Is it better to open an IRA with the bank, or with the company credit union?

Answer 1

The bank or other financial institute is better than the company credit union in my opinion since when you leave the company there may be some hassles and they may not have all the best options available being a small entity.

Answer 2

Due to deregulation, it seems to me that in most cases there isn't a real difference between the bank and the credit union. Theoretically, the Credit Union will give you better returns as is it "not for profit" and that is what they are supposed to do, but it all depends on the rates and all that jazz.

It also depends on if that IRA will be effected when you leave the company or anything like that. A bank wouldn't care either way.

I prefer a Credit Union.

Answer 3

I assume you are talking about opening up your account as a CD or something similar. Don't--unless you are retiring in just a couple of years (meaning that you can afford no risk). The returns on CDs are barely higher (or sometimes even lower) than the rate of inflation. You are simply running in place.

Investigate mutual funds, and open an IRA directly with a mutual fund.

(If you don't have time to investigate mutual funds by April 15, then you can open your IRA with a bank and roll it over into a mutual fund as soon as you are able to do so OR you can open an account with a brokerage company, put the money in a money fund, and transfer it into a mutual fund when you are ready.)

Answer 4

Bank IRA is ideal for someone who does not have large amounts of initail capitol. you can keep the IRA with the bank regardless of the place of employment and if you get a 401(k) with another company in the future and then leave there you would be able to make a seemless transition to your existing IRA without suffering the tax penalties associated with cashing out a retirement account before reaching age 59 and a half. Self directed investments are good if you have the time to commit to watching your accounts to get optimal performance from them, and full service investments are good if you have large amounts of capitol for your investment to offset the fees that you will be hit with when you start up. Of course if you have a moderate to large amount of investment capitol up front but are undecided at this piont invest in short term CDs for 3 to 5 months so that you are not loosing potential returns on your funds. hope this helps with your question.

Answer 5

I have been through this and here's my opinion....

I would not choose a bank or credit union for my IRA.

I would go with an investment firm instead. I recently compared mortgage rates for my new place and guess who had the highest rates? Both my bank (Bank of America), and my credit union. I got the best results using lendingtree.com.

I went with J.P. Morgan to handle our employee's IRA accounts and its worked out well.

Answer 6

Neither.

Banks as well as credit unions charge commissions on the mutual funds they distribute.

My recommendation would be to go directly to the mutual fund management company (preferably a non-profit company like Vanguard) and after you've educated yourself with their vast library of materials, select a no-load fund (one with absolutely no sales charges at all, either at the beginning or later). Mutual funds are best "bought" rather than "sold." Take charge of your future and avoid banks, credit unions, and brokers.

One more thing: Very often the noload funds also offer relatively lower continuing annual operating expenses. I've seen some load funds sold by brokers that, after charging a 5% sales charge, charge as much as 2% each year for annual expenses. Vanguard offers noload funds with annual operating expenses sometimes as low as 9 one-hundredths of one percent per year. "0.09%" Even their managed funds often have annual operating expenses in the vicinity of one-half of one percent.

Take charge of your financial future and avoid sales people. It's not necessary to become a poor sap contributing to their income streams. Keep the money in your own pocket.

Answer 7

This truly relies upon on the IRA investments that they are offering. One investment could adventure you greater proper than yet another. Banking expenses may additionally play an element, i could wager the federal credit union expenses could be decrease. you truly could desire to save around somewhat and notice what suitable meets your desires.

Answer 8

Probably the credit union, but I would think that fidelity or vanguard or some other mutual fund company would be a better choice.

Answer 9

Why would you open an IRA with either?

Why not use a brokerage firm. (though one may be affiliated with your bank).

In either case, where you pen it is not as important as what you choose to invest in. (other than tradings costs)