Not saying your wrong, but this government would just call it what they want. If Obama tells the media that water is actually orange juice, then that's the narrative that gets pushed. They literally just lie so outrageously I put nothing past them.

I just helped my kid, who is still in college, start a ROTH IRA at Vanguard.com.  It literally took like 10 minutes.  We put the money in a Targeted Retirement 2050 mutual fund. 0.18 expense ratio.

I opened my first IRA back in early October 1987.  Remember what happened later that month?  That didn't discourage me.  I started out with nothing and I mean nothing, my kids are going to have it better than me.

Your best investment is an education in a field that is valued in the marketplace, increase your income in order to have money to invest.

Yes.  Total Stock Market Index or S&P500 index.  Done and done.

Edit: If your company matches your 401k contributions in any way, you can't afford not to contribute.  Buying a 200k house is a great way to spend 500k.  It's not all it's cracked up to be.

Edit2: The government is going to seize your IRA?  And do what with the stock and mutual fund shares?  Sell them to who?

For those who are afraid the government is going to take their money you can pull out your principal with no penalty at any time with a Roth.

You don't need a fund manager is your time horizon is 20+ years out.  Invest in an Index Fund or a Targeted Retirement Fund and you'll be money ahead on fund expenses.  It doesn't take time, energy, or know how to pick an Index Fund - it's a no brainer.  Personally I'd be worrying more if some else is managing where my money is going.

think this all the way through before you dig too deep of a hole.

ps
https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1578081__ARCHIVED_THREAD____How_Old_Where_You_when_Your_401K_Hit__100_000.html&page=1#i44957099

ar-jedi

Thanks! Any suggestions on who to go with?

How bout the company that has been posted 30 times already in this thread.

Vanguard

for the reasons outlined in
https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1737565_Got_a_Roth_IRA.html&page=1#i53017099
i would pick one of Fidelity, Vanguard, or T.Rowe Price.

e.g.
https://www.fidelity.com/retirement-ira/ira-rules-faq


ar-jedi

Did OP fo?

I must have been 20 years old (perhaps 21) when a classmate in college did a presentation to the class on the importance of opening a Roth IRA at an early age.

FUCKING SHIT why didn't I listen to him.  This was like 18 years ago.

get started. it's really important to put time on your side.

once you get started, it's all about inertia and long term tax-free compounding, and these are two very, very powerful financial levers.

ar-jedi

I had a good money making year and even though I believe that the government will eventually take the ira"s I bought a 6500 Traditional IRA to help keep from sending Obama so much.

Bought somewhere near 170 shares of KMI and had about 1000 dollar sitting in another account and put it in the same IRA  for this year.  It has gone up over a 1.69 a share since then, and had a dividend increase . 4.47 % dividend on 5-15-2015 I will reinvest 81.60 My first dividend and have almost 2 more shares.


I wanted KMI outside of the IRA but if Obama will let me keep an extra 1600, I am happy to leave it there a few years.

Investing so that I can say Take this job and shove it I aint working here no more.



Sad when you feel this way and your the boss

Still don't know if I should sign the papers for the NYLIFE/Mainstay mutual funds. Trying to figure out how much commission/fees they take out.
May head to Fidelity and see what they can do as well.

This

And? Lets say in the unlikely event that congress does pull some weird bullshit, pull the money out and put it into another retirement plan... or don't. I don't care. You can eat cat food and crackers when you retire. I will be eating caviar and crackers.

How would you figure Charles Schwab into things?  Vanguard is a check for my Roth. My company uses John Hancock and I am less than happy with my 401k options there. I guess I am weighing between Fidelity and Schwab as my secondary IRA.

Fidelity has the largest fund supermarket, the best web interface, and the best customer support.  but i am confused.  if you already have an account at Vanguard for your Roth IRA, why aren't you simply contributing more to that Roth IRA?  are you AGI'd out of the Roth?  if so, open a Traditional IRA with Vanguard. i'm a proponent of keeping your accounts more or less in one place, since that makes asset allocation analysis much simpler.  so find a custodian you like, and work with them for all your accounts (taxable, like your brokerage account; and tax-advantaged, like your IRAs).  

ps
another reason i really like Fidelity is the FullView tool.  FullView is their "account aggregation tool" which allows you a single picture of your entire financial life, no matter where the accounts are located.  so, my FullView screen shows me my brick-n-mortar bank account balance (at Wells Fargo), my credit card balance (at Citibank), my mortgage balance (at Wells Fargo), and so on and so forth.  even my work 401k, which is not administered by Fidelity, is shown.  and of course my Fidelity accounts (brokerage and IRA) are shown on the same screen.  so i can log into my Fidelity account, click on FullView, and 10 seconds later after it has updated everything i know exactly where everything in my financial life is.  i can "drill down" into my credit card account without ever leaving FullView, and see where the money is going.  i can drill down into my bank account and see that work has deposited my paycheck.  etc etc etc.  and  at the bottom of the page is a graph: (assets - liabilities) VS time.  that graph is a constant reminder for me to keep things sloped in the right direction -- UP!

ar-jedi

I just want give a good ol fashion to ar-jedi.

Every time one of these threads come up he is quick to chime in with good, solid, helpful info.

I don't pretend to know much about the topic but ar-jedi sure seems to.

Cheers.

You will lose any money you pay an organization to run your Roth. The historical return on the stock market is around 8%. If you pay NYL or someone else 5% (transaction fees, maintenance fees, loads, 12-1 fees or whatever else they can come up to separate you from your money) that leaves you with 3%. This book explains what I'm talking about...............



This is a short (14 page) pdf written in plain English you should take the time to read. It outlines a simple plan that can be implemented inexpensively using a discount broker (Scottrade, Schwab, etc.). I strongly suggest you read this before you commit, but if you go ahead you can always roll your account over to a more economical account.

ar-jedi - what's the difference in a standard Roth and what my employer's company (Prudential) calls a Roth 4O1k?

I've considered opening a Roth of my own but if they're the same or similar ^ why not just bump up my Roth 4O1k cont. a couple points to make up the additional $5,5OO.

They just get theirs at the end instead of during the investing.

You may as well not worry about it.  What's the alternative?  A couple hundred grand in your mattress when you could have millions?

If you can fund it, I'd open up another Roth anyway.  I have a traditional 401k that I've been fully funding for almost 25 years and a Roth that I've been funding for 20 this year.

Trust me.... It's a wonder to behold....

+1.

the author of that PDF is the same guy who wrote "the four pillars of investing", which is an excellent text to read to gain an understanding of how markets work and how you the individual can economically abnd beneficially interact with them.  in the PDF above, he also gives a shout out to Ferr's "all about asset allocation", which now for the 87th time i am going to tell the ARFCOM masses that it is the single most important investment book you could possibly read.

ar-jedi

Yeah, after doing a little math I realized I'm eventually going to limit out on my 4O1k this year. (I didn't realize there was a 4O1k cap)

I guess I have a couple months to Roth shop til then.

I guess I was leery of all the eggs in one basket honestly.  I appreciate your no BS feedback about this though.  I already put my tax return into my Roth, and combined with some good paychecks I already maxed it.  Traditional IRA will be opened by the end of tomorrow then...and if I researched it right it has a $5,500 a year limit as well right? Thanks for your time and insight here Jedi!

Can anyone with a ROTH through Vanguard verify that their accounts can be tracked via Quicken?

I opened my kids' 529s through them and that service is unavailable

Yes, Stick with this plan.  Why?  Some here recommend Vanguard.  Fine.  So do 87 zillion other "financial planners"  Why?  For no other reason then to tell you its the cheapest.
A good advisor can offer SOOOOOOOOOO much more.   Do you need advice on a stock tip you got?  Call your NY life guy.  Inherit a stock?  Call your NY life guy.
Have a question on what Cramer on CNBC said about interest rates?  Call your NY life guy.  IPO question, call your NY life guy  Question on a Biotech ETF, call your NY life guy. Mom dies, call your NY life guy.  Question on your work 401k, call your NY life guy.  A relationship is worth 1% per year.  Trust me.

Try that with Vanguard.  

EDIT: Ok i read some more posts and you obviously want simple, somebody to guide you. OK I'll be your adviser, for freaking nothing, nada, 0$, nyet! Jeeze Louise!
DO THIS:
1. Go to the Vanguard.com website. Click on "Personal Investors" Find a link that says "open an account" and click it.
2. Select the radio button that says "Open a New Account" - then follow through to open a Roth IRA account.
3. When get to a point where you have to pick a fund, find Vanguard Target Retirement 2055 Fund and select it.
4. Fund it with $3K - set up electronic transfer from your bank account or send them a check.
5. Put as much as you can in it regularly until 2055. Then profit!

Seriously - that will work fine even without reading Bogleheads. (If you have a 401K at work, you should put money there to get the company match, if any.)
--------------------------------------
my original post below

Wow 3% sales charge up front and 0.25% annual fee for the NY Life S&P index fund (MYSPX) ! They are whacking off 3% up front and 1/4% every year.
You will create a great retirement for THEM!
Tsk Tsk
I glanced at one of their managed funds and it had over 1% annual fee - didnt find the prospectus to see what sales charge was.

Roll it to Vanguard when you get to $3K (min investment) if you cant get out of the agreement at NY Life.
You don't need an agent. Just open the account online and do electronic transfer.
No load (no sales charge) index fund is what you want. (All stocks at your age.)
Like Vanguard S&P 500 (VFINX) : NO sales charge and 0.17% annual fee. (although Vanguard Total Stock Market is a little broader)
When you get $3K saved up, open an account there and you can electronically make regular deposits thereafter.

And yes - start reading bogleheads (review the wiki first) as suggested below! The basic stuff aint rocket science. Just do the above to start, putting in as much as you can regularly and don't touch it. You have a few years to learn!
No sales charge and lower fees will make a significant difference over time. See 10 yr total return comparison below - and it does NOT factor in the 3% up front charge. Thank us in 30 years.
compare Vanguard Total Stock Mkt to NYL S&P500

What is your Return To Date on your Mutual Funds ?

Fidelity Growth Company, FDGRX is at 7.8% already.

Also, ETFs or mutual funds?

in general, tax-advantaged accounts come in two flavors:
1) pay no tax now, pay tax later (Traditional IRA, "regular" 401k)
2) pay tax now, pay no tax later (Roth IRA, Roth 401k)

which is a "better" approach?  it depends, and there is no right answer for everyone.  in one theory, deferring the tax (regular IRA and 401k) means you will end up paying the tax when you are making less money, so the marginal rate *should* be lower.  moreover, you were able to contribute "more", since it was pre-tax, so the growth trajectory is better.  in another theory, paying the tax now removes the complication of not knowing what the tax rate might be later -- it could be a lot higher!  also, if you expect to have a lot of passive income in retirement, due to real estate or royalties or whatever, paying the tax now makes sense.  

since there is no right answer, the standard ARFCOM operating principle wins again: "get both".  

this is the case for many folks: they have a 401k through work, and then they have an Roth IRA.  this way, your feet are in both canoes.  you can only be half wrong.  by the way this is usually an excellent investment approach.  "all in" looks ballsy when you are watching professional poker players.  but in the real world, "all in" can get your ass handed to you at the most inopportune time.  so "half in" is actually a good strategy, and "half in" in two places is an even better one.  

now then, to your question:

an IRA is a "individual retirement account", not associated with your employer.  same with a Roth IRA.  contribution limits are set annually by the IRS (2015: $5,500)

a 401k is a company-sponsored tax-advantaged investment account.  in general, you can contribute up to an a set amount (2015: $18,000) of pre-tax dollars.  importantly, these contributions are deducted from your MAGI; hence, you not only pay no income tax on your 401k contributions, but these contributions grow without tax burden.

a Roth 401k is a fairly new spin on the 401k.  the money going into a Roth 401k is post-tax, up to the annual amount (2015: $18,000).  note that you will have to earn $18,000 * (1 + your marginal tax rate) in order to contribute the full $18,000.   so if you are in the 25% tax bracket, you will need to earn $18,000 * (1.25) = $22,500 in order to contribute the full $18,000.   BUT BUT BUT that is the last time you will ever pay tax on that money.  it's all yours now.  

you can see that a Roth 401k is advantageous compared to a Roth IRA in two dimensions: 1) annual contribution limits are higher, much higher; and 2) *most* employers match contributions in a 401k up to a point.  no one is matching your IRA contributions.  

hence, in general, contributing to a Roth 401k is "better" than a Roth IRA -- if your employer is making the Roth available.  

note:  even with a traditional IRA, here is a way to "get both" which may not typically be possible for most folks, but can prove very useful in some circumstances.  

read this:
http://www.401khelpcenter.com/2015_401k_plan_limits.html

now read it again very carefully:
http://www.401khelpcenter.com/2015_401k_plan_limits.html
pay attention here:
401k Elective Deferrals  $18,000
Annual Defined Contribution Limit $53,000

you can contribute $18,000 pre-tax, and then if you have the financial ability, you can contribute more post-tax, up to a total of $53,000.  the IRS has recently clarified that post-tax 401k contributions can be rolled over into a Roth IRA when you terminate employment or retire.  hence, even a regular 401 typically has a "back door" to post-tax contributions.  

https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/retirement/IRS-401k-rollover-guidance


ar-jedi

I recently did a comparison of Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, E*Trade, etc.

For me, E*Trade came out on top for the best website setup and lowest cost of transactions for the type of investing that I do.

Vangaurd is great if you invest in their family of funds. They fell short for me if I wanted funds outside of theirs though.




And on topic, OP, take an afternoon and figure this stuff out. Lots of great resources on the web and it really isn't rocket science. Never hand bundles of cash to someone you had coffee with and "trust" them to do the best thing.

THIS. ar-jedi has (unbeknownst to him) given me a lot of wisdom since I joined this site.

Seriously, thanks.

OP: please read this first:
https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_133/565067__ARCHIVED_THREAD____Question_for_ar_jedi_and_other_mutual_fund_gurus.html&page=1#i9451272
especially,
https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_133/565067__ARCHIVED_THREAD____Question_for_ar_jedi_and_other_mutual_fund_gurus.html&page=1#i9452383

then click here,
http://www.people.hbs.edu/ptufano/bbenefits_Nov2004.pdf
and observe:


ar-jedi

it took me a few minutes, but i found it...

https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_133/565067__ARCHIVED_THREAD____Question_for_ar_jedi_and_other_mutual_fund_gurus.html&page=2#i9767361


ar-jedi

Don't listen to this fool

 

This thread is literally the same conversation we had last year, and the year before that and so on.

 

Jesus more info in this thread than I could have wanted or imagined. So I haven't signed anything yet and doubt I will.


I think I am going to check out Vanguard as others have mentioned. Again if I go through a Vanguard Retirement 2055 do I need to manage the mutual funds myself? I basically just want to plug in $xxx amount every month and have someone be able to put it to the best use for me.

I really like Vanguard's ROTH target retirement funds for the simplicity .

I'm looking at them now. To partner with an advisor you need a minimum of $100,000

 

Just make an account in Vanguard and start a Roth with as little at 1000 and then choose your age for the the correct target retirement fund, the electronic bank transfer will take around 24-48 hours and it's a done deal. .

You can start with as little as a grand however I would do more if possible and also you can setup automatically monthly  deposits and they will be taken directly from your checking account for easy contributions.  BTW 458.33 a month will give you the max yearly contribution, I did the monthly auto pay for a few years with no issues.    

And yet another BTW , If you can contribute the 5500 up front at the first of each year instead of contributing throughout the year you could greatly maximize the possible money to be made.

I opened a Roth with Vanguard last night and 3G's was the price of admission.

YMMV

No

Wooo. So if I stay on the pot this will never happened. So I shit.


Just signed up with the $1,000 2045 retirement roth plan on Vanguard.




I won't have any problem doing the $5,500 every year at the beginning of the year instead of the monthly contributions. For now I will just do monthly I guess. Oh god what have I done.


 

That't the same one I have

OK, here's the important thing to think about. What does it cost you to put your money with this guy? "Nothing", right? Well, nothing isn't true. You will pay commissions on the mutual funds you buy. That is how the guys makes his money. They don't advertise this clearly up front. Those fees don't seem like a huge amount, but they eat up your investments and you will not make as much on them as you should. As some others have stated, you'd be better off buying an index fund with low commissions and fees. Vanguard has some very good and cheap funds.



You started your savings, which is good, but you're late. Don't make another mistake and invest it stupidly. It will cost you.

You've made an excellent choice!

 
Yea but what do I do now