 What are the best options for a new investor? |
I am wondering whether stocks and mutual funds, commodities, foreign currency, or real estate is the best option for a new investor.
Additional Details
My goals are not that of the ... |
|
 QUestion on the Stock Market? |
| this is just my opinion and im trying to see if its a smart move or not. The way i see it, the stock market is down a whole crap load. this means stocks are at an all time low. Would this be a good ... |
|
 How to make a small investment.? |
| Where am I to look to make a small investment without necessarily having to go through a bank?... |
|
 Oil is at approx $61-62, where will it go next?!!?!? |
Oil has gone from $78 per barrel last August to $50 a few weeks ago, and now it is at $62.
Where will it go next? Is ethanol going to push oil prices down, or is conflict with Iran going ... |
|
 Do you know of a investment that can give a 10% return? |
| Any suggestions on investments with high long term return?... |
|
 Name 5 good companies to invest in? |
| I am a stock analyst in class and need help!!!!!!!!!!!!!... |
|
 Being paid 15K a month, how do I manage money for savings and entertainment? |
| I am a s/w engr, fresh out of college. Need expert advice to save money, also keeping in mind per month expense for entertainment, like movies and apparels. I am a kind of spendthrift. Money does not ... |
|
 When do you sell short? |
| Can anyone explain to me rather effectively when and how to sell short? I don't know how to read charts (graphs), I don't know when to sell short. I just need some idea on when and how to ... |
|
 What would happen if I used a time machine to make money in the stock market? |
| Suppose I can go one year into the future for one day and print out all of the stock prices movements and bring them back to the present time. Besides becoming incrediby wealthy, does that mean that I... |
|
 Day Trading Forex possible to make a living? |
Hey,
Are there people in the world who day trade forex for a living? I've read so many articles bashing day trading as gambling and impossible to make money, but I also read some ... |
|
 My investments 10k have been reduced to 4k. How can I grow it back in the short term. Penny stocks? |
| The holdings are in two mutual funds and four stocks. The stocks are almost wiped out but the funds are down 50%. Would trading in penny stocks help in the short term. Any suggestions on specific ... |
|
 Stock hits zero? |
| We own a stock that is sinking fast down to $5.25 from a high of $16.00 We are going to ride it out but the question is what happens when a stock hits zero? Is the company forced into bankruptcy? I... |
|
| What is the best (preferably ethical) way to develop some residual income, starting with ~$25,000? |
Or perhaps you have a better investment idea for that amount? Nothing too incredibly risky please, and I know hard work is probably unavoidably necessary.
And please no "Invest it in me&... |
|
 How to get a mutual fund agency? |
| Now I am selling Insurance products. Somebody like's mutual fund products. So Would like to sell mutual fund products.... |
|
|  |
edward g | What is the best investment tool? Mutual funds or IRA's. I retire from the military in 5 yrs.? |
|
 |
 
walt17jr
 |
They are two different things. To know which is best you need to decide when you will need the money.
An IRA is a tax advantaged retirement plan. It is based on age, (59 &1/2) not when you leave a job or the military. It is a good thing to have. You can put mutual funds, stocks, or even CDs, or just about anything else in it. If you are able, you should definitely start one. But if you will need the money in 5 years, just go with the mutual fund.
Contact Vanguard (example) and they will help you set it up. |
|
great_and_mighty_adam_levine
|
An IRA is a type of an account to hold investments. Think of it as an investment box.
A mutual fund one type of investment that you can put in the box.
You can place mutual funds in IRAs or outside of IRAs.
You can place other investments (such as CDs) inside of IRAs or outside of IRAs.
Types of investments:
CDs, Bonds, Stocks, Mutual Funds, ETFs, Bank accounts, Annuities, Real Estate
Types of boxes:
IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k), Roth 401(k), Brokerage, Bank, hidden under your mattress
You can put (almost) any type of investment in any box. There are restrictions, but in general you can.
So, the Mutual Fund/IRA isn't an either/or question. You can do both, or you can do neither with the same dollar.
To figure out what you want to invest in and the kind of box you want, you need to ask a few questions first:
1) When do you need that money and why?
If it's emergency savings you may need any time, your investment choices will be very different than if you are saving for retirement which is 35 years away.
2) How much money do you have to invest?
If you have $100k today, your choices will be very different than if you are saving $5k/year for the next 20 years.
3) Are you willing to risk losing some money for the potential to make more? For example, some people like savings accounts because they pay a consistent 5% a year. Stocks on average pay 7-9% a year, but there is risk - some years will be down 10%, other years will be up 20%. Are you willing to accept that kind of risk?
-->Adam |
|
jemmy t
 |
IRA denotes the individual retirement account and can substitute or complement a 401 K. There are 3 varieties of IRAs available: Roth IRAs, Traditional IRAs and Simple IRAs. Traditional IRAs offer you tax advantages whenever you deposit or add money to your account. On the other hand, a Roth IRA offers you the maximum tax benefit when you withdraw money from your account. A Simple IRA is just like a 401K with lower contribution limit, but cheaper and has lesser paperwork.
http://debts-to-wealth.com/category/Retirement-Planning.html |
|
Brick
|
Well Mutual Funds can be purchased under the umbrella of an IRA. An IRA gives you the opportunity to not pay your tax on your money earned until you retire -thus compounding your money faster. Somewhat similar to a 401K account.
Once you become 59 1/2 years old you can remove money from your IRA without penalty except you do need to pay regular taxes on those withdrawals.
It is a smart idea to roll over your pension or your 401K funds at retirement into IRA's (or even Roth IRA's) -this really helps you compound your money since you are not paying taxes until withdrawals. |
|
water_skipper
|
Since you are retiring in five years, it might be too late for an IRA to have a benefit for you. (See previous answers for what an IRA is). Find a broker in your town and let him or her know what you just told us. They'll probably recommend three funds (not necessarily mutual funds). If you're afraid of getting ripped off, take some of your money to several different brokers. |
|
Franco
|
Some of those who advise you here are drowning in details. It is simple really. If you want to save for the short to medium term, eg. to get married, buy a house etc. go for straight MFs as they are simpler. If you want to save for retirement, go for MF in an IRA.
It would probably be better to go for both, in a proportion decided by your plans for life. |
|
The Mutual Fund Investor
|
Hello,
I have seen different versions of this question here and you are not the only one who is somewhat confused by the mutual fund/IRA issue. An IRA is nothing more than a tax structure that is worthless if it is not filled with an investment. When you open an IRA, you need to select an investment such as a mutual fund.
If you were planning on using mutual funds as the retirement investment vehicles, you would want to pick a platform that has several good mutual fund options. Some of the more popular platforms where you can select mutual funds from a variety of mutual fund companies include Vanguard, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price and Charles Schwab. You could also set up an IRA directly the underlying mutual fund company.
No mutual fund company is the best at all investment strategies. T. Rowe Price is very good at domestic equity strategies while Royce specializes in smaller cap value investments. For fixed-income, Vanguard, Metropolitan West, Fidelity and T. Rowe Price are all very good.
I hope this helps.
Michael A. Weiss, CFA
The Editor
The Mutual Fund Investor
http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net |
|
zioncanyon
|
you buy mutual funds within an ira. first, open up a roth ira account with one of the major no load mutual fund companies like vanguard, fidelity, or t rowe price. then, when the account is set up figure out which mutual fund you want. i would suggest the sp 500 or total stock index. these are safe bets that have averages 10% per year over the past 20 years. |
|
seeking answers
|
You can buy mutual funds in an IRA, which is merely a tax-advantaged investment arrangement. Investment earnings within an IRA aren't taxable, but distributions from non-Roth IRAs are taxed as ordinary income in the year of distribution.
If you currently are in a low tax bracket, and you believe you will be in a higher tax bracket later in life, you should consider a "Roth" IRA. Contributions to a Roth IRA aren't deductible, but distributions from a Roth IRA also aren't taxable. Tax-free distributions will be very valuable if the federal government raises marginal tax rates in coming years.
One mutual fund that IMO is an excellent IRA investment currently is the CGM Focus Fund (CGMFX). However, you probably should dollar average into it as it has had a huge upward move this year and probably, but not definitely, may be purchased at a cheaper price in coming months.
If you are investing in assets that largely generate qualified dividends and long-term capital gains, there may be advantages to not using IRAs at all, given the low marginal rates on these types investment income currently (top federal rate of 15 percent, and even lower for taxpayers with lesser amounts of income). |
|
| |
|
| | |
| Questions List |
Answers | Last Post
| | | |
8 | 15 minutes(s) ago
| | | |
9 | 24 minutes(s) ago
| | | |
10 | 29 minutes(s) ago
| | | |
9 | 42 minutes(s) ago
| | | |
8 | 44 minutes(s) ago
| | | |
8 | 3 hour(s) ago
| | | |
9 | 6 hour(s) ago
| | | |
9 | 9 hour(s) ago
| | | |
9 | 2 day(s) ago
| | | |
9 | 6 day(s) ago
| |
|
Homepage 
Financial
Forum 
Investing 
No Spam
Adult 
Gambling
Unfinished
Deception
Plagiarism
Not English
