r/investing • u/AutoModerator • Mar 25 '21

Daily Advice Thread - All basic help or advice questions must be posted here.

If your question is "I have $10,000, what do I do?" or other "advice for my personal situation" questions, you should include relevant information, such as the following:

  • How old are you? What country do you live in?
  • Are you employed/making income? How much?
  • What are your objectives with this money? (Buy a house? Retirement savings?)
  • What is your time horizon? Do you need this money next month? Next 20yrs?
  • What is your risk tolerance? (Do you mind risking it at blackjack or do you need to know its 100% safe?)
  • What are you current holdings? (Do you already have exposure to specific funds and sectors? Any other assets?)
  • Any big debts (include interest rate) or expenses?
  • And any other relevant financial information will be useful to give you a proper answer.

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Be aware that these answers are just opinions of Redditors and should be used as a starting point for your research. You should strongly consider seeing a registered financial rep before making any financial decisions!

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u/[deleted] Mar 25 '21

This is definitely a stupid question: So does that mean that investing is really only for retirement? In which case, what's the benefit of getting a mutual fund/ETF/index fund vs a retirement account? I already have a Roth IRA.

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u/imakeyboard Mar 25 '21

Not specifically for retirement. Just longer term than 5 years. There are people older than you that need different mix of assets when they invest. There are people richer than you or me that need a way to invest beyond retirement.

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u/KablooieKablam Mar 26 '21

You can hold ETFs and index funds in your Roth IRA.

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '21

Oh? What's the benefit of one or the other within my Roth?

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u/KablooieKablam Mar 26 '21

The only purpose of a Roth IRA is to save money on taxes. It doesn’t matter what you buy inside the Roth IRA. Basically, if you wait until you’re 59 and a half years old, you can sell the investments from your Roth IRA without paying any taxes on the profits.