Money Market Fund, Annuities, Etc

[skyguy918]

Did you set up your protfolio by your self ( meaning just with future advisor)?

Yes. I opened an account with TD, set up Roth IRA's for me and my wife (and later Coverdell's for the kids), and invested the money there in the ETF's suggested by Future Advisor.

Just remember that you're not supposed to be touching this kind of portfolio frequently, only to rebalance a few times a year max. With TD's commission free ETF's, you have to actually enroll in the 'program' before you start trading (otherwise you'll get hit with a commission), and keep whatever you buy for at least 30 days (if you sell something after holding it for less than that you get hit with a short term trading fee).

[ADG]

whats TD?

[skyguy918]

whats TD?

TD Ameritrade. The other option is Fidelity. Both are solid online brokerages with excellent selections of commission free ETF's.

[ADG]

thanks for your advice?

Because im doing this for a first time. Is there some place where i can go to double check my portfolio

[skyguy918]

thanks for your advice?

Because im doing this for a first time. Is there some place where i can go to double check my portfolio

Not sure what you mean. Once you've set up an account at TD Ameritrade or Fidelity, deposited the money and invested it, you can obviously check on the progress of your portfolio by logging into your account. If you're talking about checking whether, in the future, Future Advisor recommends a change, the answer is yes. You can link your brokerage account to your Future Advisor account so that it checks your portfolio and recommends changes if necessary.

[Mountain Man]

I read other articals that are against index funds . with proof showing that the only make money on 10-20 days of the year. while loosing on all the other. so yes if you would look at the anual history it may have made money but you have to be in on all the bad days aswell ... The name of thwe aurther was rick edelman in "the lies about money" . He disproves mutual funds...

It's clear from your writing that you are not very familiar with investing. Index funds are a great way to buy market exposure as indicated by the index. It's a great way to have a diversified portfolio at very low cost. I can cite hundreds of pages on references discussing the pros and cons of index funds. However, for your purpose and because you don't want to risk all your capital I'd suggest the index fund or if you must invest on your own then something top shelf like AAPL. Just so you know though the  reason that Vanguard is so successful is because they focus on offering low cost low maintenance funds which cause their funds to consistently outperform.

Look if you're looking to make a little extra then an index fund can do that for you primarily by lowering your expense ratio and trading costs.

If on the other hand you're looking to become the next Buffet or Druckenmiller then by all means open a paper trading account and read up on the market first. You won't be doing yourself any favors by just buying stocks, bonds, options, futures, commodities, currencies, etc. willy nilly. There's someone way smarter than you on the other side of the trade who probably knows something you don't.

I've found good place to start with a paper portfolio might be trademonster.

[skyguy918]

It's clear from your writing that you are not very familiar with investing. Index funds are a great way to buy market exposure as indicated by the index. It's a great way to have a diversified portfolio at very low cost. I can cite hundreds of pages on references discussing the pros and cons of index funds. However, for your purpose and because you don't want to risk all your capital I'd suggest the index fund or if you must invest on your own then something top shelf like AAPL. Just so you know though the  reason that Vanguard is so successful is because they focus on offering low cost low maintenance funds which cause their funds to consistently outperform.

Look if you're looking to make a little extra then an index fund can do that for you primarily by lowering your expense ratio and trading costs.

If on the other hand you're looking to become the next Buffet or Druckenmiller then by all means open a paper trading account and read up on the market first. You won't be doing yourself any favors by just buying stocks, bonds, options, futures, commodities, currencies, etc. willy nilly. There's someone way smarter than you on the other side of the trade who probably knows something you don't.

I've found good place to start with a paper portfolio might be trademonster.

With a little editing, I'd give that a +1 

[Mountain Man]

Does 15k justify hiring a firm to manage my money?

Using a simple Time Value of Money equation your 15k at an average market return of 8% over 40 years would be $325,868. As the saying goes Think before you Swim.

[Mountain Man]

With a little editing, I'd give that a +1 

I'm just helping him understand that if he wants to go down a certain road there are still right ways and wrong ways. I'm not against investing. I do it myself and I enjoy it. But it's a passion and I know that in order for me to beat the market I need to take on added risk primarily leverage. I also have multiple index funds which are very well and consistently funded.

[ADG]

I'm just helping him understand that if he wants to go down a certain road there are still right ways and wrong ways. I'm not against investing. I do it myself and I enjoy it. But it's a passion and I know that in order for me to beat the market I need to take on added risk primarily leverage. I also have multiple index funds which are very well and consistently funded.

I appreciate the advice...

Using a simple Time Value of Money equation your 15k at an average market return of 8% over 40 years would be $325,868. As the saying goes Think before you Swim.

Ill take that option!!! how do i do that?

[Mountain Man]

The TVM option is really just buying an index fund and getting market returns which over time have been 8%. It's not a guarantee by any means but it's probably your best bet at long term sustainable returns. Follow skyguy918's advice and just open an account, follow the advice given by the broker, buy either multiple index funds or a fund of funds. Just do your best to pick funds that have at least 3 morningstar or lipper stars and stick to funds with expense ratios well under 50 bps. You could also buy etfs like SPY or IWM.

I'm sure you'll find once your invested that you'll read more and develop a stronger financial knowledge base and by being careful with your money now it'll still be there when you're ready for it.

[ADG]

Thanks

[dpk4588]

Does anyone here have an account with Barclays online?

I do, that's why I suggested it. They also have a "Dream Account" which gets 1.05% but has a deposit limit of $1k per month, but you can put your money in the regular online savings and have it automatically transfer the $1k monthly. And there are bonuses for depositing the max and not withdrawing for 6 months.

See more here.

[Got a clue]

Can anyone here recommend a good paper trading website?