Anybody here just handle their own money?

[raccoon]

I mean, I have an account with ML but have thought about just doing my own thing, eventually.

I think you can't handle your own IRA. I mean, a bank or other financial institution has to do that. Please correct me if I'm wrong about this.

[trof]

1. Yeah, I do.

A few years ago I hired a financial adviser.
Just in time for the dot.com meltdown.
I had already loaded up on some tech stocks on my own, so he put me into some unrelated investments.

They headed south too.
When he'd lost half the money I'd turned over to him, I fired him.
So now it's just up to me again.
I'm retired and get a small pension and S/S.
Not enough to cover all my living expenses.
The balance of what I need comes from a fairly sizable IRA.
I own no common stocks, just preferreds and debt instruments such that pay regular quarterly interest.
Good luck.

[A HERETIC I AM]

2. You're not wrong about IRA's

They do require a "Custodian" - meaning you can't just open an account at a Mutual Fund Company or on Ameritrade and simply call it an IRA. There has to be an agreement signed that makes the institution, be it Ameritrade, Vanguard, your local bank, whatever - the custodian of the account. The custodian is held to the regulations set down by the IRS that govern these types of accounts.

If your Broker at Merrill isn't adding value that can't be duplicated on your own, then you probably should go elsewhere.

Before you move your money to an account that you will manage yourself, it would be a good idea to have a strategy in mind and a method to enact that strategy. Are you just going to buy Mutual Funds? How will you invest strategically? How about tactically? Cyclically? Are you interested in being complex to the point of making sure your sector weightings are appropriate for the various points in the economic cycle? Are you interested in buying more sophisticated investments like perhaps Unit Investment Trusts or Commodity, currency or overseas weighted Exchange Traded Funds? Do you like individual stocks? If so, have you considered learning about Options and using them to either hedge or enhance income or both?

There's a lot of choices out there. You can be as plain vanilla as you like or as complex as you like. Just be sure to take the time to thoroughly research.

[raccoon]

3. Thanks so much for your post. nt

[electron_blue]

4. Yes, I do, too.

Nothing fancy. A few years ago I checked out a lot of books from the library and learned the basics, then opened a Vanguard account and redistributed how I invested retirement over stocks, bonds, etc. and then mostly let it ride, giving it a full checkover once a year. I learned a lot from the "Motley Fool" books, among others. I figured time spent on this would pay off down the road. That's when I learned about fees and how important they were. I even got brave enough to buy a little stock and play with that.

Also, through my work, I have free access to a financial planner and go once a year or two years and fill in the gaps. The last time I went, I just told him what my plan was and asked his opinion about whether this was a good match for my goals and got some good feedback.

Good luck! Even if you hire a planner in the end, it is worth it to know more than the bare minimum to make full use of your planner.

[davidwparker]

5. You should give it a try. You have to do the work, but that's wise anyhow.

I just started taking an active roll in my 401k. It's kind of fun and a learning experience.

My 401k has been doing better than an account my mother has that is managed. She looses more money than I do. I just switched the bulk of mine to two international funds that are invested lots of countries. I did note that the USA was the least invested in by one of them -- 2%.

[medeak]

6. don't do the regular thing

built and own a strip mall...invested in 2nd deeds of trusts in Las Vegas for decade with 13% interest.

Now not certain what to do...with the foreclosure rates. Still have commercial properties and they are thriving thank goodness.

If any one has any ideas what to do with liquid cash let me know!