Question:

Are mutual funds or ETF's better for me, 27 and looking to get set for retirement? ?
I'm new at investing but wanted to get in the Roth IRA game. I've read a lot about each option but haven't quite decided which is better for long term financial gains. Not looking to be an active trader at this point, but earn for a nice retirement. Would love to hear your opinions. Thinking of going with Vanguard either way.

Answers:

A-Best: I say beginners (investors) should start out with inexpensive "good" mutual funds. Mutual funds are a good stepping stone into the investing/trading world. Vanguard has good inexpensive funds and by inexpensive I mean expense ratios < 0.5%. There are a few more metrics you can use to value a fund. Note that almost all stock funds saw double digit losses in '08 with some losing less than others and/or against broad market indicies. Buy the book Investing in Mutual Funds for Dummies and open a Roth IRA account with a SIPC/FINRA broker after reading the book. You still have ~ 40 years left of a working career before your SSI retirement age and ~ 33 years before retirement account retirement age so you have a lot of time to evolve. Just make sure that you do not invest all of your savings when starting out. Put some in a FDIC/NCUA insured account then invest the rest. My $0.02  

A: Many blue chip stocks are at an all-time low today. GE - Ford - Citibank - American Steel etc... if you want your money to grwo over time and not have to watch it then these would be the best places for you to invest today.  

A: Mutual funds would be best for a novice investor. Mutual funds have professional managers that do some of your thinking for you. They pick the stocks. At least that is the idea. ETFs are more for more knowledgeable investors, with the exception of index fund ETFs that are diversifed enough and therfore those don't involve picking stocks, stock types, or sectors. And also realize you are not locked in forever with investing in a particular manner no matter how long your time frame. You could invest in mutual funds now and if you later, as you learn, think you can do better managing your money yourself using ETFs then you can do that, move the money.  

A: Mutual funds would be best for a novice investor. Mutual funds have professional managers that do some of your thinking for you. They pick the stocks. At least that is the idea. ETFs are more for more knowledgeable investors, with the exception of index fund ETFs that are diversifed enough and therfore those don't involve picking stocks, stock types, or sectors. And also realize you are not locked in forever with investing in a particular manner no matter how long your time frame. You could invest in mutual funds now and if you later, as you learn, think you can do better managing your money yourself using ETFs then you can do that, move the money