How do you find the best Roth IRA? Before that, you first need to understand what IRA is and what IRA isn’t. IRA, or Individual Retirement Account, isn’t an investment itself as what most people think but rather an account that holds your investments.
Starting Your Roth IRA
Starting a Roth IRA isn’t that difficult considering that the eligibility rules for Roth IRA are also simple. To be able to contribute to Roth IRA, you just need to have some form of compensation. This could be in the form of wages, salaries, bonuses and others. Unlike your Traditional IRA, there is no age restriction to be able to make contributions to Roth IRA.
Other retirement accounts have many additional fees involved, which makes no fee Roth IRA ideal for many. With other retirement accounts, there are basically two types of fees involved. There are the fees that are associated with the actual investment and there are also fees charged for just having the account open.
Although a no fee IRA account doesn’t mean that you won’t be 100% free from fees, but the fees of this no fee IRA is minimal compared to other retirement accounts. In most cases, you would not be charged or there would only be minimal fees for just having the account open with this no fee Roth IRA.
Finding the Best Roth IRA Company
If you are eligible for Roth IRA, you then need to find the best IRA company. When it comes to IRA companies, you have several options, but which one would be the most suitable for you? For instance, you have banks. Banks would include trust companies, savings and loans, credit unions and your commercial banks. If you want to start a small investment, starting a Roth IRA through banks may be an ideal option. Although banks accept larger accounts, but they don’t offer as many investment options compared to mutual fund companies and brokerage firms. Mutual fund companies on the other hand are preferred by a lot of investors. With a mutual fund company, you can choose to invest part of your IRA into different types of funds to help you decide would be most profitable for you. Brokerage firms may also offer the best IRA accounts. When you choose to invest in a brokerage firm, you can make specific investments for your Roth IRA. It is even possible for you to design your own portfolio. Insurance companies may also be ideal if investing in annuities sounds appealing for you.
The best Roth IRA provider we’ve found is Scottrade. Their Roth IRA accounts are excellent for beginners, those who invest in mutual funds, and long-term (buy and hold) investors. Since Scottrade is a well-established, seasoned brokerage firm with a very good reputation, it is a natural choice for people nervous about opening their retirement investment account at the newer companies.
Scottrade Roth IRAs are free: there is no IRA setup and annual IRA fees. The firm is consistently rated at the top in customer service and investor satisfaction. Even if you already have an IRA with another company, it’s a wise decision to switch over to Scottrade to avoid unnecessary fees and low returns.
In choosing your IRA company, just make sure that you are aware of the fees involved. Aside from choosing the right IRA provider, you also have to know how to get the best IRA rates. There are many factors that could affect the rate of your Roth IRA. But when it comes to Roth IRA rates, just keep in mind that if you want to get a bigger return of your investment, then you also need to take bigger risks. If you just want to play safe and take smaller risks, then you cannot expect to get higher returns on your investment.