Account	This month		2026 Cumulative Amount
	KRW	USD	KRW	USD
Pension Saving Fund	–	–	6.0M	–
ISA	–		–
IRP	–		3.0M
Roth IRA	–	$2,500	–	$7,500
Total	–	$2,500	9.0M	$7,500

ETF		Month-over-Month Change		Qty		Target	%
KODEX S&P500		0		4,750		10,000	47.5%
KODEX NASDAQ100		0		3,952		8,000	49.4%
TIGER TDF2045		0		705		1,500	47.0%
VOO		4		53		300	17.6%

I added the remaining $2,500 to my Roth account and officially maxed out this year’s contribution limit of $7,500.

As the exchange rate climbed past 1,500 KRW per USD, I updated the Y-axis maximum of my USD/KRW chart to 1,600. 1,500… I still can’t quite believe it.

From the perspective of someone earning in foreign currency, a stronger dollar is generally a good thing.

But right now, I need to move some KRW into the U.S., so this high exchange rate feels frustrating.

If that weren’t the case, I probably would have exchanged more currency and picked up some Korean stocks to hold long term.

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At work, we’re currently reviewing a 401(k) provider (U.S. retirement plan).

I got involved partway through the process, but by then the provider had already been selected.

As I dug into the details, I noticed that while the setup cost was low, the expense ratios of the available funds were extremely high—around 1.35% to 1.8% annually.

Worse, those fees are charged not on the principal, but on the portfolio’s evaluated value each year.

These funds don’t even beat the S&P 500 and come with higher volatility—so charging that level of fees just didn’t make sense to me.

I pushed back and, as a Boglehead, suggested we should look for a different provider.

After researching alternatives, I found another provider with slightly higher setup costs but significantly lower fund expense ratios (as low as 0.015% annually)

Naturally, I recommended the latter.

But the response I got was essentially: “How much difference can 1.xx% really make?”

It was frustrating, but I stayed calm and decided to present objective data.

Using Excel with a Claude plugin, I set up a comparison:

• Assumed annual return: 15% for both funds
• Fund A fee: 1.38%
• Fund B fee: 0.015%
• Annual investment: $10,000
• Time horizon: 20 years

I generated a table and graph comparing the final portfolio value and total fees paid.

After fixing a few template and formula issues, the results turned into a pretty compelling dataset.

Now I’m waiting for feedback. Let’s see how it goes.