"Piggy" <pigglywiggly711[at]yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1161537757.489433.9240[at]b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...

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Not a problem. You just transfer the money within your Roth to another fund.
I've done that and Vanguard makes everything really simple.

Elizabeth Richardson

Piggy wrote:

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As with a regular IRA, or 401(k), there are no tax consequences trading
within the account.

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What if I were to switch multifund portfolios in the future (ex switch
from a Vanguard Target Retirement Fund to a Life Strategy Fund due to a
change in my financial situation)? Since it would be a Roth IRA, would
there be tax implications?

One of the things I like about these funds is that you don't have to
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I agree - I think that is how I'm feeling about the Target funds as
well. But this is one question I have. If i were to choose a particular
Life Strategy Fund, then switch to another one in the future due to a
change in my financial situation, and since this is a Roth IRA we are
talking about, would there be tax implications and if so what?

"Piggy" <pigglywiggly711[at]yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1161476229.662819.7370[at]b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
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I believe that is the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund. A GNMA fund is
a bond fund that invests in Ginnie Mae (General National Mortgage
Association) bonds.

$8700 is a nice start, and probably one core fund would be good, certainly
not more than 2 funds. Vanguard is the originator of index funds and have
very good selections. An S&P 500 fund would be an excellent core holding.
After you have grown that to $10-15000, you may want to add another fund.
Choosing a Life Strategy fund might be another way to invest those funds.

I have invested in some of their Life Strategy Funds. They are a "Fund of
Funds" meaning they are a wrapper for several funds. For instance, the
LifeStrategy Growth Fund has the Total Stock Market Fund, an International
Index fund, and the Asset Allocation Fund. The Total Stock Market and
International are index funds, while the Asset Allocation Fund is a managed
fund. One of the things I like about these funds is that you don't have to
worry about rebalancing your portfolio. All you need to do is decide how
aggressive you want to be. I'm personally not a fan of any of the Target
Retirement Funds - Vanguard or any other company. With the Target funds they
decide how aggressive you should be, and I prefer to keep that decision for
myself.

Elizabeth Richardson

Piggy wrote:
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Look to see in Vanguard has an "assett builder" program which allows
for less initial investments IF you add to the account each month.

T Rowe Price has a program like this and I opened my account with $50
in 5 different mutual funds.

If looking at only two funds,

if you choose index funds I would consider

S&P 500 index or Total stock market index
and
either Small Cap Index (aggressive)- choose only if you chose S&P index
above; International Index (more aggressive) OR Bond Index (less
aggressive)

if you choose managed funds, I personally like Windsor II (large cap/
dividend type) and I'm sure you could find a mid cap, small cap or
other fund for your other choice.

You could plunk all your money in VTI, and
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Is VTI the Vanguard Target Retirement Fund? Do you know anything about
the Life Strategy funds? Also what is the GNMA fund? I couldn't find
it.

On Oct 20, 3:24 pm, "Piggy" <pigglywiggly...[at]yahoo.com> wrote:
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Call Vanguard. *They'll* be very helpful. They have very efficient,
low
fee broad index funds so you can get all the diversity you'd want. They
have excellent low-fee bond funds. Many investors get their entire
stock/
bond portfolio completely taken care of with two funds. At your age I'd
by
almost completely in stocks. You could plunk all your money in VTI, and
anyone arguing against that would have to convince you that they know
how to beat the market. Over the long term about 85% of the best
professionals (fund managers) fail to perform as well as the market, so
don't think you can gild the lilly by getting X% small cap, Y% large
cap,
Z% knit cap etc. like you know better. VTI covers the waterfront. Once
you get more conservative, (retire age - 10?) you can start shifting
some
into a bond fund. Vanguard's GNMA fund's bonds all have the U.S.'s full
treasury backing and it is also low-cost and has performed excellently
forever...
A ROTH is a *good idea*. You can put in $4000 now for 2006, and
$4000 in January for 2007.

I have $8700 left over from a custodial account with Morgan Stanley and
am considering transferring it to Vanguard to start a Roth IRA. My
"advisor" at MST has not been very helpful, plus I heard good things
about Vanguard from posters on this site.

First question, can I put all 8K in this year? Second question, the
minimum investment is 3K per fund, so I assume this means I can only
invest in 2 funds? How do I decide which funds to start with?

My plan is to leave the $ in there for over 10 years, since I am only
33 and very healthy. Plus I have other savings for emergencies. I am
willing to take a reasonable risk and am confident in my ability to
evaluate and choose between various investment strategies.

I know it's not much but hey! I have to start somewhere! I welcome any
advice. Thank you.