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Step 1
Decide the Right Type of Retirement Investment to Open a Roth IRA
Before you actually begin the process of opening a Roth IRA account, you need to consider your retirement savings options. If you work for an employer that offers any sort of matching program on a 401K, you should match out that match since that is free money. If not, or once you have maxed out your match, you should use a Roth IRA account since it offers increased flexibility. -
Step 2
Choose a Company To Open a Roth IRA Account
The second thing you will need to do is choose the company with whom you want to open a Roth IRA Account. Many companies offer Roth IRA accounts - Vanguard, Fidelity, Scottrade, Sharebuilder, ING, etc. There are many things to consider when choosing a Roth IRA account holder - initial investment minimum, yearly minimum contributions, maintenance fees, commission fees, account fees, and fund options (you want diversity). You want to find a company that has a low initial investment, low fees, and lots of diversity of funds. Searching online and looking at some of the major websites will help you to compare multiple companies. Also, look at their average rates of returns on their Roth IRA accounts to make sure they are proven successful. -
Step 3
Open A Roth IRA Account
At this point, the hard work is over. Now all you have to do is fill out a simple form and make your initial investment. You can open most Roth IRA accounts from the comfort of your home and consider setting up automatic contributions so that you continually add to your investment.
