Should I wait to open a Roth IRA and just keep my money in my savings account until the yield goes back up?

Question

I've been researching Roth IRAs for a little while now, and I'm noticing that right now, most of them are losing money (have negative yields). I'm getting 3% interest from my savings account right now, so should I wait to open the Roth (I was thinking about doing the Fidelity Simple Start or Freedom Funds (2050) so I can skip needing a minimum to open the account by setting up automatic contributions, and because I don't know much about investing to create a portfolio myself...), or am I mistaken about something?

I know the markets fluctuate and I'm young enough to recover, but I don't want to open the account when I know I'll instantly be losing money until the market goes back up. What's the point of opening a Roth IRA if a savings account increases my money more? I figure it might be better to just wait until it's doing better than the savings account...?

Answer 1

You seem to be a bit confused.  You can open a Roth IRA using practically any investment vehicle.  You can even open a Roth IRA savings account or CD at a bank it you want to.

The great thing about investing --even now in turbulent times--is dollar-cost averaging.  Every month invest a set amount into your Fidelity fund, for example.  Some months you will be able to buy more shares; some months you will be able to buy less--depending on the market.  But at the long long end of the day when you are 59 1/2  or more, your stock market investment will be way higher than the bank investment.

You might as well hear this catchphrase now:

It's not timing the market that counts--it's time IN the market.

No one can predict the exact time when your investment will always be positive.  Start investing now for the long haul and you will definitely win.

Good luck!

Answer 2

OK.... today was a great day on the market.... & you missed it!

Don't try to time the market.  There may be years where you won't do well..... but the years that you do well..... will make up for it.   Never look at 3, 2 or 1 year stats.  That means very little.

Check out the T. Rowe Price Target Funds. I think they're much better than Fidelity.... but Fidelity is much better than what you've been doing.

Answer 3

Good answers here yes now is the time U.S. Housing R.E.I.T funds have high dividens and are considerably low now. I would recommend an ira in real estate when it booms you'll be one satisified chick. This is only a start but mix it up in about 5 to7 years.

Answer 4

The thing is, most things that you could invest in with a taxable account, you could invest in with a Roth IRA tax free.  So you need to consider that.

Since you mention Fidelity, their core cash account (cash awaiting investment) in IRA's pays a little over 2.5% interest (it was paying over 5% last summer).  You could invest in CD's from a Roth IRA there that currently pay 2.8% to over 4% .  I have one mutual find there (FLVCX) that is up over 8% this year (despite dismal returns for most stocks) and over 36% since I got into it 2 years ago.  And most of that was invested in early May 2006 just before a big market dive.

So the longer you wait to open your Roth IRA, the less "tax free" compounding you will get, or gains from other investments that are down now.  If your money is going to be sitting in cash until you figure out what to invest in, you might as well NOT pay tax on that interest.

Answer 5

Good advice from src50 and Nenya.  One more thing.  With inflation running at about 3% or more, you really are not making money and are probably losing buying power by settling for 3% interest.

Over the long term, stocks or a mix of stocks and bonds has returned substantially better returns-in the 7-12% range- over the long haul.  You are young,  take what you consider to be some risk.  I think your bigger risk is to lose buying power to inflation.

Read some of the advice we have left in the investing forums:  so a search.  There is much to learn and much to gain!

Answer 6

How do you know that you'll start instantly losing money?  I mean markets go down until they start going up, right?  For all you know, tomorrow could be the start of a gigantic comeback rally.

Investing in down markets is how you pick up bargains.  If you buy a mutual fund when it's down 10%, that means you get 10% more mutual fund for the same money.

In any case, it sounds like what you want to do is to Dollar Cost Average into it.  Who says you have to invest all at once?  Take your money and divide it by 12.  Then invest 1/12th every month so you even things out.

Lastly, I too have money in the Fidelity Freedom Fund.  A great investment vehicle.  Another good choice with even less expenses are the Vanguard Target funds.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

IRAS wether IRA or Roth IRA is something for the long run. Depending on age you should have mostly stocks in your IRA. As you get older invest more into mutual funds and bonds.

IRA are the way to go for retirement. Roth IRAs are txed on the spot so all profit is not taxed and you can withdrawl money whenever you want w/o penalty to my knowledge of course.

A smart investor will find a good market even in bad times

Answer 9

Your thinking is wrong.  Retirement investing is for the long term.  Right now is exactly the time you should be funding an IRA.

Answer 10

The deal with investing is you want to buy low and sell high.  If you wait until the markets are back up you will be buying high.

I've done that when I rebalanced my account and felt awful to see it all go down, down, down, just after the moves.

A Roth is a great idea and, did you know, you can have any type of account you want in a Roth .... I believe even a money market.  You can get some information by talking to a bank's investment advisor.

The big question to ask youself here is ... can you part with the money for a minimum of  5 years wihout having to pull some of the invested money out?  Do you have a savings account to handle emergencies ... you know, the 3 - 6 month of expenses tucked away?

That should be your first priority, before investing.