I am thinking of putting stocks in to my Roth Ira account is that a good idea?
That’s a good idea only if you have had a lot of experience investing in individual stocks. One of the main advantages of a Roth is that you pay no taxes on the gains, HOWEVER, on the other hand, if you suffer a loss, you cannot deduct that loss from your taxes. Also, picking a few international stocks and leaving them in your Roth for 40 years, is not a good investment strategy. If you’re going to invest in individual stocks, then they must be monitored daily. You must spend at least an hour a week per stock to research the annual reports and stay current in the industry. Perhaps a better approach for a ROTH would be to buy ETFs. There’s several hundred out there now and like a mutual fund they are comprised of a cluster of stocks in particular sectors, like international stocks. The advantages are that they have (generally) lower management fees and can be traded throughout the day with limit and trailing stop orders. Best of luck to you.
