[Dr. Thrunk]

So, I am starting a new retirement account since I am, ya know, still pretty young.

Shopping around for Roth IRA's and I was thinking of going with T. Rowe Price. Requirements seem to be an initial amount of $1000, and then a min. of $100 monthly contributions.

Anyone have any experience with these? Does this sound good? I know they are generally reliable, but anyone have any advice on other companies to look at?

[Wesley7777]

I am a huge fan of Vanguard because of the extreme low expense costs on the mutual funds and ETFs, and you can trade their ETFs commission free. But I do think a ROTH iRA is a good idea. My wife and I both have them and max them out every year.

[Chrysostom]

Most brokers (Scottrade etc.) will have plans you can use that don't require monthly contributions etc. You'll pay some amount of money per transaction -- that is, per stock purchase or sale within the account, not per cash contribution to the account. If you want to follow Wesley's advice and get a low-fee Vanguard index ETF, a common choice is VTI.

For legal reasons I am not able to make recommendations, so this is just a sharing of information.

[bobthecockroach]

I also use Vanguard.

[Dr. Thrunk]

Thanks all.

I did, several days after starting this thread, start a Roth IRA with T. Rowe Price. Perhaps I should have waited and looked in to Vanguard, but I still feel fairly confident about my choice. I just want to be at least sorta secure when I am nearing retirement, and the sooner one starts the better.

I had thought about rolling my other account into this one, but ultimately thought it a good idea to have two separate ones and try to "diversify". Also, my plan is a 2055 plan, just because it felt safe, and I am not really in this to make money quick, obviously.

[bobthecockroach]

Just one more note, target year plans sometimes have high expense ratios. Make sure you know what yours is and that you feel it's worth the money over picking funds yourself. For me, I saved more than a full percentage point in expense ratio by getting out of the target year plan for my 401k and getting into individual funds (all low cost index funds of course).

[Dr. Thrunk]

Hmmmm... good advice.

I may look into that tonight. Part of what worries me, however, is what to pick! I am not that savvy when it comes to picking funds. I have thought about blue chip stuff and a few others have caught my eye. I guess it just depends on what has been performing well. No magic formula, eh?

[bobthecockroach]

Originally Posted by Thrash

Hmmmm... good advice.

I may look into that tonight. Part of what worries me, however, is what to pick! I am not that savvy when it comes to picking funds. I have thought about blue chip stuff and a few others have caught my eye. I guess it just depends on what has been performing well. No magic formula, eh?

It definitely does not depend on what has been performing well. The most important mantra in investing is "past performance does not predict future results."

I highly recommend watching these videos:

Video:Bogleheads® investment philosophy - Bogleheads

Your 2055 fund should list somewhere what funds it is composed of. Most likely the largest chunk is S&P 500, which is about the further thing possible from trying to predict what will perform well. It's just grabbing the largest companies in proportions equivalent to their size basically.

In general, for most people, this is what is recommended. Buy the entire market in proportional shares so that you aren't betting on any companies or industries in particular, just that overall the economy will go up.

Obvious disclaimer: I am a computer programmer, not an economist or investing professional. I am relaying what I've learned and what I've applied, but I can't predict any more than anyone else can what will be a successful investing strategy.