Can you recommend a good value IRA?

[Mr Nice Guy]

I stopped contributing 10% to my 401k and only do 5% to get the employer match. I went and talked to my banker at Wells Fargo about opening an IRA. To get an "investment-grade" IRA, i need a minimum $1k deposit, and they charge $40 fee annually.

Is their an IRA out there I can get started with on the cheap? Maybe like a few hundred dollars, and the ability to change investment direction and allocation?

[jpg7n16]

Fidelity:

https://www.fidelity.com/ira/traditional-ira

Fidelity minimum to open: $2,500 or $200/month (waived for rollovers & transfers)

and footnote 2:

2. There is no brokerage account fee on Fidelity's Traditional, Roth, SEP, and Rollover IRAs. Fund expenses and brokerage commissions still apply. Depending on your situation, fees may include low-balance fees, short-term trading fees and account closing fees.

[disneysteve]

One cheap option for someone just starting out with not much to invest is to open an account with a discount broker. I opened my SEP-IRA last year with Scottrade. I had under $800 since that was the maximum I was eligible to contribute based on my self-employment income. There are no fees for having the account - just the usual commissions for any trades I make, though their commission is only $7.95. So you could open your account, make one trade and buy a good diversified ETF and be done. Once you have a few thousand in the account, you can roll it over to Vanguard or Fidelity or T. Rowe.

[buildmybudget]

I second that, Steve. I use Scottrade and it's excellent!

[maat55]

T. Rowe Price allows you to open with a 50 minimum dollar per month asset builder.

Mutual Funds - T. Rowe Price Offers Over 90 No-Load Mutual Funds

[Mr Nice Guy]

Thanks all appreciate the feedback

[Mr Nice Guy]

One cheap option for someone just starting out with not much to invest is to open an account with a discount broker. I opened my SEP-IRA last year with Scottrade. I had under $800 since that was the maximum I was eligible to contribute based on my self-employment income. There are no fees for having the account - just the usual commissions for any trades I make, though their commission is only $7.95. So you could open your account, make one trade and buy a good diversified ETF and be done. Once you have a few thousand in the account, you can roll it over to Vanguard or Fidelity or T. Rowe.

Well, there are no fees, but there is a $500 minimum deposit! Wish they would have made that a little more clear from the get go, before I set up my account

So are there any good diversified ETF's Scottrade offers that you would recommend? I have a long time frame so I can definitely handle some risk? I guess costs will be an issue. Vanguard has good funds, and a good index fund is always a good bet from everything I have read.