I have a Roth IRA that hasnt performed as well as it should. What is the most consistent company(vanguard?)?

Question

My current company is Primerica which is a branch of CITI Group. I always hear about the Vanguard Fund, but for all i know its like saying Nike makes the best basketball shoes(brand recognition)

Answer 1

Which Vanguard Fund have you picked? Vanguard has many mutual funds. Conservate funds has a historical rate between 5-10%. Aggressive growth funds has a historical rate between 10-15%.

Next question, how are you investing? Did you put just one lump sum deposit and just let it sit there? Or you invest just once a year? Or you invest every month?

How long have you been investing? If you been investing a long time and you see that other investment companies such as Legg Mason are doing significantly better than that mutual fund of the same category, then it may be wise to sell your Vanguard Fund to purchase another fund. There maybe tax consequences, so consult with a tax advisor before doing so.

These three questions can affect the performance of your portfolio: How long have you been investing? What is the objective of that mutual fund? How often do you invest?

Registered reps at Primerica are now equipped with the Morningstar Program. Morningstar is a company that research and reviews all investments, from stocks, bonds, to mutual funds. Base on their research, they give a rating from 5 star (superior) to one star (very weak). The Morningstar Program analyzes your current porfolio, evaluates your risk and then makes recommendations on which mutual funds you should invest in. Primerica has 100s of different mutual funds from various companies such as Van Kampen, Fidelity, Oppenheimer, Legg Mason, and so on. So, you are not purchasing mutual funds from Primerica, you are purchasing it through them.

I invest every month in my mutual funds and on average, they have perform at a rate of 11% in the past year. About 13% in the past 3 years. I have 3 mutual funds in my Roth IRA (i'm not going to tell you because they might not meet your objective) and put away $50 into one fund and $25 into the other two, for a total of $100/month.

If you want more info about IRAs and mutual funds, go see my research at: http://obe231.blogspot.com

Answer 2

You seem to be mistaking a Roth IRA for an investment.

Its not, its a type of account. funds within a Roth IRA can be invested in most types of investments, whether mutual funds, or stocks.

If your account is with Primerica and they will not allow you to invest in other fund companies move your Roth IRA to another company, the best is some form of brokerage firm. They tend not to care what you invest it in and will give you a wide variety of investments to choose from and allow you to switch investments as oftn as you like (for a fee, usually the same as a regualr stock account.

If you are unhappy with your current company, just go to another and roll it over to a new Roth IRA, the new company will eb more than happy to handle it for you.

Answer 3

PrimeAmerica is one of the worst Mutual Fund advisers out there. Their incompetence is legendary. Don't be taken by their association with CitiBank.

As a general rule stay away from banks and insurance companies for investment advise. Your best bet is to go with a discount broker (like Schwab or Fidelity) or directly with a Mutual Fund Company like Vanguard, T.Rowe Price, Fidelity, Dodge & Cox and a host of others.

Learn about investing. I'm not talking about years of study. Once you understand a couple of principles you'll do fine (or at least much better than PrimeAmerica.

Learn about;
Asset Allocation
Internal expenses
Loads vs no loads
Index Funds (the S&P500,over time, does better than 80% of all Mutual Funds & are one of the least expensive ways to invest).
EFT's (Exchange Traded Funds)
Time horizons and levels of risk.

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 4

vanguard is a top of the line company, with extremely low fees, troweprice and fidelity are two of the other well known no load fund companies

and vanguard isnt a fund, it is a fund family , it runs a lot of different mutual funds that you can invest in

Answer 5

There is no such thing as a "great company". You could choose Vangurd..but if your in the wrong fund at the wrong time your investment value could decline. If it is a substantial amount of money...seek advice from a professional (like myself).