Buy and Sell Stocks in a Roth IRA?

[Guest pinnacle]

Hi,

I have a very small Roth IRA I started a few years ago. It consists of a couple of stocks and cash. It seems to be a good time to sell one of the stocks, do I have the ability to do that, or must I hold on to that stock until I am legally able to make a withdrawl? The account is through an online brokerage.

[John G]

You can buy and sell every minute of every day.... or buy and hold... or go mutual funds or cash. Choice is yours. Of course, you can adjust your investments... switching from stocks to bonds to cash. There are no tax consequences and no reporting requirements.

I highly urge you to spend a few hours each month learning more about financial issues and investing. You need to get a general guide to investing or perhaps subscribe to Kiplinger Financial magazine. Local libraries have dozens of books on general investing. Your custodian might also have an online tutorial.

PS: If this is a contributory Roth , you can alway legally withdraw your contributions.