I’m trying to get a friend to start retirement investing in a Roth IRA (she’s in denial about retirement).
I’ve had my $$ in Vanguard from way back, but some of the fund minimums are high, so I wouldn’t steer her there.
Can anyone recommend a good investment company for someone who isn’t going to actively manage their investments (she won’t pick stocks, etc).
I know Fidelity and Scwab are there and have ETFs, but again, I don’t think she’ll do those–she won’t pick stocks and bonds.
Any other places you can recommend for someone to invest, easily?
Thanks.
What does “in denial about retirement” mean ? Not sure how long your friend has until retirement but that would dictate how much risk they could take. In any case…for someone that wants to be hands-off, ETFs are a perfect choice. I would suggest something like the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) to get started.
By “denial” I mean that when I asked her about whether she was participating in her 401k or 403b at her new job, she said, “I love my (part-time) job and I plan to work until I retire, so I’m not thinking about it”. We had a good conversation about how once she retires, it’s too late to save for retirement. She is also dealing with her parents and father-in-law and the possibility of assisted living/nursing care, and they don’t have the money. I pointed out that by not planning her retirement, the worries will pass to her kids.
I’ve been careful not to pass judgement, but to just inform her of the possibilities.
One thing I’m not sure of – she worked as a part-time school aid for years (about $10-11/hr, part time), and the company hires them as “independent consultants”, so they don’t do the social security contributions. It is possible that she spent the last 15+ years working with no social security payments, though I don’t know that for sure. Since SS doesn’t send out statements to people under 60 years old, she has no idea what her SS might be.
She is a good friend, and I dread seeing her retire in ~8-10 years with nothing – no pension, small social security. She literally has not thought about retirement savings, ever.
She would only need to choose a Target Date fund based on her planned retirement year. The Target Date funds have a “glide path” so that the mix of investments becomes more conservative as she ages.
She may also benefit from a financial literacy course. Some of the courses are online and are free.