The account minimums AFAIK don't apply for automatic asset builder (or
whatever fidelity calls automatically contributing every month) and I
think you have to contribute atleast 200 a month for fidelity. Thats why
I got my wife to open her account at T Rowe Price. They only have a 50$
monthly minimum so she can diversify from day 1.

teaks wrote:
- quote -

I do not think it a bad rule, especially considering (1) a
person can do a lot worse than 2% fees; and (2)
international stock funds still tend to by pricey, as far as
expenses are concerned. I just thought the point deserved a
little more illumination. :-)

"kastnna" <kastnna[at]auburnalum.org> wrote
- quote -

Sorry for the misuse of articles Elle ("the" as opposed to "a"). What
can I say, I'm all thumbs! The rule (regardless of its definitive
nature) is proposed by Gardner and the fine folks over at Motley Fool.

"kastnna" <kastnna[at]auburnalum.org> wrote
- quote -

Interesting thought. I would have called this "/a/ rule of
thumb" and not thee rule of thumb. My own rule of thumb
derives from the fact that S&P 500 index fund expense ratios
often hover around 0.1% these days. I use this as a
guideline. So I'll buy a $5000 stock (or ETF) position for
an $11 brokerage fee through Fidelity (that fee might be
more, depending on the minutiae of one's Fidelity account),
amounting to a 0.2% expense ratio for that year. Of course,
every extra year I hold the stock, that expense goes down. I
try to hold positions for at least two years, using Ben
Graham criteria. Which admittedly are not strict, but they
do encourage discipline.

The OP should start becoming familiar with asset allocation.
S/he should spend a weekend pondering the output of the free
online tools linked via
http://home.earthlink.net/~elle_navorski/id8.html , for one
thing. They will give you ideas.

Also to the OP, at this point I think you should call
Fidelity and ask what money market options are available to
you while you accumulate enough to meet the various stock
(among other) fund minimums. A 5% return via a money market
account is quite respectable. The reps at Fidelity are very
good about optimizing your money allocation in situations
like this. I write this as someone who started with them in
my 20s, when I had like nothing, and yet they always treated
me like royalty. Which I think has paid off, one way or
another, for them, since they now hold over half my (not
filty rich, but not insignificant either) assets.

BTW, does your employer offer a 401(k) with matching?

On Feb 8, 4:55 am, "teaks" <mark.teki...[at]gmail.com> wrote:
- quote -

T Rowe Price has equity index funds with a $50 contribution minimum
(if you use asset builder). There is a $10 fee for any IRA balance
below $5000. This fee is also waived if current balance of accounts
is greater than $10,000.

I beleive they have lower minimums if you agree to automated deposits.

Depending on trading charges and the amount of your monthly
contribution, it is often wise to make purchases every couple of
months. The rule of thumb is to minimize trade costs to no more than
2% of your investment. If it costs $10 to buy a position, wait until
you have $500 in money market saved up in your account. Ex: $100 money
market - $10 trade ticket = $90 investment. It would take %11.11
return JUST TO GET BACK TO EVEN!

As for investments, there are a multitude of choices. I personally
prefer exchange traded funds. Keep expenses low and stick with market/
sector tracking indexes (indices???) to easily diversify.

good luck

Hello everyone,

I just opened up my first Roth IRA account through Fidelity. I'm
fresh out of school so I don't have a ton of money to put into it
right now, but I want to miss out on my 2006 contribution so I want to
invest the maximum 4000 for the current tax year. Since I'm only
going to be putting in a few hundred dollars every pay period, I'm
wondering what funds I should be looking at. I'm really interested in
Fidelity's index funds (FSIIX and the Spartan 500 Index fund), but I
realize that these have account minimums. Any thoughts or
suggestions?

Thanks!