ING Orange Investment Account

[FrugalTexan75]

Hi All.
I was doing some money moving tonight from/to my ING account and noticed their investment/mutual fund account. From reading the material, it doesn't look like there is a mininum to start investing, nor a specified amount that you have to put in each month.

I also didn't notice any talk about fees or loads.

I'm thinking that I may be able to scrape $25/month to put into an investment account. I think $50 would be pushing it - which seems like all the other places want if you don't have a certain min to start.

So anyway, I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about ING's investment fund? Also, I couldn't figure out if it would be a ROTH or a Traditional IRA??

Also - if my financial situation changes and I am able to change the monthly amount, how hard is it to do that?

Thanks a million!

KIF,
Laura

[Ima saver]

I wish I could answer you, but I just don't know. One piece of advice I would give you is to open a roth ira as apposed to a regular ira.

[CRFSaver]

I have looked at INGDirects options before and I thought their funds performed only OK versus others I was looking at at the time. I also thought their fees were quite high compared to, lets say, a Vanguard or Fidelity but you would have to check those (I hate 12b-1 fees and think they should be outlawed). Most mutual fund companies have automatic investment plans for IRA's that can be as little as 50 bucks a month so its not just ING Direct.

While I like some of the aspects about Roth IRA's (ability to withdraw principal) you also need to look at it from a Tax perspective as well. If you are in a high tax bracket you might very well be better off opening a regular IRA. Go back to your stats class and look at the present value of a future dollar (tax free dollars grow faster). For someone like me (highest tax bracket as well as living in California with high State marginal tax), if I didnt ever want to use those funds I would be better off using a regular IRA.

If I put 1000 bucks in a regular IRA that is the same as 720 dollars in a Roth. Once I withdraw those funds 30 years from now my marginal income will be much lower. If you are in a lower tax bracket or think you might need access to the funds (buying a house for example) you might be better off using a Roth. Only you can know what is best for you.