Self-employed - should I jump into an SEP IRA and Index Fund? (funds, pay)

[incognitoe]

What would you do to prepare for retirement if you're self-employed?

Dump some money into bonds earning a guaranteed no risk 3% return?

Or dump your cash into an IRA and Index Fund account and pay someone to manage all the tradings since they know what they're doing (for the most part).

I do have my own account via scottrade and will play with it on my own. But I'm thinking I should start up an IRA account to prepare for the future. Since the stocks did take a huge dip, might as well, throw some cash into it while it down?

I think the free is about $100 per trade through an IRA account?

[Larry Siegel]

SEP-IRA to minimize your taxes, and, since I don't know your personal situation, a generic mix of 60% in a global equity index fund (ticker symbol ACWI is the best one) and 40% in an intermediate-term bond fund (BIV). Go to Vanguard.com to see how to open a SEP-IRA and how to buy these funds or other funds that you may want.

The funds I've mentioned are ETF's; traditional mutual funds are another way to get the same investments.

[Petunia 100]

Originally Posted by incognitoe

What would you do to prepare for retirement if you're self-employed?

Dump some money into bonds earning a guaranteed no risk 3% return?

Or dump your cash into an IRA and Index Fund account and pay someone to manage all the tradings since they know what they're doing (for the most part).

I do have my own account via scottrade and will play with it on my own. But I'm thinking I should start up an IRA account to prepare for the future. Since the stocks did take a huge dip, might as well, throw some cash into it while it down?

I think the free is about $100 per trade through an IRA account?

Goodness, no. There are plenty of places you can trade for free. Both Schwab and Vanguard offer free trades of their own ETFs.

And you don't need to pay someone to manage an index fund/etf. Indexes are unmanaged.

But don't choose between stocks and bonds; own both.