So da wife and I are in our mid 40's. We each have mutual fund accounts. We started those a few years ago by rolling them under one umbrella, because we each had little retirement accounts from various employers and now they are under one roof.
Her employer and mine have R/A's, and we add to our mutual funds every year for the obvious reasons. What I would like to do is take 1k (I think that's the minimum) and go to Charles Schwab and have them invest in the stock market.
Now I know there will be some of you here that will say "do it yourself". Ah no, I don't know enough about it, stuff like that isn't my thing, thanks anyway.
So the advice I am asking is Charels Schwab a good place to start, or Edward Jones? Any other firms?
What I have noticed over the years is that it seems older guys and guys in the know that have investments don't want to give advice, almost secretive. I knew one old timer that suggested to me 20 some years ago to invest in mutual funds. I took his advice and got started at about 35. I don't understand why guys don't give advice to younger people. It's like it's they just want to be smug about it and look down their noses.
One, you can't just hand your money over to "a guy" and walk away. That's how people "lose everything in the stock market".
Two, you can't spend all your time working on your investments. You have to make a living.
Somewhere in between is where we need to be. We have to have a basic understanding of how money works. You don't have to have a degree in finance to secure your future, but you have to learn some.
You have to learn that stocks are risky in the short term, and low risk in the long term. That bonds are low risk in the short term, but high risk in the long term. That you can buy an S&P index fund at Vanguard, and make what the market makes (12% on average), and beat more than 75% of the professional money managers out there.
So, read a few "investing for dummies" books. Learn the jargon enough to be able to converse. Open an account at Vanguard (or Fidelity, or whatever), and put your money into an S&P 500 index fund. Rinse and repeat. Once you are comfortable and have a basic understanding, you can invest in some other things. Small caps, growth stocks, international stocks, dividend growth stocks, value stocks...... Read a book or two a year about it, and just generally get comfortable managing your money.
Think of it this way. You will spend 40 years working for a living, and 30 years living off your investments. Wouldn't it make sense to know at least a little bit about how you are going to support yourself and your family for 30 years of your life?
