Opening accounts

[emon87]

I want to open an investment account. I will be investing in index funds.

In the sticky, ETrade and TDAmeritrade are suggested. However, I hear a lot about Vanguard Index Fund ETFs on this board as being the best choices. Can I purchase Vanguard funds through an E-Trade account?

I will be investing pretty small amounts - $4k to begin with and (hopefully) more in the future.

[BradleyT]

Are you openening a retirement account?

[ilikeaces86_]

Go to www.vanguard.com and put your 4k in a roth IRA if you can and purchase something like their total stock market fund. If you already have IRA's for 2007 then just put the 4k in the total stock market fund.

[dp13368]

I would advise against ETFs because you will be making regular (smallish) deposits and transactions costs will eat away at returns.

Open a ROTH at vanguard and go with their lifecycle 2050 funds (most aggressive) or some other fund.

[emon87]

I am a student with no earned income, so I can't do an IRA, right?

[gull]

You can open an account with a discount brokerage. There, you can buy ETFs.

Or you can open an account directly with Vanguard. There, you can essentially desposit money into an index fund.

If you have no earned income, then you cannot do an IRA. You are correct. Scholarships do count as earned income, by the way.

[emon87]

[ QUOTE ]
You can open an account with a discount brokerage. There, you can buy ETFs.

Or you can open an account directly with Vanguard. There, you can essentially desposit money into an index fund.



[/ QUOTE ]

So could I buy, say, Vanguard ETFs using e-trade? Or would I be better off buying a different ETF using E-Trade?

Since I will be depositing such small amounts into taxed accounts, would I be better off avoiding the fees for now and just going with a high-yield savings account and then maxing IRAs when I graduate or get a summer job?

[gull]

You can buy Vanguard ETFs like any other stock or ETF at a brokerage. Buying Vanguard ETFs would be a great choice.

What is your time horizon? If you plan to invest this money for a while, there's no problem with paying a small commission (or $0 commission in the case of Zecco).

[emon87]

[ QUOTE ]
You can buy Vanguard ETFs like any other stock or ETF at a brokerage. Buying Vanguard ETFs would be a great choice.

What is your time horizon? If you plan to invest this money for a while, there's no problem with paying a small commission (or $0 commission in the case of Zecco).

[/ QUOTE ]'


This money will be invested for a while. What is zecco? What is the best discount brokerage out there for buying ETFs?