Minimum initial Investment Roth IRA

[Guest twilly]

I am 27 years old and planning for my retirement, but I currently have my own business(less than 1 year), so imcome is tight till my business gets out of the red ink.

I got nailed over the last 3-4 years on a Putnam fund, had $2k in it and lost $1965.00 of it.

Without bashing Putnam, I would like to pull the remaining $30 some odd dollars out of there and put it into another fund.

Now, a lot of places are requiring $1000.00 to initially open an account, which I don't have, and would like to open another account with a broker or whomever with as a minimal initial investment as possible, but still contribute monthly. I am having the hardest time finding such a broker.

Also, looking for minimal "service fees" as well.

I am looking at the Vangaurd Equity Income fund, as I would prefer a small gain than a small or large loss.

Also, why doesn't brokers have low initial investments, wouldn't they attract low income investors? I would figure the more clients, the more money you would get. Having high initial startup costs to open an account discourages any investor like myself.

Anyone know of any places that have low initial investments? I have looked everywhere on the web.

Thanks

[John G]

Sorry that one of your first leasons in investing was so expensive. They must have been investing in internet startups or something radical in telecom... as very few funds have gone down that far. Your problem was that your fund choice was way way tooooo narrowly cast. Seeking this years trendy choice has very little to do with a good performer over the next 20 years. Stay away from fad investing or chasing last years best return, it does not work.

Your question on mutual fund choices is tough. Two years ago everyone was talking about no fee and low initial cost IRAs. The brokerages and mutual funds lost a lot of revenue when the market turned south, assets shrunk and trading volume declined. The trend in the last year is to start charging fees. For example, Etrade went from zero fees to $25/yr unless you have significant assets with them. The low asset taxpayer is often ignored. I suggest that you wait for the March issue of Consumer Reports and look at the list of mutual funds they provide. Many mutual funds will waive the initial amount and sometimes annual fees if you set up a monthly withdrawal from your checking account. You can set aside funds in a regular bank account until you can meet the initial amount. If you can put aside $100 or $50 per month, you will be beyond the initial deposit hurtle in a year.