9 Best Places to Open an IRA Account Brokerages for Traditional amp Roth
9 Best Places to Open an IRA Account - Brokerages for Traditional & Roth Skip to content
You own shares of Apple, Amazon, Tesla. Why not Banksy or Andy Warhol? Their works’ value doesn’t rise and fall with the stock market. And they’re a lot cooler than Jeff Bezos.
Get Priority Access As you start researching brokers, consider the following as the best in business, although each still comes with its own unique pros and cons.
Meanwhile, Personal Capital’s hybrid investment management platform requires a minimum investment of $100,000, putting it well out of reach of people just starting down the road to retirement. On the other hand, if you do have that kind of money, you’ll appreciate Personal Capital’s reasonably priced financial planning and wealth management package.
What do you want to do br with money
Popular Searches
Learn more about your money
Make Money
You need it. Learn how to make it. ExploreManage Money
You've got it. Learn what to do with it. ExploreSave Money
You have it. Make sure you have some later too. ExploreSpend Money
You're spending it. Get the most for it. ExploreBorrow Money
You're borrowing it. Do it wisely. ExploreProtect Money
You don't want to lose it. Learn how to keep it safe. ExploreInvest Money
You're saving it. Now put it to work for your future. ExploreCategories
About us
Find us
Close menuWhat do you want to do br with money
Popular Searches
Learn more about your money
Make Money
You need it. Learn how to make it. ExploreManage Money
You've got it. Learn what to do with it. ExploreSave Money
You have it. Make sure you have some later too. ExploreSpend Money
You're spending it. Get the most for it. ExploreBorrow Money
You're borrowing it. Do it wisely. ExploreProtect Money
You don't want to lose it. Learn how to keep it safe. ExploreInvest Money
You're saving it. Now put it to work for your future. ExploreCategories
About us
Find us
Close menu Advertiser Disclosure Advertiser Disclosure: The credit card and banking offers that appear on this site are from credit card companies and banks from which MoneyCrashers.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they appear on category pages. MoneyCrashers.com does not include all banks, credit card companies or all available credit card offers, although best efforts are made to include a comprehensive list of offers regardless of compensation. Advertiser partners include American Express, Chase, U.S. Bank, and Barclaycard, among others. Invest Money9 Best Places to Open an IRA Account – Brokerages for Traditional & Roth
By G Brian Davis Date June 07, 2022FEATURED PROMOTION
The individual retirement account, or IRA, remains a staple of American retirement planning. Unlike employer-sponsored accounts, you fully own and control the account, and it doesn’t change based on your employment. If you don’t have an IRA yet, don’t worry. Many of the top online brokerages offer low-cost IRAs designed for investors just like you. What follows is a list of the very best.Best Brokers for IRAs
Not all brokers are created equal. Some offer better selections among investable securities than others. Some charge you a commission for every transaction, while many brokers don’t charge commissions anymore. And increasingly, some brokers offer excellent robo-advisor services to pick and manage your investments for you.You own shares of Apple, Amazon, Tesla. Why not Banksy or Andy Warhol? Their works’ value doesn’t rise and fall with the stock market. And they’re a lot cooler than Jeff Bezos.
Get Priority Access As you start researching brokers, consider the following as the best in business, although each still comes with its own unique pros and cons.
Best Overall Vanguard Digital Advisor
Open a Vanguard Digital Advisor Account Vanguard Digital Advisor is the best platform for IRA investors right now. Its top selling points include: $3,000 minimum to invest — that’s far lower than the $50,000 minimum for Vanguard Personal Advisor Services, Vanguard’s lowest-level human-managed serviceGet access to Vanguard’s entire lineup of low-cost mutual funds and ETFsExpect a 0.15% average asset management fee that’s waived for the first 90 daysPay no more than $2 per $1,000 invested, per yearDiversified, semi-customized portfolios responsive to your long-term goals and tolerance for investing riskChoose from traditional, Roth, and rollover IRAsBest Robo-Advisor Wealthfront
Open a Wealthfront Account Wealthfront is the best robo-advisor for IRA investors — other than Vanguard Digital Advisor. It has a low flat management fee (0.25% AUM, regardless of balance), uses very low-cost funds to craft diversified portfolios for the long haul, and has a strong lineup of financial planning tools that could potentially replace your human financial advisor (if you have one). Additional features: Opt for people- and planet-friendly investments with the Socially Responsible PortfolioHold day-to-day funds in the Wealthfront Cash Account — no account fees and 3.30% APY on all balancesPeriodic, fully automated portfolio rebalancingChoose from traditional, Roth, SEP, and rollover IRAsBest for Low Overall Cost SoFi Invest
Open a SoFi Invest Account SoFi Invest keeps overall costs low enough to qualify as the best IRA brokerage for budget-conscious investors. That’s down to: No commissions for self-directed tradesNo management fees for robo-advisor serviceNo charge for access to human investment advisorsA strong inventory of low-cost ETFsFractional share investing, which reduces your trades’ opportunity costBest for Self-Directed Investors Ally Invest
Open an Ally Invest Account Ally Invest offers both an active trading option and an automated robo-advisor option. It doesn’t charge for either. But the active trading option is where it really shines, thanks to: No minimum opening investmentAccount opening bonus worth up to $3,000, depending on opening depositLow-cost ETFs from Vanguard, GlobalX, iShares, and moreExcellent research and trading tools, such as probability calculatorsAccess to alternative investments like options, futures, and forexNo commissions on stock or ETF tradesBest for Socially Conscious Investors Betterment
Open a Betterment Account Betterment has a lot going for it, from reasonable management fees (0.25% to 0.40% AUM, depending on your plan) and value-adds like a high-yield cash management account. But it really shines for socially conscious investors thanks to three SRI portfolios: Climate Impact, supporting companies that lower carbon emissions and invest in low-carbon projectsSocial Impact, supporting companies working to improve gender diversity and racial equityBroad Impact, supporting companies working toward lower carbon emissions, ethical labor management, and board diversity Most competing robo-advisors, it should be noted, offer one SRI portfolio option at most.Best for Fee-Free Funds Fidelity Investments
Open a Fidelity Investments Account Fidelity Investments is the best IRA brokerage for investors seeking truly fee-free investment vehicles. It even beats out Vanguard, which usually leads the low-cost conversation. The secret lies in fee-free mutual funds like Fidelity ZERO Large Cap Index Fund (FNILX) and Fidelity ZERO Total Market Index Fund (FZROX). Unlike competitor funds that have low but nonzero expenses, Fidelity ZERO funds do away with fees entirely. Over the typical retirement investor’s investing time horizon, those savings can really add up. Additional features: Choose from thousands of transaction-fee-free mutual fundsGet access to proprietary research from more than 20 third-party suppliers, including Recognia, Ned Davis, Thomson Reuters, and McLean Capital ManagementStick with self-directed trading or choose from two robo-advisor options: Fidelity Go ($3/mo for balances under $50k, then 0.35% AUM with no account minimum) or Fidelity Personalized Planning & Advice (0.50% AUM with a $25k account minimum)Best for Preferred Customer Relationships Merrill Edge
Open a Merrill Edge Account Merrill Edge is a separately branded but fully integrated arm of Bank of America, and it shows. You can see your BofA and Merrill balances in a single dashboard and instantly transfer funds between the two institutions — putting your cash to work in the market faster or accessing IRA withdrawals or distributions at the drop of a hat. Plus, qualifying Merrill balances count toward your status in BofA’s Preferred Rewards program. Climb all the way to Platinum Honors status ($100k+ three-month average combined daily balance) to get perks like: A 0.15% reduction in your Merrill Guided Investing management fee75% bonus on applicable Bank of America credit card rewards0.50% discount on auto loan rates$600 off your mortgage origination fee Additional features: Get up to $600 when you open a new Merrill Edge IRA with a qualifying depositChoose from traditional, Roth, rollover, and SEP IRAsPay no commission on stock, ETF, or options trades (options contract fees may apply)Use Idea Builder to generate actionable trading and portfolio-building ideasFind thousands of mutual funds with no transaction feesBest for Smaller Balances Acorns
Open an Acorns Account Acorns offers full-on savings automation that puts your everyday purchases to work funding your retirement. Simply create an online checking account with Acorns, complete with a debit card. Every time you spend money on the card, Acorns rounds the purchase up and transfers the difference to your robo-advisor account. It then invests those funds per your stated preferences. Additional features: Pay a flat $3/mo, regardless of balanceChoose from prebuilt portfolios in line with your investment goalsGet paid up to 2 days early with qualifying direct deposit into Acorns CheckingBest for Women Investors Ellevest
Open an Ellevest Account Ellevest is the best IRA brokerage for women investors, bar none. That’s due to features and capabilities like: Access to career coaching experts on a discounted hourly fee basisAccess to human financial planners attuned to its customers’ unique planning needsComprehensive investment guidance for employer-sponsored accounts like 401(k)s and SIMPLE IRAs Support for employer-sponsored account rollovers Ellevest makes IRAs available to members of its middle tier, which costs $5/mo regardless of balance.Methodology How We Select the Best Places to Open an IRA
We use 8 key metrics to evaluate the top brokerages for IRAs. As you learn more about IRA platforms and figure out what you want in a broker, refer back to this list of factors to see how each stacks up.Fund Fees and Expenses
Fund management expenses are unavoidable in any IRA that contains ETFs or mutual funds. But some IRAs do a really good job of controlling them by limiting passively managed investments to very low-cost funds offered by high-quality, low-expense providers like Vanguard, Fidelity, and Schwab.Asset Management Fees
Investments managed by human advisors or robo-advisors inevitably incur management fees on top of them fund fees and expenses. But there’s a big difference between high- and low-cost IRAs. High investment management fees act as a drag on asset growth, reducing net gains and leaving you with less money when you’re ready to retire. We prefer brokerages that keep management fees in check for clients who prefer passive management and don’t want to pay too much for it.Investing Style and Approach
The main split here is between managed investing and self-directed investing. On the managed investing side, the difference between passive management and active management is important as well. The former uses a mix of index and sector funds to achieve diversification and meet investors’ objectives but doesn’t claim to offer market-beating performance. The latter does aim to beat the market but generally incurs higher costs and greater risk in the process. The difference between robo-advisors, human financial advisors, and hybrid management is important to understand as well. Increasingly, brokerages offer low- or no-cost robo-advisors for entry-level investors and add a human touch — the hybrid model, where day-to-day investment decisions run on algorithms but clients can get in touch with human advisors when needed — for investors with higher account balances and a tolerance for higher fees.Available Investments
Virtually all IRA brokerages offer access to securities like ETFs and mutual funds. Most make stocks available as well. From there, the picture gets muddier. Full-service brokerages like Schwab and TD Ameritrade offer access to a wide array of exchange-traded securities and fixed-income instruments, and some offer access to nontraditional instruments like foreign currencies (forex) and cryptocurrencies as well. Meanwhile, specialized alternative investment platforms like Fundrise may focus entirely on instruments that aren’t traded on stock exchanges. In Fundrise’s case, that’s real estate. Sophisticated investors appreciate the opportunity to hold real estate and other less-liquid alternative assets in tax-advantaged IRAs, but that’s not appropriate for the average retirement saver.Investing Minimums and Relationship Tiers
Most brokerages have low or no minimums to open an account. But you might need to clear a certain balance threshold to qualify for managed investments or gain access to specific services, like one-on-one financial planning support. For example, Schwab’s robo-advisor service requires a minimum investment of at least $5,000. Not everyone has $5,000 ready to invest, and even those who do may prefer to ease their way into letting a robo-advisor manage their money.Meanwhile, Personal Capital’s hybrid investment management platform requires a minimum investment of $100,000, putting it well out of reach of people just starting down the road to retirement. On the other hand, if you do have that kind of money, you’ll appreciate Personal Capital’s reasonably priced financial planning and wealth management package.