was seaworthy, you accepted a job offer. The first day on the job, while you are finishing your employment paperwork, Dan Ervin, who works in finance, stops by to inform you about the company$$s $401($k$)$ plan.

A $401($k$)$ plan is a retirement plan offered by many companies. Such plans are tax$-$deferred savings vehicles, meaning that any deposits you make into the plan are deducted from your current pretax income, so no current taxes are paid on the money. For example, assume your salary will be $$50,000$ per year. If you contribute $$3,000$ to the $401($k$)$ plan, you will only pay taxes on $$47,000$ in income. There are also no page $314$taxes paid on any capital gains or income while you are invested in the plan, but you do pay taxes when you withdraw money at retirement. As is fairly common, the company also has a $5$ percent match. This means that the company will match your contribution up to $5$ percent of your salary, but you must contribute to get the match.

The $401($k$)$ plan has several options for investments, most of which are mutual funds. A mutual fund is a portfolio of assets. When you purchase shares in a mutual fund, you are actually purchasing partial ownership of the fund$$s assets. The return of the fund is the weighted average of the return of the assets owned by the fund, minus any expenses. The largest expense is typically the management fee, paid to the fund manager. The management fee is compensation for the manager, who makes all of the investment decisions for the fund.

East Coast Yachts uses Bledsoe Financial Services as its $401($k$)$ plan administrator. The investment options offered for employees are discussed below.