Your IRA Provider

[RSKY]

I rolled my 401K over into an IRA account with Fidelity. I pick the funds I want to be invested in and move my money accordingly. There are thousands of mutual funds available in different categories and I research and pick what I want. It is simple to do. If you can order something from Amazon then you have enough computer skills to handle it. I DO NOT invest in single company stocks, only mutual funds. An advisor calls and talks every three months. So far she has given very good advice. She does not get a commission but says she does get a bonus if her investors do well. She sits in meetings with the people at Fidelity who manage individual funds so she is aware of what is going on in the Financial World. She always laughs and says that my profile states I want to be conservative in my investments, but I am very aggressive in the funds I hold. I spend less than an hour a week looking at Fidelity's web page.

Friends who worked with me that put their money with a broker or investment advisor have not done as well as I have. This is because the broker invests in the same funds I'm in but take a cut for their own income. I've been told horror stories of people needing to get money from their accounts (his wife had cancer) and having to pay huge fees for early withdrawal. All I do is fill out an online form and within three or four days the money is deposited in my bank account. As my IRA is set up I draw a monthly income from it and also from time to time take out money for special purposes such as buying a vehicle or home improvements.

I got some very good advice when I was thinking about retiring and it has served me well.

Oh yeah, my advisor lady and I had our quarterly talk last month and for the first time she was very insistent that I get out of specific funds because of something the Fed is going to do later in the month. She went down the list and said sell this, sell this, sell this. First time in two and a half years she has done that.

RSKY

 

[gsganzer]

The people you interact with are not traders, they are selling products.

For many people, this is all you need to know. The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need: Andrew Tobias: 9780547447254: Amazon.com: Books

For those who need a primer for investing, read That Thing Rich People Do: Required Reading for Investors: Kaye A. Thomas: 9780979224881: Amazon.com: Books

Thanks for the book recommendations. I ordered the book by Tobias today.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

You should get an annual briefing from your broker, preferably in person, going over all of your accounts and holdings. If you have poor performers (anything not getting 2 to 3 times inflation rate), you need to move those funds to better performing companies and funds. If the entire brokerage is doing bad, find another. DO NOT WAIT 20 YEARS TO CHANGE!!!!

 

[sseelhoff]

You should get an annual briefing from your broker, preferably in person, going over all of your accounts and holdings. If you have poor performers (anything not getting 2 to 3 times inflation rate), you need to move those funds to better performing companies and funds. If the entire brokerage is doing bad, find another. DO NOT WAIT 20 YEARS TO CHANGE!!!!

Where was this advice 18 years ago?

 

[Jstpssng]

Where was this advice 18 years ago?

That's what I ask myself when any of these discussions come up.

 

[SandburRanch]

You should get an annual briefing from your broker, preferably in person, going over all of your accounts and holdings. If you have poor performers (anything not getting 2 to 3 times inflation rate), you need to move those funds to better performing companies and funds. If the entire brokerage is doing bad, find another. DO NOT WAIT 20 YEARS TO CHANGE!!!!

If my IRA money was drawing a percent 2-3 times inflation of the past 6-8 years I'd be a millionaire.

So what is the realistic ( net after fees ) percent our investments should be averaging ?

 

[Dr_Zinj]

I'm averaging about 9.8% for my entire portfolio. I even survived 2008 without major losses (I did take some hits though, but recovered quickly.)

And yes, if I'd started 35 years ago when I first started working, I'd be at least a millionaire by now.

Rich people's kids usually learn these things while they're growing up; although some rich parents do fail to pass on their smarts to their kids, or the kids are idiots and never learn. The thing is, the REST of us usually don't learn these things until long after we've passed the halfway point in our lives, which means we've lost the chance to win, and have to settle for just finishing the race. If you want to do the biggest favor to your kids that you can, teach them not just how to save, but how to invest while they're still in school, and then keep telling them to sock their funds into their accounts and portfolios every chance they get. Set them up with a decent brokerage (your own maybe); bring them to a meeting with your broker. ANYTHING to get them started.

 

[kenmac]

Well, I have to say , I have someone manage my account.. I just don't have time to run my business ,and my investments.. His fee is no more than some of the others around.. The more $$ he makes me the more $$ he gets,as he gets a percentage of the account.

I have tried to teach my oldest son to start saving, and offered to set him up with the person I use... He doesn't listen to his old man much..
He said someone came around his neighborhood knocking on doors asking people to invest with a firm he works for .. My son told me , that he was using this person.. I asked what he knew about this person,, He said he didn't really know anything about him , other than what the person had told him.
I told him I would never invest with someone that came around knocking on doors...
Like I said earlier.. For some reason he refuses to listen to his old man.. If he looses ..he just looses..As far as financial advise,, there's Nothing more I can ,or will try to do for him
He has always been 1 of those ,that has to learn the hard way...I wish him the best

 

[randy41]

If my IRA money was drawing a percent 2-3 times inflation of the past 6-8 years I'd be a millionaire.

So what is the realistic ( net after fees ) percent our investments should be averaging ?

the current inflation rate for the past 12 months is .1%.

 

[Oaktree]

the current inflation rate for the past 12 months is .1%.

You'd never know it at the supermarket.