Consumer University Blog » Investor Education In Your Community

ROTH IRA Eligibility in 2010

Alicia — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:53:17 +0000

While many Americans bemoan the losses they’ve seen in their investment portfolios since 2008, investors just getting started might look on today’s markets as a 30% off sale.

One of the challenges new investors face is choosing the right account for their needs, or whether or not they should convert to a ROTH IRA. Today I logged into Vanguard’s live webcast to help clear up some confusion around ROTH IRAs, conversions from a traditional IRA to a ROTH IRA, and who can contribute to a ROTH IRA.

Regardless of where your investment accounts are located, now is a great time to consider what type of IRA is best for your retirement planning, and if you can benefit from a ROTH conversion. Learn more about ROTH and Traditional IRAs here.

Capital High School Students Learn to Save and Invest

Alicia — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:02:36 +0000

Wow. For all those adults out there who think teens couldn’t be bothered to consider their financial futures: You need a wake up call. At least you do if you’re living in Olympia, WA.

73 students in Ms. Fabritius and Ms. Elam’s classes at Capital High school benefited from the Investor Protection Trust sponsored and Dept. of Financial Insitutions Consumer University presentation. Learning all about saving and investing and how to acheive short and long term financial goals, students were blown away by how easy it is to accumulate long term rewards if they begin to consistently save and invest for the future while they’re young.

The number of students that expressed a desire to begin saving for the future now far outnumbered those who didn’t. Teachers like Ms. Fabritius and Ms. Elam are inspiring students to make a change by bringing this important, non-commercial information in to the classroom.

Investor Education In Your Community and Olympia’s ICSEW

Alicia — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:06:07 +0000

Yesterday I had the opportunity to present to 60 women making a difference in the state of Washington. Through their organization, the Interagency Committee of State Employed Women (‘ICSEW’), they strive to make the lives of state employed women stronger, wiser, and better. Make no mistake – these ladies don’t mess around. This organization is active, thriving, and making the workplace better for all State employees.

In addition to providing professional development resources to State employed women, they also organize Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, and a myriad of personal and professional growth opportunities via lunchtime seminars.

Through the sponsorship of the Investor Protection Trust and the support of the Dept of Financial Institutions (‘DFI’), I had the privilege of meeting these women yesterday and talking to them about how to wisely and safely invest for their futures.

“Investor Education is crucial to ensuring the future success of our society. Information is power, and when people have the power to improve their lives with sound financial decisions, our communities and economy as a whole improve”, says Lyn Peters, Director of Communications for DFI.

During a lunchtime presentation, the audience learned:

• How to make use of the Deferred Comp Program (the States 401k equivalent)

• How to utilize DFI’s educational tools and support by checking out the background of a stockbroker or investment adviser prior to work with them, insuring the investment their considering is registered, and how to file a complain in the event one has an issue with a financial service provider

• How to ask and answer the questions that will help us determine how to choose investments that will help us reach our individual financial goals.

• The variety of IRAs available to investors and their tax consequences

• How to make use of educational resources such as Valueline.com and Morningstar.com.

Attendees learned about the roll of the Dept. of Financial Institutions in the state of WA, and how securities salespeople and investments can be thoroughly checked out by contacting DFI. They also learned how to identify and avoid the most common types of investment fraud targeting Washingtonians.