Decided to finally start a retirement fund at age 27. I went through New York Life for a Roth IRA. Met with the agent today who is a shooter, member of the NRA and an officer at one of the local gun clubs, so I knew it was a guy I could trust. Anyways most of this stuff is over my head so I needed an agent that could guide me through the process and help a long the way. Going to be putting away about $250 a month into the IRA and they are going to be a little more aggressive with my contributions for "MainStay" mutual funds. Sound like a solid plan?

https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/index.php

Start reading.

I'm not entirely convinced the gubmint will be able to keep its filthy mitts off Roth IRAs.  

You could have just opened up a tradeking account and squirreled away your 5500 a year, and just buy a sp500 index fund.

Yea well I don't understand any of this shit and if I did that I'd probably end up pissing my money away. But I will check it out anyways. I haven't signed anything for the Roth IRA yet. Was planning on doing that next week.

Opening this Roth account I'll have at least have somebody who knows what they are doing with my mutual funds/etc.

Put the max amount into the Roth IRA, $5,500 a year.  It comes out to $458.33 a month.

Do you have a 401K through work?

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If you dont have an account with Vanguard - you are paying too much.

You got started good. Now get started learning all about it.  The more you save at an early age the better you will end up.


There are many options. Land they are not making any more of it .  Drips,  rent property, living below you means etc.

Good luck you have done the hardest part you got started!

No 401k. I really cannot afford the $458.33 per month as I am trying to get into my first house this year.



That's the way I look at it. At least I got started. I was talking to him and he has some 40 and 50 year olds going to him that are looking to start a retirement account and at that point there is really no help.

Remember, feds just wanted to start taxing 529 plans and decided not to because of the hell that was raised. They will try it again to help the women and children and anyone wlse that will get them re-elected.

Congratulations, you are giving your money away to .gov. Hundreds of politicians and millions of FSA thank you.

Bale out, bale out. You want to invest in mutual funds, that part is fine but NYLife takes too big of a commission for the funds. Life Insurance Companies really take advantage of their customers and charge large commissions. Go ahead and set up a small account, then go down to Ed Jones or another broker and tell them you want to buy some growth mutual funds. In both cases let them explain their fee and commission structure, then you can decide who is best.

You know the fees are set by the mutual fund company right? Jones will offer an "A" share fund with American Funds with a 5.25% load and probably a $75 a year maintenance fee. The annual expense ratio will probably be .50% to 1.%, that's what American Funds will charge annually.


The NYL person will offer something similar.

edit- cschaeff is correct if NYL recommends you pay another fee for a financial plan. Walk away if that happens.

I'm really just afraid of losing all the money I am putting in there.

Vanguard is what you seek.

Does Vanguard offer adviser services? Like I'd sign up for an IRA and they would have someone who goes and picks the funds and all the bullshit for me?

If you want safer funds, I'd suggest fidelity and their 2050 or 2060 fund... Nothing to pick, just shove money in and wait. Max out your Roth in any way you can though 460/mo, its the least you can do if you're not doing a 401k or other employer sponsored plan.

Truth.  My dad's money manager took me on for free, if that weren't the case I would have gone with Vanguard.

Be careful with a house.  They can be money pits with unexpected expenses.  Make sure you are going to be in the area for 5+ years.  A house ties you down and may make it harder to change jobs.  Buy a house below your means so you aren't "house poor", meaning you are putting a lot of money into the mortgage/mortgage insurance/insurance/property taxes/new furnace/etc.  




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I use Smart401K and have been VERY pleased with their quarterly recommendations based on my risk tolerance. Very happy with a steady return and it's pretty worry free. Re balance according to their recommendations every Quarter and that's it. Change your risk tolerance whenever.

You're also not making as much as you should.

We all are.  But the good news is that you can still buy metal, property, and live frugally at the same time.

From what I've seen locally EdJones fees are crazy and they get everything up front. Of course I don't know if they are all like that.

They do... Only if you have over a million with them though

Fidelity is great too.

thank you for your valuable contribution.

ar-jedi

this is why proper asset allocation is critical.

Ferri, All About Asset Allocation
http://www.amazon.com/About-Asset-Allocation-Second-Edition/dp/0071700781

probably the most important text anyone could read. it's not a math book, it simply explains why asset allocation is the single greatest influence on risk and return, and how to balance the two.

ar-jedi

Concur.  I expect government to change the rules and allow for IRAs to be converted to government securites.  Full faith & guarantee of the US Government  I'd rather spend my money on toilet paper.  At least it's useful.

And that would be the dumbest post of the day.



 

an IRA is a type of tax-advantaged account, into which one puts investments.  (think of it as an empty drinking glass).
a "government security" is a type of investment.  (think of it as orange juice).

so, you are expecting the "government to change the rules and allow for IRAs to be converted to government securites" -- which is basically saying a drinking glass would be converted into orange juice.

ok.

ar-jedi

How would they do that if my IRA is invested in real estate?

This is important!  Investment managers make money off of fees.  Sometimes those fees are high, Vanguard is not.

RF

Not to mention that the stock market (one investment option for IRA funds) relies on supply and demand for prices. If the government were to sweep up all of the stocks, the supply and demand would be gone and prices would evaporate.

Ar-Jedi and others - we were once a nation of laws.  Back in the Reagan era people went to jail for white collar crimes.  That doesn't happen today and I wouldn't put anything past the government and those who can buy the legislation they want.

 
Spoken like a dude who knows nothing about Roth IRAs.  Lol


 

Meh, they'll be dipping into everything.






I thinks Roth IRAs may be the last in line.

I believe they will eventually force people over a certain age to put a portion of their retirement account(s) in T bills or something.  For their own good.  But I still have faith and contribute to my retirement account, because I don't believe they're stupid enough to wage total war on old people's money.  

So why did the conversation deviate from Roths?

What's the downfall other than the "my IRA is better" approach?

ok, you folks are co-mingling at least three different issues here.

an IRA (whether Roth or Traditional) -- as noted above -- is a TYPE OF TAX-ADVANTAGED ACCOUNT.  other types of tax-advantaged accounts include 401k, 403b, TSP, and so on.  these sorts of accounts are administered by "custodians", of which there are hundreds including local banks, brokerage houses, insurance companies, and so on.  

1)
"opening an IRA" is the process of setting up the account.  Vanguard, Fidelity, T.Rowe Price, and other IRA custodians all offer "no annual fee" IRAs.  that is, the act of setting up the account and maintaining the account (sending you statements, etc) is no charge to you.  OP: at the minimum, your IRA custodian should not be charging you to set up an account, nor should they be charging you an annual fee to maintain the account.

2)
investments are made "within the account".  what investment products are chosen define the makeup of the IRA (this is one part of a process called "asset allocation").  your IRA could contain cash-equivalent, stocks, bonds, mutual funds (including index funds), bond funds, and several other types of investment products.  with respect to costs (one time and recurring), it makes a huge difference on what is purchased AND how they are purchased (more on this in a moment).  for example, if you open an IRA before April 15th and contribute the 2014 max ($5500), you could purchase (example) $2500 of an ETF (exchange traded fund) such as SPY for a one-time flat share trading fee of about $8 to $15.  that's it, that's your cost to get into this particular investment.  it will be relatively the same amount at Vanguard, Fidelity, T.Rowe Price, and just about every other "efficient" custodian.  the share trade cost with an IRA maintained at a brick-and-mortar bank will be higher for a couple of reasons.  

other investments will not incur a share trading fee; for example, purchasing an index fund may be "no-fee" but instead that fund incurs internal costs referred to as the expense ratio (ER).  no matter where you buy the fund, these internal costs will be incurred by you, however they are computed within the fund and reflected in the NAV (net asset value) of the fund.  that is, you don't pay them directly.  for example, if you have a Fidelity IRA you can purchase at no fee (via the Fidelity fund supermarket) the Vanguard S&P500 index fund "VFINX".   the ER on VFINX is currently 0.17% -- which is very low and therefore very good.  most of your investment VFINX is working for you, and not paying someone.

OP: the three custodians referenced above have very low share trading costs and offer a plethora of low cost (= low ER) funds, both (managed) mutual and (unmanaged) index.  

3)  
all of the above depends on YOU making investment product buy and sell decisions.  to wit, the "I" in IRA stands for "individual".  nonetheless, some folks either lack the skill or time to make investment product selections.  for this reason advisers exist to assist in investment decisions or completely manage your account.  they are not doing this for free, however.  they are getting paid, either up front (via a sales "load" on a fund for example) or continuously (via a percentage of AUM -- assets under management) or IN SOME OTHER WAY.  but they are getting paid -- trust me on this they are not doing work for free.  

OP: if you decide to use an adviser, i HIGHLY RECOMMEND using a person chartered as a "fee-only" financial planner.  google this term, understand how a "fee-only" financial planner differs from other types, and why it is beneficial TO YOU FINANCIALLY to disconnect the advice-giving from the product-selling.  this is very important.

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/102014/feeonly-financial-advisers-what-you-need-know.asp
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/money101/lesson15/index5.htm
http://www.napfa.org/

ar-jedi

read the OP's question and then look at what you have written above in your two posts in this thread.  don't shit on his thread.  start you own thread complaining about the world.  

ar-jedi

i pulled together some links for you.  you should read these.

1. the difference between taxable and tax-advantaged accounts:
https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1628800__ARCHIVED_THREAD____I_need_to_start_saving_for_retirement___Where_do_I_start_.html&page=1#i47482466

2. the difference between an account (such as an IRA, or 401k, or brokerage, etc) and an investment (such as stocks, mutual funds, etc):
https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1669572__ARCHIVED_THREAD____If_you_had_1k_to_invest.html&page=3#i49571557
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read the last paragraphs of that post !!!


3. what a "fund supermarket" is, and why its a huge advantage to open an IRA with Fidelity, Vanguard, or T.RowePrice -- all of whom have huge fund supermarkets
https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1628800__ARCHIVED_THREAD____I_need_to_start_saving_for_retirement___Where_do_I_start_.html&page=1#i47482651

4. how to transfer an IRA from one custodian to another:
https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1669572__ARCHIVED_THREAD____If_you_had_1k_to_invest.html&page=3#i49571729


5. examples on how to run asset allocation analysis using free online tools:
https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1672620__ARCHIVED_THREAD____Vanguard__Fidelity__TD_Ameritrade_or_another__For_IRAs__small_time_investing_and_speculating_for_fun.html&page=1#i49685150

6. how cash works INSIDE an IRA or other account (aka "sweep position") including an example featuring Howler Monkeys
https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1672620__ARCHIVED_THREAD____Vanguard__Fidelity__TD_Ameritrade_or_another__For_IRAs__small_time_investing_and_speculating_for_fun.html&page=1#i49699589

7. advanced topics: conversion of IRAs from one type to another
https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1672620__ARCHIVED_THREAD____Vanguard__Fidelity__TD_Ameritrade_or_another__For_IRAs__small_time_investing_and_speculating_for_fun.html&page=1#i49707422

ar-jedi

Keep laughing, I don't mind. I would rather pay a 15-30% tax on my Roth IRA funds when I retire than lose money by keeping it in the bank or as gold bricks under the bed. Since opening a Roth 10 years ago and fully funding it for the past 8-9, I have more than doubled all my contributions. How are the toilet paper futures looking?

Then again, you may have the last laugh when the government taxes my Roth by a criminal percentage in order to pay for those that failed to prepare for the future (and blew all their money on toilet paper instead of wise investments).

Sure, except he would pay income tax on money he takes out of it after he is 59 1/2, but why would that matter.  

I believe you can open a roth ira with tradeking...if not theres scottrade, etrade, etc....

Dude 401ks are free money if your company will match a certain percentage.  If your company does NOT match than why the fuck are you working there.

I have all my 401k funds going into a Roth through work. I contribute the max that is matched by the company, 7%.

I'm 51 and have already retired once so my circumstances are much different than yours.

The important thing is that you are contributing, do what you can afford and pretend that it's not there.

The standard Vanguard Target Retirement funds seem to have a long track record with good return. What is your thought putting everything in one of these?

Get an index fund and don't waste your money.

20 years of stupid talking here.

DON'T be afraid...at this point in your life you need to take more risks...once you get near retiring scale back your risk profile.