Thinking about RETIREMENT

zamunda said: "Hi, I'm 28 years old and trying to decide how I can go about saving/investing for retirement. I don't have a 401k at work, but I'm looking at a roth IRA from scottrade. I currently trade stocks on scottrade, but don't know much past that. Not sure what goes into selecting investments for the IRA, which ones to pick or anything. Also fees and other charges. Could anyone here just give me the basics or direct me somewhere I can figure this out. Thanks."

cwms said: "Are you currently making money in the stock market? If you are, sounds like you have a grasp on trading/investing, so why not just do it inside a retirement account like a ROTH IRA?"

zamunda said: "I've only been in the market since november... and I'm breaking even... guess that's better than losing. Just don't know what kind of mutual funds or etfs I should look at for the base of the Roth Ira. Any ideas on funds that I could start off with my IRA?"

cwms said: "I know a lot of folks here swear by ETF's...I just dont know much about them so I don't invest in them. I have mostly mutual funds but also a fair number of individual stocks. Go to Morningstar and research 4-5 star funds. Pay particular attention to fees. Some are very high and can eat up an investment. There are load and no-load funds. There are folks here that believe loaded funds are the scourge of mankind. I have mostly no-load funds but I also have a few loaded funds that an advisor got me into that, that for the most part, have done well, so I have no complaints. Look into index funds. There are a number of them that perform well and have low fees. I believe the key is to get into a couple of funds and DCA into them monthly."

cwms said: "BY the way, if you started in November and you are breaking even, you're doing pretty good. The past 4-5 months have been rocky."

RupertB said: "First, read up on Roth IRAs. Probably a lot of good online info. There is a book called "The Retirement Time Bomb" that gives a great overview of Roth IRAs and how they are different from traditional IRAs, 401k, etc. Doing your investing in a Roth means whatever capital gains you get over the next 30+ years are TAX FREE. IMO, it is the best deal going right now."

StockMan69 said: "Any systematic savings plan can have you feeling fat by retirement. Just put away money every single week."

zamunda said: "Any Ideas about what to invest in, in the IRA? What do you guys have your retirement money in? How's it working out? Any pitfalls I need to avoid?"

Harry said: "[QUOTE=zamunda;66819]Any Ideas about what to invest in, in the IRA? What do you guys have your retirement money in? How's it working out? Any pitfalls I need to avoid?[/QUOTE] First of all deduct as much into that 401K as possible. I was about your age when I found myself in a 401K and it was a God-send. As far as the IRA goes, don't get too creative. Use perhaps maybe 10% for riskier investments and sit on about 15 percent for bargain buys. But mainly stick with good companies...buy when they're down. It's a proven theory that you can maximize you're bottom line by taking (trimming) profits from time to time and discount buying when that opportunity presents itself. I like Scottrade for Mutual Funds but not for dividend reinvestment. And dividend reinvestment is a great IRA tool."

marbles said: "[QUOTE=zamunda;66819]Any Ideas about what to invest in, in the IRA? What do you guys have your retirement money in? [/QUOTE] Index funds. I recommend starting a retirement fund using mutual funds or ETFs that track these indexes- S&P 500 S&P MidCap 400 (or S&P SmallCap 600 index) MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australia, and Far East index)"

zamunda said: "I noticed that you don't like Scottrade for Div reinvestment. Why is that? Do they charge for it? Any IRAs out there that do div reinvest for free? What is the preferred company to go with? I am already with scottrade for my trading account. Would it be worth my time to go to their office and set up the account and get some imput from the broker? by the way... I apologize if I'm asking anything really stupid or obvious... just trying to learn. And thanks for all the help."

cwms said: "I don't understand why people have issues with dividend reinvestment. Anytime I buy a new stock or mutual fund, there is a box on the web page "Do you want your dividends reinvested?" Yes or no. How much simpler can that be."

zamunda said: "where do you trade?"

cwms said: "I have several accounts at Schwab and I also use a local financial firm where my son works."

zamunda said: "So Schwab doesn't charge for div reivestment on anything? Do you have an ira with them? What does it cost fee wise?"

cwms said: "zamunda, I just sent you a private message"

Harry said: "[QUOTE=cwms;66857]I don't understand why people have issues with dividend reinvestment. Anytime I buy a new stock or mutual fund, there is a box on the web page "Do you want your dividends reinvested?" Yes or no. How much simpler can that be.[/QUOTE] I was looking at Scwab's fees. They don't say how they charge for dividend investments...they instead give a phone number?"

cwms said: "[QUOTE=Harry;66877]I was looking at Scwab's fees. They don't say how they charge for dividend investments...they instead give a phone number?[/QUOTE] I've been with Schwab for quite a few years. I've never seen any kind of fee associated with dividend reinvestments."

cwms said: "I copied this off the Schwab website. With dividend reinvestment, your stock dividends and capital gains distributions are reinvested into your account automatically. This helps you accumulate more shares of the same stock, at no charge."

Aligator said: "[QUOTE=zamunda;66771]Hi, I'm 28 years old and trying to decide how I can go about saving/investing for retirement. I don't have a 401k at work, but I'm looking at a roth IRA from scottrade. I currently trade stocks on scottrade, but don't know much past that. Not sure what goes into selecting investments for the IRA, which ones to pick or anything. Also fees and other charges. Could anyone here just give me the basics or direct me somewhere I can figure this out. Thanks.[/QUOTE] If you go with a fund family like Janus you will accomplish two things: 1) You will not be tempted to take your money away from the fund manager and trade it yourself. Mutual fund investors make more money than stock traders. So says C Schwab. 2) You will be able to pick from a large number of funds and you will not be charged when you change funds or wait in a money market fund."