Anyone have knowledge on retirement accounts?

wildcatgoal · Apr 6, 2017

I use Schwab and I use their ETFs and funds which do not require any transaction fees. They have been performing better than I could have managed on my own. I can call Schwab and get a human from the USA and get good advice, too.

vernonator · Apr 6, 2017

I too have Schwab and am happy with their service, no experience with Fidelity but I am sure their fund offerings will be similar.

As others have said I can talk to a human at Schwab, once you pass a certain balance you CAN get a personal investment councilor.

tom_sprecher · Apr 6, 2017

I have Fidelity. If you like losing money due to inflation buy CD's. If you like making market returns buy an S&P 500 ETF and put as much into it as you can every year.

Historically over the long term the S&P 500 is hard to beat.

jstump2490 · Apr 7, 2017

What kind of returns are you Schawb and Fidelity guys seeing? I'm 27 and just started saving for retirement last year because I wanted to pay off my $25K in student debt first so I am still looking at the best way to invest. I went with a simple Roth IRA just to get started since my company doesn't 401K match but may roll it over into something where I have more control over it if I can find a good place to manage all my investments. I am really ramping up my contributions now that my student loans are gone.

vernonator · Apr 7, 2017

jstump2490 said:
What kind of returns are you Schawb and Fidelity guys seeing? I'm 27 and just started saving for retirement last year because I wanted to pay off my $25K in student debt first so I am still looking at the best way to invest. I went with a simple Roth IRA just to get started since my company doesn't 401K match but may roll it over into something where I have more control over it if I can find a good place to manage all my investments. I am really ramping up my contributions now that my student loans are gone.

It really depends on what funds you pick. I have 3 that are averaging around 5% annual. But I am on the other end of the investment curve so have moved to more conservative lines.

RE: Roth vs Traditional - keep an eye on your net taxable income to figure out what one to be in. If you can afford higher taxes NOW stick with the Roth as they are NOT taxed at disbursement. If you need a break on your Taxable Income lean towards the Traditional. You are doing the right way by investing early, if you can after you pay off your student loans - don't even blink and drop all of that payment into your 401k so you never see it and don't miss it. You will not regret it as you get older and see your retirement account grow.

jstump2490 · Apr 7, 2017

vernonator said:
It really depends on what funds you pick. I have 3 that are averaging around 5% annual. But I am on the other end of the investment curve so have moved to more conservative lines.

RE: Roth vs Traditional - keep an eye on your net taxable income to figure out what one to be in. If you can afford higher taxes NOW stick with the Roth as they are NOT taxed at disbursement. If you need a break on your Taxable Income lean towards the Traditional. You are doing the right way by investing early, if you can after you pay off your student loans - don't even blink and drop all of that payment into your 401k so you never see it and don't miss it. You will not regret it as you get older and see your retirement account grow.

That's what I already did. Loans were paid off in October, increased contribution in investments in November to match what the loans were. I should be maxing out my Roth IRA this year and I am putting a good chunk of my left over cash every month(that isn't spend on car parts lol) into a non retirement growth account. I may open up a 401K next year to build more of a retirement and save some on taxes though but where I do it depends on if my company starts matching this year or not. I use Betterment for my growth account and they do tax loss harvesting so I plan on keeping all my taxable investments with them so I can take advantage of that if my employer decided to shaft us again and not do matching like they said they plan on doing.

jtmat · Apr 7, 2017

lizardrko said:
Looking to set up a Roth IRA (Im 24). It was suggested to go with either Schwab or Fidelity. Question is which one? All the finance terms are completely foreign to me so I have trouble understanding it all. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with either. Thanks!

I had shwab back in the day... early 90s... until they ripped me off. I don't deal with them now. Never worked with Fidelity. I went with TD Ameritrade. TD has an education that might help: https://www.tdameritrade.com/education.page

There was another person who mentioned roth vs. traditional... look that up. I do traditional since it lowers my taxes. Friend of mine does Roth. Who is right? We both are... it is what works for the individual. I will say the people who have failed at retirement are those who fail to do anything (always tomorrow for them).

Anyway, right now I'm maxing out my 401k (I also get matching) since I'm going to retire early. I also invest in ETFs on the side... I have four, one at 9% and three others at 23% (those % mean nothing really... I got lucky and purchased low). I'm considering throwing money in Roth until retirement and keeping them until 59 1/2... might be a good option for me.

Far as savings vs. paying bills... I've done both all my life. I've always saved something for retirement... the money I put away early has grown. It is important to not ever touch that money... let it grow (don't use it for down payment on house, etc).

Currently I'm paying off my house... working my numbers, should be done in less than three months. At that point, I'll have no debt whatsoever.

It is all about whatever works for you... having a plan that spans decades and let it work for you. There are so many ways to "get there". No one is right or wrong... I will say that I've generally stayed away from "too good to be true". I've had my best luck with mutual funds and now ETFs. Regular stocks were mixed... when I had time to manage them, I did okay. Important to buy and hold... buy every month no matter if market is high or low... do it automatically.

Oh, and http://www.investopedia.com/simulator/ is a nice simulator for playing the stock market (stocks, etfs, and not sure what else). They also have nice information in general.

tcman54 · Apr 8, 2017

For years I had a regular IRA and then when the rules changed my financial broker from Edward Jones started to convert it into a Roth.

I retired very early at 50 so I have awhile to wait until it starts paying off.

TC

lizardrko · Apr 10, 2017

jtmat said:
I had shwab back in the day... early 90s... until they ripped me off. I don't deal with them now. Never worked with Fidelity. I went with TD Ameritrade. TD has an education that might help: https://www.tdameritrade.com/education.page

There was another person who mentioned roth vs. traditional... look that up. I do traditional since it lowers my taxes. Friend of mine does Roth. Who is right? We both are... it is what works for the individual. I will say the people who have failed at retirement are those who fail to do anything (always tomorrow for them).

Anyway, right now I'm maxing out my 401k (I also get matching) since I'm going to retire early. I also invest in ETFs on the side... I have four, one at 9% and three others at 23% (those % mean nothing really... I got lucky and purchased low). I'm considering throwing money in Roth until retirement and keeping them until 59 1/2... might be a good option for me.

Far as savings vs. paying bills... I've done both all my life. I've always saved something for retirement... the money I put away early has grown. It is important to not ever touch that money... let it grow (don't use it for down payment on house, etc).

Currently I'm paying off my house... working my numbers, should be done in less than three months. At that point, I'll have no debt whatsoever.

It is all about whatever works for you... having a plan that spans decades and let it work for you. There are so many ways to "get there". No one is right or wrong... I will say that I've generally stayed away from "too good to be true". I've had my best luck with mutual funds and now ETFs. Regular stocks were mixed... when I had time to manage them, I did okay. Important to buy and hold... buy every month no matter if market is high or low... do it automatically.

Oh, and http://www.investopedia.com/simulator/ is a nice simulator for playing the stock market (stocks, etfs, and not sure what else). They also have nice information in general.

Thanks for the long response. Ive heard a lot about mutual funds and ETFs. Not sure really what they are. Im more familiar with traditional vs roth ira. Roth IRA fits me more right now, but am unfamiliar with the other 2

Road Dog · Apr 10, 2017

I'm retired now

My company had 401K plan and used Fidelity. I am more than happy. I shoveled all I could into the plan for 20 yrs. The Fidelity guys know their stuff. I have a monthly check that I decided the amount of and last year the gains covered most of the amount I withdrew. Index funds worked for me (S&P500 based).

jtmat · Apr 10, 2017

lizardrko said:
Thanks for the long response. Ive heard a lot about mutual funds and ETFs. Not sure really what they are. Im more familiar with traditional vs roth ira. Roth IRA fits me more right now, but am unfamiliar with the other 2

IRAs can be made up of mutual funds and ETFs... and mutual funds and ETFs can be made up of individual stock. (this is so simplified but I wanted to keep it simple... you should read about how all of these things can fit together). Wish I'd had investopedia (or sites like it) when I started... tons of info.

One important thing, if I did not mention it, is that I learned about investing/savings/retirement by visiting a c. schwab local investment center back in the 90s. I went everyday during my lunch break for years off and on.

Even if you eventually hire someone to management your portfolio, you should devote time learning the language. ((I'm saying this with respect... not trying to be a jerk here.

))

SR56 · May 28, 2017

Go with a full service broker with low fees. I use USAA since they're my bank and I'm over the threshold that keeps my trade costs low. I don't dabble in mutual funds since I prefer dividend stocks and reinvesting. I highly recommend picking your own since it keeps interest and awareness up and you know what you're investing in.

I like high yield utilities for "safety" and steady income:

Southern Company (SO)
CenterPoint Energy (CNP)
Duke Energy (DUK)

Other solid ones:
Main Street Capital Corp (MAIN); pays monthly as well as annual special divi
Realty Income (O); also monthly
Altria (MO)
Flowers Foods (FLO)
New Residential Investment Corp (NRZ)
Digital Realty (DLR)
AT&T (T)

My strategy is to buy enough shares so that every divi reinvestment at least nets me one share in return. You can start with stocks that are less expensive per share, and there are plenty of them. There are a ton of dividend investment blogs out there that you can see how this adds up quickly if you stick with it. Much of the research has been done by these guys and you'll see there are a lot of the same stocks held by many of them.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4035092-top-holdings-dividend-growth-bloggers-2017-edition

One of my favorite tools to use to look up dividend payment history is Nasdaq:

http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/nrz/dividend-history

Starting young is one of the best things you can do. Take advantage of your 401k by contributing at least the max your company will match. It's free money! And try to invest at least 10% of your income. Adjust your federal and state tax withholding to maximize your paycheck and not get a refund and pay yourself instead. Remember, 401k (non-Roth) reduces your earned income for increased investing!

machsmith · Jun 3, 2017

You're doing it right starting young. I was always living for the day at your age. Lol.
Now I max out the mutual fund for tax savings and also the 5k Roth(+5 for wife)
She has had a 401k for years and I'm playing catch up. I use Schwab and for how much I have dealt with them, they are great!

Cobra Jet · Jun 8, 2017

Seeking Alpha is great site and their app is great too!

Anyone have knowledge on retirement accounts?

wildcatgoal

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vernonator

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tom_sprecher

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jstump2490

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vernonator

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jstump2490

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jtmat

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tcman54

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lizardrko

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Road Dog

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jtmat

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SR56

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machsmith

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Cobra Jet

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