Where to open an IRA

[PokerBob]

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I've been doing a comparison of different online brokerages and it seems Scottrade is the best (cheapest) place to use. Does anyone have any viewpoints/suggestions on this? What do people think about Scottrade vs Ameritrade, Fidelity, TDWaterhouse etc? Thanks

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Mine is through Vanguard. I am happy with them, but I don't do much trading. It's a ROTH and a 403(b) through work. I just let it sit there and grow.

[LondonBroil]

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Vanguard...dollar cost average monthly in your choice of a decent index fund The maximum annual contribution is currently $4K a year up from $3K last year for a Roth IRA ..that's $333.33 a month.

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Sorry to rehash this but I've been away. I've read a lot about dollar cost averaging and how it prevents trying to time the market, but wouldn't it be better to just put the whole $4K in at the very beginning of the year so you have more time to let it grow?

[wmmathguy]

It could, but where are you saving that money for the whole year until it reaches $4k. With regular purchases the dollar cost averageing helps you even out market corrections. You buy more when it's cheeper and less when its more expensive.