If you're completely indifferent, I'd probably go with Vanguard. It was started by John Bogle, and he's really made a name for himself for putting together options for everyday Joe's to succeed in investing. Though others have caught up a bit recently, Vanguard was THE place for low-cost index funds for a long time. Philosophically, I have a soft spot for Vanguard even though I personally use Schwab since 1) my work IRA goes there and 2) I love their checking account.

Other than that, you're probably on the right track with a Roth, and the roadmap I posted a page or two back should give you a decent plan to follow for overall strategy.
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Looking back at the posts, we tend to get a little scattered. Beyond just "use index funds," look into "3-fund lazy portfolios" or just plain "target date funds" to get you started. Pay particular attention to "expense ratios" since those are the fees that you lose on an investment no matter what happens. You can grow into more advanced stuff if you have interest over time.

And again, ask if you have questions on the specifics. There's so much you can do that it's hard to give advice in general rather than saying "dive in, and let us help when you need it."
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Crap my bad, I tried to hit the thumbs up button and it won’t let me change it, sorry.
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My first piece of advice would be to make sure you have 3-6 months of reserved in your savings account in case of job loss or inability to work. It's good you feel confident that you could find a job to offset job loss, but don't rely on it.

So after you decide what amount is appropriate. Decide if youre going to be thinking serious retirement money or if this will be a "playing around" account. If it's serious, you will want to be doing indexed funds so you are diversified. This is much more reliable long term than picking individual stocks.

I think someone with limited investment experience, or who will have a long term buy and hold approach should go with Vanguard. Their in house funds/etfs have microscopic expenses, and they don't charge to make trades of those funds. Pick up an etf or a few that track the S&P 500. If you want to add some more diversity besides that to stabilize your portfolio, an intermediate bond fund is not a bad idea.

If you're an active trader, fidelity has more research tools. You can buy Vanguard funds through them but they will hit you with a trade commission. I don't think this is what you're looking for.

I think you should go with Vanguard.
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Sounds like you've got the budget part down. Nice work.

And in a sense, a ROTH IRA can be treated like emergency savings. If something catastrophic happened, you can withdraw contributions without penalty at any time. So maxing out this each year should be done if you have money sitting around and don't think you'll need it in the short term.


I am a Vanguard fanboy but nothing wrong with Fidelity either. Both offer low cost funds and customer service. If you don't know much about investing but are planning for retirement, a target date fund will switch your allocation as you age and can be left untouched.
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Did we miss something?

This thread tends to go quiet for weeks at a time. Post again if something wasn't answered.
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I’m leaning towards Vanguard, I have them in my 401k currently and this is not something I want to have to worry about managing. More just something to put my extra money working for me instead of sitting in a savings account or being blown on more stupid toys. Plus if anything happens to me it can be used by my children.
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My Roth IRA has done very well the last couple months. September and October are the best back-to-back months I've ever had.

And overall this year, I'm enjoying a 22.6% rate of return!
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BUT TRUMP SUCKS! WORST PRESIDENT EVER!!!! :-):-):-)
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Why is this relevant to this thread?
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God dammit. The game ended 4 hours before this post. Did you keep drinking and harassing that waitress?
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Similar for me but my portfolio was weighted to international and health sciences (+33%) for the past year. Did you have a similar tilt?
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No. Mine is mostly domestic, but I do need to diversify.

Any recommendations on some good stocks or mutual funds in those areas?
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Where do you have your fund?
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Edward Jones
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