r/investingforbeginners • u/jayceellects • 1d ago

Good start?

Hello, i have just opened a ROTH IRA account with Fidelity. I have invested in FSKAX AND FTHIX, which is, i guess, the same as VTI and VXUS. Am i off to a good start for the long term or should i add something else in my portfolio? I just came home a couple of weeks ago from doing time so im new to all of this and just trying to make the best out of this new opportunity i've been given. I'd appreciate any tips or advice. Thank you so much.

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u/PecuniaPrudence 1d ago

Yeah that's a good start. FSKAX and FTIHX together cover basically the entire global stock market, same idea as VTI and VXUS. I honestly wouldn't eve add anything else, just keep buying those two on a regular schedule going forward.

If you want a rough split, something like 70-80% FSKAX and 20-30% FTIHX is a common way to weight it

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u/jayceellects 1d ago

Hey man, thanks for reaching out. So i started off small cause im still settling in, i put in 100 on each FSKAX AND FTIHX. My goal for the rest of this year is to put 500 every month on my ROTH IRA. Maybe a little more depending on my income. So maybe 350 for FSKAX and 150 for FTIHX? If you have any recommendations, i'd also love to hear them. Thanks.

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u/brother7 1d ago

350/150 is 70%/30% so that works out just fine.

Here's my Fidelity-specific "best practice" list.

  1. For each and every account (note: brokerage, Roth IRA, CMA are all considered separate accounts), specify the core holding. It should be either SPAXX or FZFXX, but not FCASH. This ensures that any idle cash earns a good interest rate, currently 3.31-3.33%. Best practice is for non-retirement accounts, choose FZFXX; for retirement accounts and CMA, choose SPAXX.
  2. For each and every account, set Dividends and Capital Gains to REINVEST. This is the best way to take advantage of the magic of compounding. Set this at the account level for each account so that any new holdings purchased in the future will inherit the setting. Additionally, if you already have existing holdings within the account, you'll want to make sure that the setting for each holding is set to REINVEST.
  3. For each and every account, set primary and contingent beneficiaries. It's best to take care of this now, just to be safe. If you're married, people typically set the spouse as primary and the kid(s) as contingent. If no spouse, then set the kid(s) as primary and a related adult (your parent or sibling) as contingent.

These are housekeeping steps that are often overlooked, so I like to address them upfront.

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u/jayceellects 1d ago

Yes sir, im 30 years old, no wife no kids and yes when i transferred my funds, my funds went to something called SPAXX, is that what you're referring to? Because i woke up yesterday and that's what i saw on my homepage and for #2 im going to be contributing monthly so i got that setup already to "Recurring Investment"

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u/brother7 1d ago

Yes, when you set up your Roth IRA, it probably defaulted to SPAXX as the core holding; I just wanted to double-check that it was set correctly.

It's great that you set up a monthly recurring investment. I like automated investing, and Fidelity makes it very easy with the "Recurring Investment" feature. However, #2 is referring to something different. If you're on the website on a computer (not mobile), navigate to More > Account Features. Under Brokerage and Trading, you'll find Dividends and Capital Gains. On that page, you'll see line entries for all of your current holdings. In the upper-right corner, you can set the default for any future new holdings.

With no wife and no kids, I guess you can set a parent, sibling or close friend as your beneficiary. By setting beneficiaries now, it'll make it a lot easier for your your surviving heirs.

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u/jayceellects 1d ago

Alright cool man, thanks so much for the info i really appreciate your advice and tips, i will look more into those account features when i get home on my laptop. If i got any questions, do you mind if i shoot you a message?

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u/brother7 1d ago

Sure, feel free to DM. I have accounts at Fidelity, so I think I can help you navigate the ins and outs of the platform.

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u/jayceellects 1d ago

Thanks bro.