ING Direct Traditional IRAs worth it?

Question

I'm looking to purchase some mutual funds (Traditional IRAs) for my 2006 tax write-off before the deadline comes in April. ING offers several ranges of risk/reward levels of mutual funds. Does anyone have anything good or bad to say about their funds?

Answer 1

ING is an average fund company. Many of their funds have "loads" (commissions). If you need advice they'd be "OK". A great "loaded" fund family is American Funds.

On the other hand;
My wife and I only buy no-load funds. We have done very well vs. the loaded funds. (there is no statistical difference between the performance of loaded vs. no-loads, LOADED just costs a whole lot more).

You can buy good funds through Schwab or Fidelity Brokerage..... or go to the fund families directly. Some examples are;
Vanguard (best costs, good funds)
T. Rowe Price (good performance, fair pricing)
Fidelity
Dodge & Cox (great International Fund)
Artisan
Oakmark
etc.

You may also want to check out ETF's like IVV & SPY. You can't get cheaper & they'll beat most Mutual Funds (over a 10 year period).

Good luck. Your #1 job is;
Pick funds with low costs (internal fees and no-loads)
Don't pick the "best" fund of last year.
Have an "Asset Allocation" in mind

PS: As a general rule; Avoid banks and Insurance companies for long term investing.

Answer 2

If this is your first dab into the market, I think you should use a more established company. Try looking at American Funds. Many options, and all with much longer track records.

Answer 3

you are better off with an investment company than a bank.