Thanks nereo, hyla, and comfyfutons for your comments.
nereo, i forgot to specify i wanted to start an equities fund, i already have a tsp(its the federal employees version of a 401k) with 2050 retirement stocks. I'm gonna shop around brokerages but i might just do the vanguard star and then switch it when i have the $3000 min, which was my main idea i just didn't know if i could switch the accounts.
Comfyfutons thanks for the links I'm defiantly going to look into the EFT as well, I'm a total newbie so i kinda just wanted a couple of ideas from people as where to start.
Thanks again
You really don't need to shop around; Vanguard account makes it easy to buy Vanguard funds. Anywhere else is going to charge you to buy Vanguard funds, and many places will charge you just for having an account with them... why bother, when you know you want Vanguard?
And saying you want an "equities fund" - that's not what Nereo was saying. "Equities" are a type of investment; he was meaning the account type you're going to put your investment into. You have a TSP account, so you need another account in which to invest other funds outside of the TSP, which means you could open a Roth or Traditional IRA or a taxable brokerage account (presumably at Vanguard). You would then put equities (or bonds, or whatever) inside that account. Basically, you need another "bucket" to fill. So decide which one works best for you (either a Roth or Traditional IRA) create that over at Vanguard, and then put money into it and invest it in your fund of choice. You can put in up to $5,500 a year in either one (not both). And you really shouldn't have a taxable account until you've maxed out your IRA, your TSP and any other possible tax deferred accounts (do you have the option for an HSA?), only then do you move to invest in a taxable account... because they are taxable and could mean paying out more of your money to invest inside those type of accounts. :)
You seem set on the Vanguard star fund. This is a balanced fund that is 60% stocks and 40% bonds, which is pretty conservative. It has an expense ratio of 0.34%, which is decent, but not super low compared to the Vanguard target funds. Unless you're in your 50s or up, I really don't see why you'd go this conservative? Cause it's conservative for anyone below 50... just my opinion.
Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 Fund (VFIFX) for instance, has a mix of 90% stock/10% bonds, and an expense ratio of 0.18% with a buy in of $1k minimum. MUCH less bonds that the Star fund. Because bonds are a drag on growth, this fund has it set to a pretty small ratio right now, because you want growth
now, and eventually a smoother more stable run as you near the goal date, so this fund will slowly rebalance over the next couple of decades to have more bonds and less stocks. It does it all automatically for you and you technically never have to think about it again, or until you do more research and feel more comfortable handling things yourself (but it's still a very decent fund and you couldn't do wrong really choosing it and just putting your contributions on autopilot to this one).
http://jlcollinsnh.com/stock-series/^read this series to learn about how it all works - it is excellent
http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Asset_allocationYou really need to figure this out before investing too, as it's your blueprint for
how you will invest.
http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Investment_policy_statementAnd this is why you're investing and what your goals are that help you figure out what your AA should be...
