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If I start a Roth IRA with either Vanguard or Fidelity investing in one of their Total Market Index Funds and decide in a decade or two that I would rather switch that money (still keeping it in the Roth) into an investment of corporate A Bonds (or higher), is that something which can be done? And if so does anyone know if its a difficult trasition?
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Yes. A Roth is just another account. You can trade and change pretty much anything you want at any time. I do it every so often - sell some funds that were OK but are on the decline, and buy new ones with the proceeds. Just don't take the money out of the Roth before you're of a certain age. -
Yes. You can pretty much buy anything that you want within a Roth account. My account is currently made up of Stocks, a Mutual Fund, and some Cash.BrianComment
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To clear up my question, I am asking about an actual corporate bond, Not a bond fund....am I correct in assuming that's the way you're all answering the question, that I can buy bonds in a Roth too?Comment
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My Roth IRA is at Fidelity, and ..... I was able to find a new issue (I just picked the first from the list, which happened to be MORGAN STANLEY MTN 01.75000% 04/18/2018), click "Buy", and then selected my Roth account, and it seems like it will let me do it.Last edited by bUU; 04-10-2013, 06:12 AM.Comment
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If fidelity would not have this "buy" option by the time I may want to change into bonds, could I just transfer all of my money from fidelity to a place like scottrade and use they money, still in my Roth, to buy bonds? Or is it more complicated than that?Originally posted by bUU View PostComment
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If you want actual corporate bonds, you can buy them at Fidelity. They have both bond funds and bonds.Originally posted by BrianJone View Post
My caution for you here is don't jump to the extremes. It seems like you're talking about going 100% Total Stock Market with 0% bonds, and then jumping straight to 100% corporate bonds and 0% stocks at some point down the line.
It's best to have a balance between the two.
Maybe start 70/30 stocks/bonds, and switch to 40/60 down the line. Or something like that.Comment
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You've misunderstood (and so have I... see below): You can buy bonds in your Roth IRA at Fidelity. (There are several ways to get into a buy transaction.)Originally posted by BrianJone View Post
That's the second way. But if you go to the account itself, viewing your holdings, and pull down the Actions link, it has links to Buy Stock/ETFs and to Buy Mutual Funds (including bond funds), but no Buy Bonds link. WAIT! SCRATCH ALL THAT! I see it now... "Buy Fixed Income". It's there.Originally posted by jpg7n16 View PostLast edited by bUU; 04-10-2013, 06:13 AM.Comment
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Originally posted by jpg7n16 View PostIf you want actual corporate bonds, you can buy them at Fidelity. They have both bond funds and bonds.
My caution for you here is don't jump to the extremes. It seems like you're talking about going 100% Total Stock Market with 0% bonds, and then jumping straight to 100% corporate bonds and 0% stocks at some point down the line.
It's best to have a balance between the two.
Maybe start 70/30 stocks/bonds, and switch to 40/60 down the line. Or something like that.
Thank you for the cautionary advice. I do hold bonds outside of my Roth and to balance things I will be buying straight index funds for the first couple years. Once it's close to the 80/20 or 70/30 range I will move back to bonds. I was asking more as a general question and not 100% to 0% ... Only asking if that was possible if I ever wanted to do it. It's good to read your post about this extreme not being smart, thank you for that.
While Fidelity offers this as an option, does anyone know if Vanguard lets you purchase bonds directly through their site too? Thank youComment
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The key is having a brokerage account. If you have a brokerage account, you can buy anything that trades on the exchanges.Originally posted by BrianJone View PostComment
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