What is an IRA anyway?
• Well, an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is basically an account that provides huge tax benefits when used to save money for retirement. • It is an ACCOUNT that HOLDS investments IN it. I find that some people get this part confused, so remember IRAs are NOT investments themselves, they are only the ACCOUNT that holds the investments. Within the account you can invest in stocks, mutual funds, CDs, money market funds, and many others. • IRAs can be opened at brokerage firms (Merrill Lynch, Edward Jones, etc.), online brokers (Zecco, Scottrade, ETrade), mutual fund companies (TRowe Price, Vanguard), and most banking institutions. • You get to choose which investments go in the account. Keeping that in mind, many banks will not give you the freedom to invest in stocks and mutual funds, because they do not offer brokerage services (I know the larger ones do, so if you bank with them, go for it). But YOU are the one who decides what investments go in your account. • You CAN open multi
