|  In
the last three articles, we have looked at some of the steps a new investor should
take to start making wise financial choices. In the previous article we covered
making choices in your employer's retirement plan. This article concentrates on
investing in other accounts such as IRAs and brokerage accounts, where your choice
of investments are virtually limitless.
In
your retirement plan through your employer, you likely have a list of funds from
which to choose your investments. The funds are normally categorized into equity
funds, fixed-income funds, international funds, etc. This makes it relatively
easy to decide which funds you wish to own. However, when you make a contribution
to your IRA, or when you have additional taxable savings that cannot be added
to a retirement account, there's no list from which to choose investments. You
can pick whatever investment you choose - mutual funds, stocks, bonds, or other
more exotic investments. In
your IRA, we suggest you first consider an equity fund such as an Index Fund based
on the S&P 500. Many funds of this type exist, such as the Vanguard Index
500. Initially, you will need to make some minimum investment in the fund, typically
$500 inside IRA accounts, and then you should be able to dollar-cost-average the
remaining contribution over a period of time. For instance, if you contribute
$4,000 to your IRA this year, make the initial $500 contribution into an Index
Fund, then invest $350 monthly for 10 months until all the cash is invested. In
future years, you will be able to dollar-cost-average your entire contribution
over the course of the year, if you continue to invest in the same fund. You likely
won't need more than three or four mutual funds in your IRA. One large-cap, one
mid-cap and one small-cap are often enough to get you well diversified across
the whole spectrum of the equity market. If
you still have additional savings available after you make an IRA contribution
and maximize contributions to your retirement plan, you should consider opening
a brokerage account. Determine whether you plan to spend the funds in the account
in the next 10 years. If so, you then should compare interest rates on U.S. Treasury
bonds, CDs from local banks, and money market rates. You should choose one of
these, depending on which choice offers you the highest after-tax return. We believe
that any funds needed within 10 years should be invested in one of these vehicles. If
the funds are not needed within 10 years, consider either individual common stocks
or mutual funds that invest in common stocks. You should dollar-cost-average funds
into equities, investing approximately equal amounts each month during the year.
For instance, if you assume you will be able to save $4,000 during the year, you
could invest around $333 each month into an equity mutual fund. You
should only invest in mutual funds until you have approximately $50,000 invested.
At that point, you should consider buying shares of individual common stocks.
By holding common stocks, you should be able to better manage the tax consequences
of the account. For instance, if you are holding a stock that has lost value during
the year, you may choose to sell the stock and take the realized loss to offset
other taxable gains you may have. Holding individual common stocks generally takes
a little more work on your part than holding mutual funds does. Therefore, if
you don't want to put in a little time and learn about the companies in which
you invest, you should consider continuing to invest in equity mutual funds. We
suggest that people avoid more exotic investment vehicles such as options and
futures contracts. These investments are often very volatile and in many cases,
your entire investment could easily drop to zero. While some professionals are
able to make money trading these instruments, we believe it is best for the individual
investor to avoid them altogether. We also suggest that day trading, or short-term
trading, should be avoided as well. Day trading increases taxes and transaction
costs, even when you are able to make money doing it. In most cases, people who
attempt to day trade do not make money. Hopefully,
you now feel a little more prepared to enter the world of investments!
All material presented is compiled from sources believed to be reliable and current, but accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The contents are intended for general information purposes only. Information provided should not be the sole basis in making any decisions and is not intended to replace the advice of a qualified professional, such as a tax consultant, insurance adviser or attorney. Although this material is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with respect to the subject matter, it may not apply in all situations. Readers are urged to consult with their adviser concerning specific situations and questions. This is not to be construed as an offer to buy or sell any financial instruments. It is not our intention to state, indicate or imply in any manner that current or past results are indicative of future profitability or expectations. As with all investments, there are associated inherent risks. Please obtain and review all financial material carefully before investing. |
