If you have a ROTH IRA, where did you get it through?

bmo88 · January 2015

We currently contribute to 401ks through our employer, but there isn't a match, so we contemplating getting a ROTH for myself and one for my DH. I was wondering where others have opened their ROTHs through.

Xstatic3333 · January 2015

I use Fidelity and have been quite happy with them. They have lots of affordable fund options, and you can meet with someone in person free of charge. I also like their mobile app.

bmo88 · January 2015

Xstatic3333 Thanks for the recommendation! I just looked and Fidelity has a branch in my town. So they don't charge to meet in person? How are their fees in general (for trades, annual, etc)?

Xstatic3333 · January 2015

My Roth has no annual fee, and I only invest in funds with no transaction fees. I also invest in no-load funds with low expense ratios. There is a minimum to get started (2-3,000 I think) but it can be waived if you set up auto drafts.

vlagrl29 · January 2015

fidelity for sure! I have my IRA with them. What I like about them is there is an office close by and I can go in and talk to a financial advisor and also can talk to their advisors on the phone. Just did that a few days ago and he helped me figure out how to diversify my funds to be more balanced.

smerka · January 2015

I really like Vanguard. They don't have offices (except in AZ) but you can talk to advisors over the phone. As a result, many of their funds have really low expenses. If you have more than $10,000 in a fund, you can get Admiral status and the expenses are even less. For example, the 500 Index fund has an expense ratio of 0.17%, but the Admiral status brings it down to 0.05%.

hoffse · January 2015

I have fidelity and like them too. Fees are quite low in general. I don't invest in anything with more than a 1% fee. Most of ours are 0.3% or less, actually. One of the things I like the most is I have the Fidelity AmEx, which depsoits rewards into my Fidelity account. I get 2% back on everything.

I also call their help line on occasion. The people who answer the phone are remarkably knowledgeable. I'm a lawyer who focuses on tax.... but not individual tax. So sometimes I call Fidelity to ask tax and/or tax timing questions for our accounts because it's faster than reading the regs myself. The people on the phone can almost always understand my question and answer it.

Vanguard has a great reputation as well. You can't go wrong with either one.

MommyLiberty5013 · January 2015

Vanguard. Their site is super easy to use/understand. I've had them for 10+ years. And, the times I've called customer service it's been a pleasure, actually to talk to them.

Vanguard has no load funds, which means no fees.

bmo88 · January 2015

Thanks everyone. I actually had my 403b through Vanguard at my last job and I really liked them I will look into them as well.

dragonstarjk · January 2015

I have mine at Vanguard and I love it; I've had zero issues. I'm a pretty passive investor, so I just picked their 'target date' fund for the year I want to retire, and let it do it's thing. Plus, it's really easy to go in and adjust my automatic contribution amount whenever I need to.