Ideal brokerage for Roth IRA

[turbo6bar]

I'm considering Vanguard and Fidelity. I want to start a Roth IRA with a quality brokerage, and if I like the fees and research, eventually transfer IRAs from individual mutual fund companies. I want everything under one roof.

I don't want to trade stocks. I do want access to mutual funds and ETFs as well as options. Is there a perfect match out there, or are they all good?
jurgen

[legion]

My 2¢:

Most actively managed mutual funds tend to underperform the broad market over the long term. Get yourself in a no-load, no-fee index fund, either DJIA or S&P500 based.

[einreb]

Originally posted by turbo6bar
I'm considering Vanguard and Fidelity. I want to start a Roth IRA with a quality brokerage, and if I like the fees and research, eventually transfer IRAs from individual mutual fund companies. I want everything under one roof.

I don't want to trade stocks. I do want access to mutual funds and ETFs as well as options. Is there a perfect match out there, or are they all good?
jurgen

I dont think you could go wrong with either of those two. I have experience with Schwab and T.Rowe Price and was generally happy with both. I eventually consolidated everything to just T. Rowe Price.

[Moneyguy1]

T. Rowe Price here as well. Have tried others and found that generally TRP performs a bit better. Of course, they have offerings that range from relatively high risk to bond etc. A lot depends on your aversion to risk and your timeline.

[pwd72s]

Most of our stuff is with Vanguard. Excellent service, low fees. All that said, especially for a Roth IRA, you may wish to research their "no brainer" (target retirement) fund. It's a mix of widely diversified stocks, including international, and bonds. You tell them your target retirement date. They then asset allocate for you, sliding more heavily toward the bonds side as your retirement date nears. A 21 year old opening this account would be very heavily into stocks...an older person less so. As it should be.

[Bill Verburg]

Another vote for Vanguard or Fidelity

I'm at Fidelity, like you I wanted everything under one roof(as much as possible)
Roth's are no fee (even for small accounts)
Brokerage fees are extremely reasonable(but it does depend on asset base)
There is a wide range of no fee mutual funds(You would need very eclectic tastes to not find something in the asset class you want)
Of course ETFs(even Vanguard ETFs) are available through a brokerage account.

The Spartan Index funds are unbeatable for low fees and wide coverage. you could easily live w/ a 1 fund portfolio(4 in one) or a 4 fund portfolio(500, Extended Mkt, Int and total bond(or bond index))

[turbo6bar]

Alright, sounds like I am not far off base.

I already have an IRA with T Rowe, but would like more flexibility (ie. index funds and ETFs).

I plan to steadily transition my retirement accounts into more of a fire-and-forget plan, with a mix of index funds/ETFs.
Thanks much, jurgen

[Shuie]

I moved all of my stuff to Schwab and they are the only place I go when I'm looking to open a new account. They provide A LOT of flexibility as far as the investments go, and they really are a great customer service company. My 401k at my last job was through Fidelity, but I rolled that into an IRA at Schwab as soon as I changed jobs.

[Nathans_Dad]

Vanguard has great index funds and low fees. I think you get to buy them without commission if you have your account at Vanguard. I have mine at Scottrade and have been very happy with them, but own a big chunk of a Vanguard index as one of my core holdings.

I would go with Vanguard.

[Dixie]

Minimizing fees is the goal. I have m roth in an S&P 500 ETF through Scottrade.

[VincentVega]

TRP and Vanguard both have a ton of offerings. Vanguard has been doing index funds for a long time, they were one of the first, and have many offerings. Too many IMHO, but there is indexing is your thing I bet Vanguard has what you want.

I have accounts with both and have no complaints.

[einreb]

Originally posted by turbo6bar
Alright, sounds like I am not far off base.

I already have an IRA with T Rowe, but would like more flexibility (ie. index funds and ETFs).

You can pretty much get anything through TRP's 'gateway'. Some stuff has no additional fee's but there are some where you have to pay $35 when you buy( or something like that... quite minimal).

http://www.troweprice.com/common/indexGatewaySearch?scn=Choose_From_Hundreds&rfpgid=8034

I'd guess that 50% of my funds are TRP. My others like Vanguard S&P 500, Oakmark Int, Corp Bonds (ladder setup) and what not are still available through TRP. They all show up on the same statement at the end of the month.

[Hugh R]

Schwab, I was in Oppenheimer, until I read the fine print about fees, which are pretty high, and they penalize you heavily for moving money around. Schwabs access to information on performance, fees and everything you want to know about a stock or a fund is very good.

[pwd72s]

What most here seem to be saying? What I have said before. That is, FEES MATTER! They loom ever larger as retirement nears.. Bottom line: Would you prefer a Ferrari in a broker's garage, or a Porsche in yours? Your choice,