The easiest way is probably also the best way for you:
Purchase a target date mutual fund (There are also a few target date ETFs available). All of the re-balancing, age appropriate asset allocation, and underlying investments are managed by pros (real pros - - people who have done it for a long time and get paid to do it).
If you invest regularly, it will be "really worth it" (whatever THAT means).
If you start trying to pick stocks, or fund sectors, or time the market, or chase high returns - - you will get bit. The ONLY thing difficult about retirement investing is actually putting your money in. After that, a target date fund will do exactly what you need it to do. It's not sexy, but it will work.
Warren Buffett recommeded in an interview recently that unless you are willing to spend 6 to 8 hours per week studying investments, you should pick the lowest cost S&P 500 Index Fund. You may want to investigate Vanguard's S&P 500 Index Fund.
I'd avoid mutual funds and use ETFs instead. A ETF like "SDY" is an Exchange Traded Fund that only invests in large companies that pay dividends : "The index is designed to measure the performance of the highest dividend yielding S&P Composite 1500? Index constituents that have followed a managed-dividends policy of consistently increasing dividends every year for at least 20 consecutive years. It is non-diversified."
ETFs are superior, in my opinion, to mutual funds because they trade on the stock exchange like a regular stock. In any case, you should avoid any mutual fund that isn't an index fund. You don't want to waste your retirement funds on management fees and avoid high turnover funds, You pay for all that stock churning and "expert advice" that non-index funds are prone to.
First off, don't get your advice on Yahoo Answers.
Second, research mutual funds online. Learn how they work, the effect of management fees, and long term growth trends (10 years plus).
Research at Morningstar.com. Put it in Dodge and Cox Balanced and T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation and leave it there.
I have a roth IRA and want to start investing. I am 25 so time is on my side but what mutual funds can I put my money on that are really worth it? Please help. Thank you in advance.
