Originally Posted by cinderly

I suppose which vehicle is "right" depends on why you're investing. Most of my investments are geared toward having a secure (and even awesome) retirement. I have both a 401(k) and a Roth IRA. The 401(k) is great because my prior employers all provided matching funds and you can dump more money annually into a 401(k) than a Roth.

I like the Roth because I theoretically won't have to pay taxes on my stock earnings once I hit 59-1/2, but the low annual contribution limit might be an issue for someone in a hurry to build up their retirement savings.

As far as brokerages go, I don't have any I'd swear off. I'm partial to Vanguard because I like their index funds, but I was with Charles Schwab in my early 20s and didn't have any complaints there, either.

I try to buy and hold as much as possible, and I go for stocks or funds that have staying power. I like funds better than individual stocks, generally. (The Vanguard 500 & the Energy Index are my present favorites.)

I've done a poor job as far as diversifying my portfolio. It's all stocks. I need to identify some bonds to invest in to reallocate my risk, since I'm a little closer to retirement now than in my twenties.

I'm also investigating retirement annuities, but I'm not sold on them yet.

My favorite sites for financial advice:

The Motley Fool
Generation X Finance
Money.com
Get Rich Slowly