I'm 25 and concerned for my future. I only make income from poker and have no investments or any sort of funds to fall back on after I'm finished with poker. I'd like to start contributing to a retirement fund now, so I'll have something when I'm ready. I know pretty much nothing about investing, and all of my friends that do have told me to start now as a poker player since it will make a huge difference if i start now rather then 5 years from now.

My questions are:
1. Which company should I look at for a retirement fund.
2. What is the safest most high yield account for long term investing.
3. Does it matter what company I use or all they mostly all the same?

What country? If you are in the US I think starting with a Roth IRA is the best option if you don't make more than ~120k/180k. You can put up to 5k in per year so start with that and if you want to save more (and you prob should) you'll have to use taxable accounts.

I use Vanguard and they have target retirement funds based on what year you plan to retire and they adjust it to what you need depending on your age. Most of it should be in stocks since you have a while before retirement.

I live in the U.S and right now I don't have much money other than what I use for poker and living expenses. I was thinking even though I don't have much, putting aside $100 a month is better than nothing.

ceegee - Standard is to put your money in a Roth IRA when you are young. A roth is like a traditional IRA, but instead of getting taxed when your old. It gets taxed now. So assuming you are in a high tax bracket later on in life this will be smart. An IRA is suppose to yield on average 8%/year on average (2% one year. 14% the next).

The math comes to you'll pretty much be a millionare by retirement if you invest 4k/year. 100/month is better than nothin'. Hardest thing to do is start. Once you get in the swing of things it's kinda addicting looking at how much money you save and how much it grew. Hopefully you'll be inspired and/or have the option to put more in. Vanguard is good. E-trade is good. Just google 'Roth IRA Options' and you'll find a place you like.

Good luck

That's true. You might need some minimum amount to open an account (500 maybe?) but putting in small regular contributions as you can is much, much better than nothing.

since we're on the topic of IRA's can someone explain the benefits to having 1 if you're self employed? The only upside I see is since the money isn't taxed till its withdrawn, you have more money to invest.....another thing for self employed people is being able to withdraw during say a slow year so you pay in the lower tax bracket....outside of these minor points I don't see the benefits but maybe someone can show me.

The benefit is the tax-free compounding, which can be significant over time. This is even more pronounced in a Roth IRA, where the money can be withdrawn tax-free in retirement. If you put the same money away for retirement in a taxable account any dividends or distributions willl be taxed on an annual basis. This is true if you are self-employed or work for someone else, assuming you file and pay US Income tax.

This may not seem significant now, but as your account grows it can spin off quite a lot of capital gains and dividends. If it is in a tax sheltered account, it just keeps growing. If you can use a Roth IRA, better yet -- it grows potentially tax free.

Look to open an account where you can keep your annual fees to a minumum. Vanguard is famous for this, once you meet their minimums.

In the long run I think you would be better off with individual stocks than flushing it down the drain with money managers. Warren Buffets 10 book lists http://matthewminkin.wordpress.com/2...arren-buffett/ 2 books on the list. If you pick stocks you like with dividend yield of 3 or greater and no debt, you will probably beat the market.

Giving this advice to someone who asks if it even matters which company he chooses (ex: Fidelity <<<<<<<<<<< Vanguard) is absolutely horrible advice.

I do agree that "actively managed" funds are trash though.

OP: Go to vanguard and open up a roth IRA and invest 100% of your money in the retirement fund that is closest to the estimated date of your retirement.. And you won't ever have to worry about asset allocations/rebalancing/do a thing.

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/fun...t#targetAnchor

Ya, I'm a complete noob to investing, and tbh I don't know what an IRA is. I'll probably google it later and do some more research. It sounds like a roth IRA is the way to go for someone like me though based of what you've guys have explained.

EDIT: Googled it and read wiki on it. Seems like a ROTH IRA is more appealing as i don't want to get fked over by taxes later on.

Now what and where is the best place to open an IRA?

you're smart to start now. putting away $100/mo is better than most people are doing. don't worry if you don't get it "perfect," the above choice is okay and the most important thing is that you get in the habit of saving money each month.

Excellent advice

More then 75% of people have less then 30k saved for retirement. How do they do it then?

The target date retirement funds that people are speaking of arent as good as they seem to be. While indeed they are easy and convenient since they automatically change the allocation for you as you get close to retirement, they are often very high in expenses. These type of funds typically invest in a collection of other mutual funds. Every mutual fund has its own expense ratio to cover management fees, costs, marketing, etc. In this scenario you are essentially being charged the expense ratio of this particular fund, but also realize each mutual fund that this fund invests in also has an expense ratio. Once you add it all up you could be paying quite amount in fees without even realizing it

They rely on government dog food rations.