04/28/2022
Which platform is better for opening a Roth IRA?⠀
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The question of where to open your Roth IRA is one of the first steps to opening it! ⠀
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Options include: Vanguard, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, Wealthfront, Betterment and the list goes on. ⠀
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Prior to a few years ago, each trade you made charged a fee. So Vanguard had been better to go with because they had a discounted trading fee for when you bought their ETFs or mutual funds (which have low expense ratio fees). Now that trading costs are minimal - this becomes less of an issue. ⠀
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Personally, I opened a Vanguard account initially but then the app and platform was not user friendly so I switched to TD Ameritrade. Thus, I have around $3000 in Vanguard and the rest in TD Ameritrade. This is just to say you can switch platforms if you wanted to it’s just not easy to transfer them I don’t think. ⠀
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Other points about the other platforms:⠀
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Charles Schwab - is a very good platform with lots of information and good customer service. They actually bought TD Ameritrade so they are essentially under one umbrella and will merge in a few years. ⠀
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Wealthfront / Betterment - have robo advisors for if you want effortless investing. They have a lot of options that are for target based investing so you put in your retirement date and it creates a portfolio for you. Over time it adjust the portfolio from one with more risk to less risky over time depending on your retirement date. ⠀
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Essentially, the hardest part is picking! They are all good options. If you want more information just google “Best Roth IRA accounts” and there are plenty of articles to read. ⠀
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Of note, the most important step is knowing that after you put your money in your Roth IRA you have to assign it to an investment. This is key!! Otherwise it’s just a bank account. ⠀
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Hope this was helpful! Which platform do you use and would you recommend it? ⠀
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