Opening Roth IRA

[Purkinje96]

Hey everyone,

My wife and I are interns and I am looking to open her up a Roth IRA. I have an existing one through RBC but my preference is to open hers elsewhere. My initial intention was to just go through Vanguard and use almost exclusively VTSAX. However, I just found out our program uses Fidelity for all of their retirement stuff which we will ultimately be using. I also see that VTSAX has a minimum initial purchase of $3,000 whereas Fidelity has the ~equivalent FSKAX with no minimum and the option to purchase fractional shares.

I could conceivably purchase VTSAX through a Fidelity account if I really wanted but I see there is a transaction fee for buying vanguard funds through Fidelity. I know I could also get VTI instead to avoid the minimum and fee but my preference is to get the mutual fund because it sounds like it is easier to automate things that way.

My questions are basically this:

1. Is there any benefit to having her Roth at the same place as where we will set up our other retirement accounts later?
2. Is either Vanguard or Fidelity more user friendly for a beginner doing this?

Thanks!

[CordMcNally]

1.) Less logins to keep track of. Less user interfaces to know.
2.) Anyone of them will work. All of the major brokerages will have funds with comparable fees that are negligible.

[Notsobad]

Most people recommend the big three of vanguard, fidelity and Schwab. Lately I have read the most complaints about Vanguard on various forums, but I have had no problem.

if you have fewer accounts, your life will be simpler.

However, we eventually decided to add some investments at a second brokerage due to worries about hacking, frozen accounts etc. just in case.

[bovie]

You’ll be in residency for only a few years, so don’t choose a brokerage based on what your program uses.

Regarding VTSAX—yes, some brokerages will charge a fee to buy and even Vanguard has a minimum purchase requirement.

Solution? Just buy the ETF instead.

VTI—same same. No fee, no minimum, regardless of brokerage.

[bovie]

Most people recommend the big three of vanguard, fidelity and Schwab. Lately I have read the most complaints about Vanguard on various forums, but I have had no problem.

if you have fewer accounts, your life will be simpler.

However, we eventually decided to add some investments at a second brokerage due to worries about hacking, frozen accounts etc. just in case.

Agree with all of this.

Vanguard can be clunky, but is still probably your best option if you’re looking exclusively for Vanguard funds.

We have Roth IRAs at Schwab, 401(k)s at Fidelity, and taxable accounts at Vanguard and TDA.

All work just fine, the multiple logins really aren't an issue, and the “diversification” does have some potential benefits.