2006-07-26 05:28:01 · 7 answers · asked by longformdocs 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Investing
Only if you have your IRA in a brokerage account.
2006-07-26 07:19:53 · answer #1 · answered by Yardbird 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends who is the custodian for your IRA.
If you use a stock brokerage (Schwab, Merrill-Lynch, etc) to manage your IRA, then you can buy pretty much anything they sell - stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. And more.
If you have your IRA with a large mutual fund company (Vanguard, Fidelity), same thing - they offer in-house brokerage services.
If you have a bank holding your IRA, then they might be able to offer stocks, but only if they have an in-house or affiliated brokerage service. Small banks probably don't have that capabilty.
However, if you have a small amount to invest (say less than $20K), the commissions on trading stocks may eat into your gains, depending on how many trades you make.
2006-07-26 12:36:56 · answer #2 · answered by Tom-SJ 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have a wide choice of allowable contributions for your IRA. You can choose from stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, mutual funds, gold coins, some types of real estate,derivatives just to name some of the choices. I'd stay away from foreign investments, though (but stocks that are ADRs are okay). If you're thinking about something beyond those items, check with a CPA before doing it, but the federal guidelines are a bit shaky on what's considered "self-dealing".
2006-07-26 12:36:28 · answer #3 · answered by SuzeY 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It all depends on who the custodian of the IRA happens to be. Generally, if you're talking about an IRA as opposed to a 401, you can choose your investments through your broker. In the case of many 401's, you have allocation choices based on funds that are chosen. You decide on the percentage you want in each funds. A good example of that sort of a situation is TIAA-CREF
Hope this helps!
2006-07-26 12:31:45 · answer #4 · answered by byebye 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In a self-directed IRA you can purchase practically anything; there's actually a list that brokerages will provide to you on what's acceptable to invest and what is not. I know you can do individual stocks because I do that myself.
2006-07-26 16:30:39 · answer #5 · answered by Mike S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hopefully you have it with a broker & not a bank. If so - can buy stocks.
2006-07-26 12:41:45 · answer #6 · answered by vegas_iwish 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2006-07-26 22:36:13 · answer #7 · answered by Andy 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋