Investing megathread extravaganza

[DaFace]

A place to talk about investing stuff.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Back to investing.

I am self employed and am needing to set up an additional Roth IRA. I have one through a company a buddy of mine works for. I told him I'd give it a shot. It's meh. I'm going to do one that works on my terms.

Since this is self directed, I'm looking for the following:
1. Lowest overhead/fees - cost essentially. I won't be running a lot of trades so I'm not as concerned with commission, but I need the cost to be low.

2. Convenience - I'm busy as ****. I need to make something happen with a low time commitment. I'm disciplined enough I don't necessarily need direct deposit, but it wouldn't be a bad look. I just don't want to **** with this thing during the busy season.

Anybody have experience with any companies out there?

I use Etrade , no fee for Mutual funds from Etrade as far as I can tell, I just set one up for my daughter 6 months ago.You can use their research to find one you like.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by lewdog

So you have a ROTH IRA already but want another one?

Vanguard probably meets what you want. Numerous, low cost funds with excellent track records.

If you are unsure or don't want to make many moves, simply buy into a target date fund and it resets your allocation (stocks/bonds) for you as you age.

Thanks!

Do you have an account there? I looked into them after doing a case study in college round about a million years ago. (Which is an amazing advertising tool - put your case study in a business textbook). I know their funds are typically well represented in the performance listings, but was apprehensive because they only used Vanguard funds. Has it been a problem for you?

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Hog Farmer

I use Etrade , no fee for Mutual funds from Etrade as far as I can tell, I just set one up for my daughter 6 months ago.You can use their research to find one you like.

That sounds good. I didn't think about Etrade allowing Roth's.

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Thanks!

Do you have an account there? I looked into them after doing a case study in college round about a million years ago. (Which is an amazing advertising tool - put your case study in a business textbook). I know their funds are typically well represented in the performance listings, but was apprehensive because they only used Vanguard funds. Has it been a problem for you?

I edited my post above after I think you saw it. Can you answer those for me? Why have another ROTH? Your total contribution for the year will be the same regardless of how many accounts you have.

My wife's ROTH IRA is through Vanguard. They have the lowest fees of any mutual fund company, plenty of options. You can buy individual stocks for $7 for the first 25 trades and I think and that rests every year (but you'll have to check that, maybe not). I have my ROTH through TRowePrice, mostly because my dad started it there for me when I was in middle school. Their fees are more but they have more specialty funds to choose from, although I've thought about moving it over to Vanguard as well due to fees being cheaper. Cheap fees for retirement planning is my preferred method of investing! My 401k through work offers some Vanguard index funds and that's where I park most of my money.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by lewdog

I edited my post above after I think you saw it. Can you answer those for me? Why have another ROTH? Your total contribution for the year will be the same regardless of how many accounts you have.

My wife's ROTH IRA is through Vanguard. They have the lowest fees of any mutual fund company, plenty of options. You can buy individual stocks for $7 for the first 25 trades and I think and that rests every year (but you'll have to check that, maybe not). I have my ROTH through TRowePrice, mostly because my dad started it there for me when I was in middle school. Their fees are more but they have more specialty funds to choose from, although I've thought about moving it over to Vanguard as well due to fees being cheaper. Cheap fees for retirement planning is my preferred method of investing! My 401k through work offers some Vanguard index funds and that's where I park most of my money.

Cool man. The one I have is through NY Life. It's not through work. It's just wonky. I haven't been happy with it, figured I'd start one and see if my yields are any better before I roll it out of there. If I even can with life insurance companies weird ass products.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

That sounds good. I didn't think about Etrade allowing Roth's.

Let me be clear , I just invested her money in a mutual fund ,not specifically a Roth but there was no fee for the investment through Etrade.

[Demonpenz]

I have a roth at work and a roth from edward jones. Edward Jones costs 40 dollars a year but you can poke around as many questions as you want. I wanted a real pro to look at my money just to give me peace of mind I am doing everything I can to ser up my future.

[Buehler445]

Thanks HF

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Originally Posted by Demonpenz

I have a roth at work and a roth from edward jones. Edward Jones costs 40 dollars a year but you can poke around as many questions as you want. I wanted a real pro to look at my money just to give me peace of mind I am doing everything I can to ser up my future.

Bingo, That's how I used my daughters money. she has Money in Edward Jones donated from Grandma so I visit with them to get suggestions and then buy through Etrade. Edward Jones charges 2% in and 2% out.

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Cool man. The one I have is through NY Life. It's not through work. It's just wonky. I haven't been happy with it, figured I'd start one and see if my yields are any better before I roll it out of there. If I even can with life insurance companies weird ass products.

Yea, I am sure the ones through them aren't great funds and probably fairly expensive.

Vanguard also lets you trade their Vanguard ETFs free, as much as you want, if you have an account with them as well. This is about 55 free ETFs. Obviously, buying into their mutual funds in your ROTH is free as well.

[Demonpenz]

Originally Posted by lewdog

I edited my post above after I think you saw it. Can you answer those for me? Why have another ROTH? Your total contribution for the year will be the same regardless of how many accounts you have.

My wife's ROTH IRA is through Vanguard. They have the lowest fees of any mutual fund company, plenty of options. You can buy individual stocks for $7 for the first 25 trades and I think and that rests every year (but you'll have to check that, maybe not). I have my ROTH through TRowePrice, mostly because my dad started it there for me when I was in middle school. Their fees are more but they have more specialty funds to choose from, although I've thought about moving it over to Vanguard as well due to fees being cheaper. Cheap fees for retirement planning is my preferred method of investing! My 401k through work offers some Vanguard index funds and that's where I park most of my money.

my line thinking is have a roth from work with whateber funds they do and then have the Lewdog of St joe from Edward Jones do the other roth. Hopefully if one preforms like shit the other one will preform less shitty. Also guy can direct you to the stocks with lowest fees and show you different stuffm Yeah he may be pushing shit onto me but like I said one day my gut said I need to talk to a pro and make mistakes so I can learn

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by Demonpenz

my line thinking is have a roth from work with whateber funds they do and then have the Lewdog of St joe from Edward Jones do the other roth. Hopefully if one preforms like shit the other one will preform less shitty. Also guy can direct you to the stocks with lowest fees and show you different stuffm Yeah he may be pushing shit onto me but like I said one day my gut said I need to talk to a pro and make mistakes so I can learn

To each his own.

I much prefer to decide where my money is going and what I am investing in, not someone else's thought who has no stake in what happens to me. No reason people can't read about expense ratios, compare gains of 1/5/10 year spans on funds and decide where to put their money. The online charts let you sort by fees, gains, etc. It's easy to see what's been hot, cold or cheap. There's plenty of ways to passively invest and not get eaten up by fees that firms may charge you (Index funds). I don't trust Jack Schidt at Edward Jones to somehow know more than me. And if Jack Schidt provides me with little growth, on top of his fees, I am really ****ing far behind the curve. Many have little training at these big investment places, especially if you are dealing with small accounts. Then again, many people have no idea how to invest, so something IS better than nothing for many I suppose.

I don't think Buehler falls into that category though.

I don't see a need for two ROTH accounts either, unless a ROTH is the only option your employer allows and the funds offered aren't that great. A 401k for work and a single ROTH IRA account on your own is a simply way to manage multiple funds and allocations.

[Cornstock]

Originally Posted by lewdog

So you have a ROTH IRA already but want another one? This is a bit confusing as your total contribution limit for the year won't change by adding another one. I'd just up your contribution to your work one if that's the case, to max it out.

Vanguard probably meets what you want. Numerous, low cost funds with excellent track records.

If you are unsure or don't want to make many moves, simply buy into a target date fund and it resets your allocation (stocks/bonds) for you as you age.

Lewdog is exactly right, your contribution limit is 5500 per year (6500 if you're old enough for catch-up) combined between any IRAs you have. Vanguard is a great way to go with no cost traded for their funds (which perform great and track their indexes closer than spyder or ishares etc in most cases) with the added value of having microscopic annual overhead.

ETFs track an index on an automated level rather than having a person do it so they will have a lower expense ratio, with intraday liquidity if that is of value to you. a mutual find can only be traded at the end of the day, so if a disaster happens in the morning and you want to sell out, you have to wait until the end of the day to cash out.

If you want to be slightly more aggressive and only invested in equities rather than an equity/debt split (i.e. target date funds) you should look into one of the many S&P 500 indexes funds they offer. They all have a slightly different strategy. for example, higher dividend paying S&P stocks (vym) or growth stocks (voog, vug). Some are geared towards larger companies vs smaller companies.

Vanguard is a great way to go for the investor who is limited in the amount of research time they can put in. You can be adequately educated in only a few hours of reading the differences in the funds strategies. All the while being the least expensive option out there.

I think this is what you are looking for.

(investments may lose value, returns are not guaranteed)

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by lewdog

To each his own.

I much prefer to decide where my money is going and what I am investing in, not someone else's thought who has no stake in what happens to me. No reason people can't read about expense ratios, compare gains of 1/5/10 year spans on funds and decide where to put their money. The online charts let you sort by fees, gains, etc. It's easy to see what's been hot, cold or cheap. There's plenty of ways to passively invest and not get eaten up by fees that firms may charge you (Index funds). I don't trust Jack Schidt at Edward Jones to somehow know more than me. And if Jack Schidt provides me with little growth, on top of his fees, I am really ****ing far behind the curve. Many have little training at these big investment places, especially if you are dealing with small accounts. Then again, many people have no idea how to invest, so something IS better than nothing for many I suppose.

I don't think Buehler falls into that category though.

I don't see a need for two ROTH accounts either, unless a ROTH is the only option your employer allows and the funds offered aren't that great. A 401k for work and a single ROTH IRA account on your own is a simply way to manage multiple funds and allocations.

The Roth I have isn't what you think it is. I just rolled my Cabela's 401 into it and haven't really messed with it since. It's not like I'm going to be splitting contributions between the two. I just needed to get it rolled and I figured I'd see what this guy could do for me. Now I'm trying to do better. And that's the other side of it. I want to make sure my self directed stuff will outperform it. If not I just as well not mess with it.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Cornstock

Lewdog is exactly right, your contribution limit is 5500 per year (6500 if you're old enough for catch-up) combined between any IRAs you have. Vanguard is a great way to go with no cost traded for their funds (which perform great and track their indexes closer than spyder or ishares etc in most cases) with the added value of having microscopic annual overhead.

ETFs track an index on an automated level rather than having a person do it so they will have a lower expense ratio, with intraday liquidity if that is of value to you. a mutual find can only be traded at the end of the day, so if a disaster happens in the morning and you want to sell out, you have to wait until the end of the day to cash out.

If you want to be slightly more aggressive and only invested in equities rather than an equity/debt split (i.e. target date funds) you should look into one of the many S&P 500 indexes funds they offer. They all have a slightly different strategy. for example, higher dividend paying S&P stocks (vym) or growth stocks (voog, vug). Some are geared towards larger companies vs smaller companies.

Vanguard is a great way to go for the investor who is limited in the amount of research time they can put in. You can be adequately educated in only a few hours of reading the differences in the funds strategies. All the while being the least expensive option out there.

I think this is what you are looking for.

(investments may lose value, returns are not guaranteed)

That is what I'm looking for. Thanks.

LOL @ your disclaimer. I'm not the guy you need to stick that in there for.

As an aside Art Barnaby with KState put on this workshop of how to use options with MPCI as an active hedge. It's a pretty sound strategy. I don't use it but the logic and the math works. So he sticks his slideshow up there and on the first slide in giant letters is "Do not use this program if you have not lost money trading options".

Not have traded options, understand options, understand risk and capitalization, are understand the purpose of a hedge, are prepared for margin calls, none of that stuff. You have to have lost money. Made me chuckle.