How to open an IRA account?

[hypeMarked]

Hi all, I have done some reading on retirement plans and ready to create and IRA account. The only thing is I am not sure who to go to for opening the account. Please help me out by pointing me to the right direction. I tried to go to my bank's website and it said that it can open the account, but it needs the "IRA Account Identification" which I have no idea what it is. I will go to the bank to find out this weekend, but please help me investing

Thanks,

 

[MrChad]

http://www.vanguard.com

 

[spidey07]

1) pick up the phone
2) call fidelity or vanguard

You'd be really, really surprised at what this phone thing can do.

Sorry for the smartass answer, but spending hours upon hours trying to figure something out can be answered with 10 minutes on the phone.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Bottom of this page - http://www.kiplinger.com/colum...rchive/2006/st0309.htm

 

[hypeMarked]

ah...cool. Is vanguard THE guy to go to? Also, do they have hidden fees? Thanks

 

[Yossarian]

Vanguard is about as straightforward as it gets with respect to fees. If you sign up for online statements there are no fees, but be sure to read the fine print.

 

[erub]

Originally posted by: hypeMarked
ah...cool. Is vanguard THE guy to go to? Also, do they have hidden fees? Thanks

99% certainty will be better than going with your bank

 

[imported_Lothar]

Originally posted by: hypeMarked
ah...cool. Is vanguard THE guy to go to? Also, do they have hidden fees? Thanks

Yes.
And no, they don't have any "hidden" fees.

 

[purbeast0]

while on this topic ...

would those of you who have one with vanguard or fidelity recommend doing one there over my actual bank? my bank offers them and I was going to start one by the end ot his month and just max it out for the year all at once, but I just wasn't sure if I should justu do it through my bank or go elsewhere.

 

[imported_Lothar]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
while on this topic ...

would those of you who have one with vanguard or fidelity recommend doing one there over my actual bank? my bank offers them and I was going to start one by the end ot his month and just max it out for the year all at once, but I just wasn't sure if I should justu do it through my bank or go elsewhere.

Anywhere else will be better than your bank.
Vanguard and Fidelity won't be an exception.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Lothar

Originally posted by: purbeast0
while on this topic ...

would those of you who have one with vanguard or fidelity recommend doing one there over my actual bank? my bank offers them and I was going to start one by the end ot his month and just max it out for the year all at once, but I just wasn't sure if I should justu do it through my bank or go elsewhere.

Anywhere else will be better than your bank.
Vanguard and Fidelity won't be an exception.

i'm curious though as to why ... is it just fees that they will tack on monthly and starting up and what not?

 

[xochi]

I opened up an IRA with Fidelity about a month ago. opened the account online, and deposited my rollover check via their nearest "investment center". I could of mailed the check but thought it wiser to go in person to deposit it.

Their customer service has been great (phone and in person) I'm very pleased with my choice.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: xochi
I opened up an IRA with Fidelity about a month ago. opened the account online, and deposited my rollover check via their nearest "investment center". I could of mailed the check but thought it wiser to go in person to deposit it.

Their customer service has been great (phone and in person) I'm very pleased with my choice.

you can deposit money electronically, right?

 

[sciencewhiz]

Vanguard and Fidelity are brokerages, and you can invest in many different types of mutual funds, etfs, money market accounts, etc. Your bank probably only offers money market accounts (and maybe CDs).

Vanguard charges a $20 fee if your account balance is less then 10k and you choose mail delivery. It's waived for electronic statement accounts.

 

[LaBang]

Vanguard here too. But sadly I haven't put any money in yet this year...

 

[xochi]

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: xochi
I opened up an IRA with Fidelity about a month ago. opened the account online, and deposited my rollover check via their nearest "investment center". I could of mailed the check but thought it wiser to go in person to deposit it.

Their customer service has been great (phone and in person) I'm very pleased with my choice.

you can deposit money electronically, right?

Yes you can, but my rollover came in check form only. but for future deposits i could directly withdraw from an account.

 

[Blieb]

Originally posted by: xochi
I opened up an IRA with Fidelity about a month ago. opened the account online, and deposited my rollover check via their nearest "investment center". I could of mailed the check but thought it wiser to go in person to deposit it.

Their customer service has been great (phone and in person) I'm very pleased with my choice.

Fidelity has great customer service!

 

[davestar]

Bank of America has an investment subsidiary (Banc of America Investment Services) which is very convenient for BofA customers. You can move money directly from your checking/savings account and can invest in mutual funds and EFTs in addition to money market accounts.

There's no fees if you have a BofA checking account.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: sciencewhiz
Vanguard and Fidelity are brokerages, and you can invest in many different types of mutual funds, etfs, money market accounts, etc. Your bank probably only offers money market accounts (and maybe CDs).

Vanguard charges a $20 fee if your account balance is less then 10k and you choose mail delivery. It's waived for electronic statement accounts.

Be sure to do that.

I prefer Vanguard because their main focus is on index mutual funds. Index funds just buy all of the stocks in an index like the S&P 500, instead of using stock pickers to try to guess at the best stocks to buy. Most stock pickers fail to do better than just "buying the market" with index funds.

Your bank is a bad choice for an IRA. The funds will most likely be second-rate and/or the fees will be higher.

Vanguard is decades-old and just as safe as your bank, but with a better choice of funds and no brokerage fees if you invest in Vanguard mutual funds and pick electronic delivery of reports and other paperwork.

 

[hypeMarked]

Very cool, I'll check Fidelity and Vanguard out this weekend and decide. But I have a couple more questions, can I open both Traditional and Roth IRA at both of these brokers? and how long does it usually takes for opening accounts with them? (via Internet or Phone). What I meant when I say "how long" is does the process takes like several days because they need some paper work authorization or something like that?

Thanks,

 

[sciencewhiz]

I opened my Vanguard Roth IRA online in January and the money was in it the next day (from my ING account).

Both Fidelity and Vanguard can do Roth and Traditional IRAs.

 

[thomsbrain]

Most online stock brokers have IRA account options that let you do trading and mutual funds from within the IRA account. Just another quick and easy option.

 

[PimpJuice]

I have positive experiences with Vanguard. Never used Fidelity, I'm sure they are good, but I'm perfectly happy with Vanguard.

 

[purbeast0]

so I think i'm going to open a Vanguard one this weekend. I was going to just do it online today but I dunno, being that this is my first time using them and what not I was thinking about calling and opening it over the phone just so I can be clear about everything that is going to happen and if i have questions I can just ask on the phone.

 

[overst33r]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
so I think i'm going to open a Vanguard one this weekend. I was going to just do it online today but I dunno, being that this is my first time using them and what not I was thinking about calling and opening it over the phone just so I can be clear about everything that is going to happen and if i have questions I can just ask on the phone.

I just recently opened mine. I called a couple of times about some questions and they were very helpful.