December 29, 1997

Q. I am a 26-year-old single female, earning $30,000 a year. I contribute 15 percent of my salary to a 401(k) plan, and also invest $100 monthly in Janus Worldwide fund. I plan to increase that to at least $200. I hope that around age 65 a wealthy retirement will be possible. Also, I would like to buy a house by my early 30s. Am I on the right track?

N.D., Taunton

A. How does $1.9 million sound as the basis for a ``wealthy retirement''? At 10 percent average annual growth in the 401(k) account, it would grow to $1,889,382 over 39 years. Of course, if you continue to make your contributions as a percentage of salary, and if you win raises during that period, the figure would be considerably higher.

But of course, the expectation of such accumulations is reasonable only if you have the money invested properly. For your 401(k), you want to invest 100 percent in stocks. Don't worry about the current nutty market, and don't second-guess yourself when things go sour, as they almost certainly will from time to time.

I would put 50 to 60 percent of your 401(k) in a large-cap fund such as a Standard & Poor's Index fund or a growth and income offering, then add 20 percent positions in international and small-cap funds.

As for the taxable savings, if I'm correct that this will be used for your real estate purchase, I think Janus Worldwide is the wrong investment vehicle. Don't get me wrong: It's an excellent fund, and is the kind of thing that would be very good if these were retirement savings.

But it invests nearly all of its assets in stocks, and your investment time frame until your early 30s is simply too short to rely entirely on equities. Read what I wrote to G.O. above, and consider switching to Janus Balanced fund, which maintains a portfolio diversification that's similar to that of Vanguard Balanced Index.