Roth IRA? Mutual Fund? Vangaurd? Difference?

have heard Vanguard is a good place to invest. Is this where I open a Roth IRA? Cant I just open a Roth IRA through my bank? What would be the difference between going through my bank or Vanguard or Fidelity? Or another company?

Vanguard is a solid company to invest with. You can also open an account via a discount broker such as Charles Schwab (allows purchase of Vanguard funds).

The difference is personal preference. Most of them allow online account set-up as well.

Your bank will be just as likely to charge a fee as Vanguard.

Vanguard Group is an investment firm. These generally offer a variety of investment options, which include IRAs, mutual funds, etc. Of course, they charge a fee for this service. You can open a Roth IRA at any bank or credit union. They won't charge you for the privilege.

A Roth IRA opened at Vanguard will invest your funds in a mutual fund and your returns are going to be higher than in a bank and also Vanguard's fees are the lowest in the industry. Good luck.

I'm with Fidelity, but I assume that Vanguard is almost exactly the same...your big difference ( to banks) would be the " versatility" of your account... when you send your money to Fidelity ( or whoever) it is placed in a " core" account..( paying interest)... and you can invest it almost anywhere you want , Mutual funds, stocks, ETF's, etc.... on- line....if you are unfamiliar with the process, don't worry...everything is explained , and you will have the info at your fingertips to help you choose where your money goes.
When you decide, you fill out a " buy" order and your in!
You will have an on-line " portfolio" that you can check whenever you want...you can change investments, add to your account ( within limits for an IRA)
Invested in mutual funds, your money will do much better than bank-rate interest .( Conservatively 8 to 10% as opposed to maybe 4.5% ?)
To see what kind of difference that can make, go to:
http://finishrich.com/free_resources/lat...
Put in your $ 4000.00 , yearly, for say 30-35 years at 9%...
then do your " bank-rate"....NOW you know why you go with an " investment" company!!
If, after you open one, you have trouble making a decision on funds....come right back to " answers"....there are people here familiar with any company you go with...( and most companies trade eveyone else's funds anyway)
Good luck.

I might be incorrect, but I think that your bank would be among the worst places to set up an IRA account. If your bank is like my bank, they love to nickle and dime you to death. They will probably charge you a maintenance fee of about $35 annually. Most mutual fund companies and on line broker firms will not. They might charge you exhorbitant brokerage fees or try to convince you to invest in mutual funds with front end loads. The load goes into their pocket. Or worst yet attempt to convince you to invest in their low yielding CDs.

There are at least 3 mutual fund companies that I know of that have a good selection of mutual funds to choose from--Vanguard, Fidelity, and T Rowe Price. Fidelity and I believe also Vanguard also offer brokerage services. Their broker commissions however are somewhat on the high side. An IRA account with Scottrade is a pretty good deal. They charge low brokerage fees and also low mutual fund transaction fees on mutual funds that are not commission free.

Whatever you do, you do not have much time left in which to do it for 2006.

I use TD Ameritrade for mine, but their interest rate on free cash balances is pathetic. Fidelity has much better interest rate.

Here's a page for finding a good good mutual fund to invest in:
http://www.best-stock-trading-systems.co...