drv@eisx.UUCP (Dennis Vogel) (02/28/84)
I have not taken advantage of the IRA income adjustment in previous years. But this year I am thinking of taking advantage of it rather than paying the IRS extra tax. My question is this: what's the best thing to do with my money? I know that there are all kinds of things to put it into including the company's (AT&T) plan. Please post to the net your opinions about the best investment direction. Also, can I deduct interest on a loan taken to start an IRA? Thanks--Dennis Vogel, AT&T Information Systems Laboratories
agk@ihuxq.UUCP (Andy Kegel) (02/28/84)
The "best direction" to set with an IRA is DIVERSIFICATION. If anyone tells
you anything else, just get up and leave. But diversification takes a couple
of years to actually implement, so don't expect to solve your problem in one
year -- build a habit.
As an example (not necessarily good), my wife and I have put our early IRA
money into the Oppenheimer group of funds. They range from very aggressive
(risky) to conservative (safe government paper). The Fidelity group of
funds is also good; other netters are welcome to suggest their favorites.
The point of the group of funds is that you get reduced investment fees based
on your total investment in the fund group. For 1984, we are branching out --
we now have some IRA money in a real estate group that has a good track
record. Next year will start to make things a bit more complex, but I expect
that we will start "doubling up" -- adding new IRA money to existing funds.
To summarize, we have IRA money in five different investment areas (although
most of it is in mutuals). DIVERSIFY for safety.
-andy ("not burned yet") kegeldavec@dciem.UUCP (Dave Cote) (02/29/84)
I suggest that you consult some personal investment guides. Some decent outlines have been provided in past issues of MONEY magazine. You shouldn't have to go back more than a year in MONEY to find some information that should give you some direction. Your local library should have MONEY.
johnl@haddock.UUCP (03/06/84)
#R:eisx:-69500:haddock:11900003:000:2316 haddock!johnl Mar 4 18:45:00 1984 If your prime goal in managing your IRA is safety, then indeed a sensible strategy is to diversify, although it seems to me that putting the money in a bank IRA account which is insured by the government and pays in the vicinity of 10% is even safer. On the other hand, if you're in your 20s or 30s, you aren't going to be taking any money out of your IRA for 30 or 40 years, and you'll probably be making a lot more in the future than you are now. This means that safety may well not be your primary goal at this point. You might consider wild speculation. Historically, the overall return from risky investments is much better than from conservative ones, although the variation is a lot more. (This is why U.S. government bonds pay relatively low interest - there are few surprises.) So if you take a bunch of flyers now, a few of them might hit, and the odds are that you'll make more than if you stuck with a bank, mutual fund, or other conservative investment. You can always switch to more conservative investments later if you get nervous, and when you're older and richer, you'll likely be able to save more if you still need to. Moreover, most of you reading this have an advantage over the general public in that you know a lot about computers and can make better assessments than most people about computer stocks, at least. [For example, it's pretty clear to me that companies making IBM PC knockoffs are in trouble, since IBM has shown that they want the whole market; e.g. the new portable PC does roughly the same as a Compaq and costs slightly less. Compaq is OK for now, since they have a portable XT and IBM doesn't, but the handwriting's on the wall. Same for Eagle, Corona, etc. Better to find somebody with products that go into some niche IBM doesn't or else complement IBM stuff like Lotus does. End of digression.] Now, if you're the kind of person who gets nervous every time your NYNEX stock dips a quarter of a point, or if you find financial reports baffling, the risky strategy isn't for you. But if you don't need the money right away (clearly, or you wouldn't put it in an IRA), are willing to take the risk of losing it, and have some interest in researching stocks and stuff, it's worth a thought. John Levine, ima!johnl PS: I have this great oil drilling deal ...
burton@fortune.UUCP (03/07/84)
#R:eisx:-69500:fortune:15300004:000:120 fortune!burton Mar 7 10:14:00 1984 For a really good investment, that's been around for a while, I have this bridge near where I grew up in Brooklyn ...