IRA sales pitches sound fishy to veteran
They want him to switch from his government-sponsored Thrift Savings Plan.
DEAR HARRY: I'm a recently retired veteran of service in both Afghanistan and Iraq. I'm working in a job now in which I'm using my government skills as an administrator to earn a decent salary. I just got two calls from investment services urging me to switch my government-sponsored Thrift Savings Plan to IRAs with them. I told them that I'd have to get back to them. It appears to me that their charges are way out of line, but they both sounded sure of themselves and convincing. But something sounds fishy. Is there something they are not telling me?
WHAT HARRY SAYS: You have a pretty good nose. The fees are higher, way higher, and the performance probably not as good as what you have. Let me give you two of Harry's rules for investing. Do not buy from someone you do not know. Do not buy any investment on the telephone or Internet unless you initiate the call. Even if you know him, tell him you will call back. This gives you the time to digest what is offered. Stay where you are with what you have. See what plan your current employer has, and get involved in it as well as with a Roth IRA.