When it comes to Roth IRA, I want to make sure not to over diversify. This means having as few accounts as possible and as few funds as possible. If two funds can meet your asset mix target, don't go for an extra third. Since I'm looking at a 30 year investment span for my Roth IRA, I'd also want to set up the account with a fund company directly to avoid the commissions charged by brokerages. This requires me to pick a good fund company that has several good cheap funds that can satisfy my asset mix target. Vanguard is the first that comes to my mind. Their funds are relatively inexpensive. And they don't charge nothing. Not even a custodian fee. But I didn't choose Vanguard at the end because most of their funds require a $3,000 initial investment, which means for the year 2008, with the $5,000 contribution limit, I can only purchase one fund. This will not meet my target. Then I discovered Dodge & Cox. After reading everything from their website and talking to one of their people on the phone, I decided go with them. I think their funds' expense are reasonable, the way they do business is clear, and their management team are serious investors. Though they only have 4 funds, I can use 3 of them to meet my asset mix target. They are rolling out an international fund in April or May as well, so one more option for the future to choose. Their minimum initial investment is $1,000 per fund. The only less perfect thing is that they charge a $12.50 per customer (not per fund) maintenance fee every year. But I still think Dodge & Cox will serve me better in the long run comparing with Vanguard. (Vanguard will take me at least 3 years to meet my asset mix target). Here is my final portfolio with them:
1st Level | Target | D&C | |
U.S. Stocks | 50.0% | 50.0% | |
Foreign Stocks | 40.0% | 39.9% | |
Bonds/Cash/Others | 10.0% | 10.2% | |
Total | 100.0% | 100.1% | |
2nd level_full | Giant/Large | 80.0% | 89.0% |
Mid | 20.0% | 10.7% | |
Small/Micro | 0.0% | 0.3% | |
Total | 100.0% | 100.0% | |
2nd level_non Foreign | Giant/Large | 60.0% | 62.4% |
Mid | 20.0% | 6.5% | |
Small/Micro | 0.0% | 0.1% | |
Total | 80.0% | 69.0% |
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