Unusual IRA investments

April 13, 2007 1:33 PM

Sure, you can make your IRA contribution just before the deadline this year in plain old mutual funds, but did you know it is possible to put retirement money into Costa Rican hardwoods? Or income properties or perhaps even Chinese currency (not much yield there)? You can set up a self-directed IRA, where you choose the investments, which opens up quite a range of possibilities and perils. The dangers are obvious, and be sure watch the fees, though, and, of course, consult with your legal, tax, and financial advisors first.
posted by Adamchik (7 comments total)

What a fun way to lose your retirement money.
posted by IronLizard at 1:44 PM on April 13, 2007

Goodnight, those are some high fees there. $200 a year for accounts less than $28.575K? To compare, my Roth IRA at Vanguard charges $10 a year for each fund in my account that has a balance of less than $5,000. This sort of thing could be fun for someone who knows enough about what they're doing, but for most people, I imagine it's more of what IronLizard said.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:46 PM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

Q: What’s this all going to cost me?

A: A better question is what’s it going to save me...

Yikes. I'm getting Glengarry Glen Ross flashbacks.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 2:57 PM on April 13, 2007

Yikes. I'm getting Glengarry Glen Ross flashbacks.

A fundamental rule. You should always ask the question "What, exactly, are the fees." Any fund that does not then tell you exactly what the fees are is one that you not only avoid, you run away from.

Simple rule: If it involves money, it needs full disclosure. If they're trying not to tell you something, there's a reason they don't want you to know it.
posted by eriko at 3:30 PM on April 13, 2007

Edit of my previous statement: my Roth IRA at Vanguard charges $10 a year for each fund in my account that has a balance of less than $10,000
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:31 PM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

I looked into buying rental property in Whistler, BC (snowboard heaven) a couple years ago as an IRA investment. The ROI isn't real good -- something like 4%, IIRC -- but owning a condo or villa in Whistler is a helluvalot more sexy than owning $50k in mutual funds...
posted by LordSludge at 9:51 PM on April 13, 2007

What an unfortunate acronym.
posted by jack_mo at 10:05 AM on April 14, 2007