How are you investing outside TSP?

[mrwawa]

Hi all,

I am a relative beginner to investing, and just found out I can put money in a separate IRA. I am comfortable with the limited options in TSP, but not sure how to get started with an IRA. I am thinking Vanguard, but want to hear what others are doing. I have 10-15 years until retirement and am okay with quite a bit of risk exposure.

So what are you all, who seem to have a lot more experience, doing?

[nweis]

I have a Vanguard Roth IRA and I chose a target date fund closest to my projected retirement date. I do a seasonal strategy with my Traditional TSP 401k (Strategy 40734). I max out my Roth IRA and my TSP 401k each year.

[mrwawa]

Thanks @nweis. That sounds great. I looked up the strategy and it has good returns with all the time spent in the G fund. What you are doing sounds in line with what I was thinking. I don't want to try and follow a seasonal strategy with two different pots of money.

[Scarfinger]

I have a Roth IRA at Fidelity and loosely use Paul Merriman’s 4 fund strategy. I have heard fidelity is more modern easier to navigate website. I have no experience with Vanguard except for using VNQ fund in my Fidelity account.

[jimcasada]

Back in 2011, I rolled over my 401k with my previous employer to an Ameritrade IRA. It was very easy, I just opened the account online and later, when I received the dispersement check from my old 401k, I dropped it off at a local Ameritrade office. I believe I actually had up to 90 days to complete the rollover. Now that Schwab is taking over Ameritrade, things might be a little different. By the way, I previously had a regular non-IRA account with Schwab years earlier, before I switched it over to Ameritrade. I found both Schwab and Ameritrade to be very good reliable brokerage firms, but Ameritrade had better fee rates and broader online access.