I'm looking for a good reference for financial calculations taking into account transaction costs, fees, etc.

I'm trying to find out which ROTH plan is the best one to invest in currently, and I've got a lot of brochures, a lot of numbers, but not enough information to process the information. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

9/6/2006 3:40:36 PM

HP 10B II (As in HP 10B 2) is the one that I am using to take the CFP exam next March. It does all the Present value, future value calculations through the top 5 buttons.

Probably the easiest one to use out of the bunch. People also swear by the TI financial calculators.

HP



TI



They make it a little harder to get the buttons I use the most though.

9/6/2006 3:50:56 PM

Last I checked Roth was a type of IRA, not a specific plan. Either way, bankrate.com has a ton of good calculators.

9/6/2006 3:59:38 PM

You're right, but I'm investing in a management plan for my ROTH and I was trying to find good calculators for true earning value. Thanks for these suggestions. What's the learning curve?

9/6/2006 4:30:00 PM

What do you mean "management plan"

Like professional money managers or like a mutual fund?

9/6/2006 4:37:11 PM

professional money managers. Right now it's sitting at my bank in a CD. i want something a bit more risky than that. So I went to my bank and they gave me a bunch of brochures and funds to look at (oppenheimer, i went to amerivest, etc.) and I'm trying to figure out how much the fees will actually end up costing me to see if it's going t be worth it.

9/6/2006 4:40:56 PM

you need to do more research non-tww related

9/6/2006 4:45:21 PM

It's worth it. Maybe not through your bank, but a roth is worth it.

[Edited on September 6, 2006 at 5:19 PM. Reason : and I second ^]

9/6/2006 5:19:03 PM

I don't want advice on my roth, just places to read and learn about the best way to take advantage of existing financial formulas

9/6/2006 7:25:00 PM

As a financial advisor that manages money for a living...I have to say I have no idea what you are talking about. What is meant by "existing financial formulas?"

If you want to research a fund in depth, you'll need to use pay services. There are places like personalfund.com that, for a fee, will tell you the full track record of a fund. This includes transaction costs due to trading, actually charged expenses (rather than prospectus expenses) and some sites will cover tax efficiency, although you won't care since you're in a Roth.

If you want to do more surface-type research, then check out Yahoo.com and read their morningstar stuff. If you have a scottrade account, you have free access to S&P fund reports, which are useful as well.


__

Oh and I almost forgot. VERY IMPORTANT - Check the manager tenure. If they haven't been there a few years then you should research them and find out where they came from. Make sure they have a track record, not just the fund.
Generally, when we refer to "professional money management" we aren't talking about the funds themselves, but rather turning you money over to an investment manager like Goldman or Wilshire. The lowest amount of money I've seen available for that is approximately $50,000. But if you had $50K in a Roth, you wouldn't be on TWW asking about researching mutual funds.

[Edited on September 6, 2006 at 7:33 PM. Reason : managers]

9/6/2006 7:31:29 PM

Sorry. Let me restart. I have a lot of figures. 1% for rebalancing fee, 2% yearly fee, and other little numbers here and there. What I don't know is the financial formulas I should use to find out what the real cost of these numbers equates too.

I understand everyone's point of doing research in Prospectuses and looking at tenure and whatnot. I'm not asking you guys to research the funds for me. I want to understand what the cost of these plans is in dollars and cents so that I can see if the cost justifies the little extras here or there that different funds provide.

9/6/2006 7:51:34 PM

For whom do you work bgims?

9/6/2006 8:04:14 PM

Quote :

"1% for rebalancing fee, 2% yearly fee"

wtfffffffffffff

9/6/2006 8:46:30 PM

dude, ive got the 10BII. I'll help ya out with the calcs. (if ya throw a bone and help me research and pick a decent Roth as well...)

9/6/2006 9:31:53 PM