Which one should I pick? I plan on opening with $150 and putting in $250 per month (autowithdraw) I'm looking at PRWCX fund and the TREMX. This is for my husband who is 29yrs old and has no other IRA's or savings. He is just starting out (or rather I am starting him out). I've always heard that you take 100-your age=how aggressive you should be...which would be 70% aggressive. I'm pretty simple when it comes to this stuff. Can I just pick one fund through TRowe Price or just split 70% towards TREMX and 30% to PRWCX? Thanks!

THIS IS MY OPTION TO OPEN THE IRA, I DON"T KNOW WHICH ONE TO PICK TO GET TO THOSE FUNDS?

Which types of investments do you want to hold in your T. Rowe Price IRA?
I would like to invest only in T. Rowe Price 100% no-load mutual funds.


I would like to invest in T. Rowe Price mutual funds, mutual funds from other companies, and individual securities such as stocks and bonds.

I looked up the funds using the ticker symblot for both PRWCX and TREMX, now do I just choose the fund both of those belong to? Euro/Med and Capitol Appreciation? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

at his age I think you are wise to put a large portion in a "foreign" focused fund. TR price has several good ones. Its Asia funds look good to me.

good luck! and it is great you are starting so early. We did not start until we were 32.

Does he have a 401k at work? The 401k would not charge fees and often has a match associated with funds that are saved in it? If not why not a Roth instead of an IRA?

I apologize for not being clear. I opened a Roth IRA for him, as he does not have a 401K through his employer (he is a contractor and they have not yet established one for them).

These are the funds I picked (I just opened it today) AAB

Capital Appreciation Fund $100/mo (five star rating)
Emerging Europe and Mediterranean Fund $100/mo (five star rating)
Retirement 2040 Fund $50/mo (4 star rating)

I'm a little nervous that these are too risky, or that I have not diversified enough. I have a 401k through my employer which I have been in since I was 21 (now 26). My international fund (Habor International) has made me the most $ so far in my 401K. Is the Emerging Europe adn Mediterranean Fund an international fund?

Any opinions on my picks so far? Like I said, I'm a complete newbie.

I love this board...this place ROCKS!

First off, I like those picks. TREMX is a nice one. I would have also looked at PRLAX, but there are some cautions about Latin America funds. I think at his young age, risk is what you want. You've got plenty of time to ride out the up and down swings, and can look forward to some good returns.

That said, did you notice if there were 'low balance' fees? Many times, even in IRA accounts, you'll have to pay a fee if your total single fund holding is less than a certain amount (often $5000). They usually wave it the first year because the maximum contribution is only $4000. But with your distribution setup like that, it will take you 4+ years to get that amount in any one fund. Be careful that you aren't setting yourself up for some extra expense by diversifying such a small portfolio.

Duh, I just realized this was T.Rowe Price, where I have my IRA. Their fee is $10/year per fund unless the balance in that fund is > $5000. So with those three funds, you're paying $30/year for 4+ years to get above that minimum balance requirement. You might want to go all into one fund this year, then when you hit the $5k start contributing to another fund.

We are owed some money from a family member that we are going to be sticking in there too. So, hopefully we'll be at $4K this year and then hit it good next Jan too, so I'll only pay the $30 once. That's not too bad.

Thanks for the reassurance!

Looks liek everybody else beat me to the punch

TREMX and PRWCX are the 2 TRowe funds I personally own.
About $14K in PRWCX and $4K in TREMX. TRREX is another good chioce and I'm strongly considering a purhase early 2006.

Also look at the OAKGX (Oakmark Global) fund, that's where we have DW's IRA

Okay according to Suze Orman (posted by another member)
"Loads of people are smart enough to own no-load mutual funds, but many still throw away money by not paying attention to the annual expense ratio. That's something every fund charges you, but it's easy to miss because it doesn't show up on your statements as a line-item fee. Instead it's subtracted from your fund's performance behind the scenes. The return you see on your statement is after the expense ratio has been deducted from the fund's gross return. The average expense ratio for managed stock funds is 1.5 percent.
Smart market watchers tell us we'll be lucky if stocks' long-term gains average 8 percent a year. So if your fund has a gross return of 8 percent and it shaves off 1.5 percent for expenses, you're left with just a 6.5 percent return. Fees have swallowed up more than 18 percent of your funds' return!"

I'm looking to start my own IRA too for 2006 and I don't want to be hit by a lot of fees either. I know the funds I mentioned are no load funds, but do they carry these fees mentioned above as well?

If you had to pick ONE fund w/ TRowe Price, which would you pick? I'll probably just invest in one fund for myself, since I will not be at $5K by next year. But, my husband will be so we'll stay with all 3 funds.

Am I not diversified enough, or too much? Should I add some more funds for DH and split the money up more?

Thanks for all your advice......I'm really really trying, but I'm just so lost!!! lol

All funds have an 'expense ratio'. You can see the ratios for all of T.Rowe's funds on their website. For example, the expense ratio of TREMX as of 10/31/2005 was 1.32%. There is also a 2% redemption fee if you sell your shares before holding them at least 3 months. So do not buy into a fund and decide a month later to change, because you'll take a hit.

You seem to be overly worried about diversification, perhaps afraid that you'll pick a bad fund. There is going to be some risk involved, but being young you want to take those risks.

I think even starting with 3 funds is too much. Pick one, *maybe* two good funds, and build up a good base holding in those. Then you can start socking money into other funds to diversify. When you've got only $4k/year that you're working with, diversification should not be your primary concern when starting out. In 3-4 years after you've built it up, then make sure you are properly diversified.

Personally, I'd go TREMX 100% for both you and husband for the first year, then add another fund the following year. If you are really truly worried about diversification, and prefer a more hands-off approach, then you could pick one of their target date funds (2045 or something) and let them make the choices about how the fund is allocated.

Good luck! You are definitely headed in the right direction by getting started now rather than later!

TREMX is to much of a specific market sector to be the only fund in a portfolio IMHO. PRWCX is much more diversified. Also look at OAKGX which captures some international stuff too.