Thread: Self Direct IRA

I investigated these last year, figured out they are for people with a lot more lump sum starter cash to stash than I have. I'd love to be able to roll over mutual fund IRA contents and buy property (once market values reflect reality) and put it into my IRA, but....not happening. More likely I'll roll those funds into Roth Conversion IRA in ETFs and single stocks this year and/or next-assuming the market tanks again, I certainly will.

I disagree that self-directed (also known as brokerage) IRAs and Roth IRAs are only for people with large start-up capital.

I think they are really best for investors who want more investment options made available than their bank offers, which is usually just a set of funds managed by the bank.

Self-directed IRAs work just the same as regular brokerage accounts but with the tax advantages associated with IRAs. You will pay for trades, but you can invest your IRA contributions in just about any investment vehicle, including mutual funds from your institution or any other mutual fund, bonds and bond funds, ETFs, stocks, and even some types of stock options.

My wife and I both have self-directed brokerage Roths. We enjoy the flexibility they offer in investment choices, and we started them with only $5000 in contributions. In addition to my TSP, I like using the TraderFred supplementals on for ETF recommendations in my Roth.

I currently have a Janus IRA that is really just sitting there and I rarely know how it is doing until they send me a statement.
I was considering getting a self managed Scottrade IRA account that I can tinker with.
Does anyone use Scottrade, or would recommend someone else. I see the startup capital is only $500.00 and they will transfer from Janus with no fee.
Also, if I make a trade on my self managed IRA does the $7.00 fee come from the IRA funds itself, or does it come from addition funds I provide?
The bulk of my retirement funds are in TSP, but I'd like to dabble in trading some myself.
Thanks for any advice you may have.
Bryan