[GeorgeF]

1.) Some places charge a yearly fee. brokerage fees vary from place to place. If you like vanguard I would use them. What do they charge to invest in an index mutual fund.

2.) I believe the limit is the total for all IRAs. The mutal fund company will give you the exact details.

3.) You can roll you ira over, your new broker will have a form authorizing the transfer.

4.) My guess is that you should just go with vanguard and use their site to research their funds. I see no reason for you to invest aggressively, if you feel you do try bobbrinker.com or fundx.com for cheap ($200/yr) advice that might (or might not) work for you.

5.) The fees on index funds are small but they do vary, my guess is that vanguard is about 0.1% cheaper than others but you have to check. It will not be much. Monthly payments might help you keep ontrack.

vanguard has bond funds also. You should consider their asset allocation funds that put you into a number of different funds. Ask them for advice.