IRA Account Question?

I want to open an individual IRA account because my employer doesn't offer 401k. Which company should I open this account with...Ameritrade, Fidelity, or Charles Schwab? Does anyone have a preference on which company is the best and/or the easiest to deal with? I'm a total beginner at this whole investing thing. Also, if I start an IRA account and I want to change companies, is it possible? Any advice would help...thank you!

The previous respondent is right-on with Vanguard, but I'm not sure how flexible your investment options are beyond their proprietary funds. With the other custodial options, consider fees (annual fee, maintenance fee, trading commissions, etc.) and what they pay on your cash. At Fidelity, the taxable moneymarket account earns just around 5%, so use that as a benchmark. Since you don't have a 401K available, I recommend you open a Traditional IRA since you get the up-front write-off against your wages. The logic is that you are in a higher tax bracket today, than you will be in when you begin withdrawals from the account. Moving the account from one custodian to the next is no problem at all. Check out http://www.fool.com to see a matrix-like comparison of the various online brokers and their fees, services, etc.

I recommend Vanguard. Excellent funds, minimal fees. You can change companies at any time by rolling one account into another. Never close your IRA-always roll it to avoid tax penalties. Consider a Roth IRA if you meet the income limits.

I use Fidelity. They have a nice website which is easy to use.

I have been in the banking industry for 6 years. I would speak to an investment banker at the bank you currently hold your checking or savings account with. Or you can get advice from your banks branch manager. IRA's are actually pretty simple to open and you don't pay for anything out of pocket. You just contribute a certain amount each year. You will not lose any funds if you close or transfer the IRA. You just need to make sure you transfer those funds to a new IRA within 60 calendar days to avoid any tax penalties from the IRS.

An IRA DOESN'T have to be with a broker. Almost any bank CD can be the investment wrapped in an IRA tax shelter too.
An IRA tax shelter is one where you agree with the government not to use the money, with certain exceptions, until you are at least 59 1/2 for the benefit of either an immediate tax deduction of money invested (traditional) or no tax on the accumulated earnings when you eventually take it out (Roth). For an individual investment during a given year you choose either one. You can change HOW the money is invested ANY time as far as the government is concerned, BUT SUBJECT to the rules you agree to in the vehicle in which you invest. Do you intend to take some risk with your money in the hope of beating bank CD rates? Stocks are not for the uninitiated.

You might want to check out ShareBuilder.com. They offer IRA accounts.

I like them better than the brokerages you listed. First, all of your money works for you. Other brokerages require you to buy whole shares, so you leave money sitting in your account. ShareBuilder.com will invest exactly the $ amount you specify and buy you whole and fractional shares. They will also do dividend reinvestment for free.

Second, they have some pretty nice research and tracking tools.

When you open an IRA, you should make it a ROTH IRA.
A ROTH is tax free forever. You don't get a tax credit up front, but you don't get hit with a tax bill later, either. A ROTH also works better for your heirs.

If you later want to change companies, do what is called a direct rollover. This means that your funds are transferred directly from your old company to a new company. Doing a direct rollover ensures that you don't get hit with penalties and taxes on income you didn't intend to have.

If you're just starting an IRA, I personally would put it in mutual funds, not individual stocks. The reason is that it's not a good idea to have your whole investment in one or two stocks because if one of them goes bankrupt or even has a few bad years, you can lose most or all of your investment. I think 5 stocks (in 5 different industries) is the fewest an investor in individual stocks should have. If you try to split a few thousand dollars across 5 stocks, you won't have much in each stock and you'll have to pay commissions on each purchase. Even at $8 or $10, that's a noticeable percentage of your investment if you're only buying $400 of stock.

So I personally would go to a fund company like Fidelity, Vanguard, American Century, etc. and invest the money into one of their stock-based mutual funds. Historically, over long periods of time, stocks have outperformed every other investment class, so for long-term retirement money, I think that's the place to be. Small company stocks have done slightly better than large company stocks, so I'd probably put at least half, maybe all, of it in a small company stock fund.

Once the balance gets to around $25,000, then if you feel like you want to start investing in individual stocks, you can transfer the IRA to a brokerage firm. There will probably be a transfer fee (charged by the company you're leaving) of something like $50 - $75 when you do that.

If you qualify for a tax deduction for a traditional IRA, I'd do that. If not, and you qualify for a Roth IRA, then I'd do that.