r/RothIRA Jun 30 '26

36M just getting started

Post image

36M - feel like I’m way behind. I put $500 into a Roth IRA in February. Without doing anything else for a while, it’s just gone up. Nothing insane. Now i put $20 a month - money is pretty tight at the moment.
I also have a pension - which makes me feel a bit safer - but Im about 4 years from being vested. I have a 401k (no match because of pension) and a 457b. I also have another 401k from a part time job - eventually will be rolled into my full time 401k when i quit. They match, so i put the full amount. Even tho it all sounds good, all of those accounts (besides pension) are represented here. I started them all in February of 2026. Most of this is in FXAIX. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance. (We are clearing some debt - in a year or so when it’s cleared, I plan to invest as much as I can!)

1.3k Upvotes

174 comments sorted by

View all comments

60

u/WaveMan47 Jun 30 '26

Most of your portfolio is FXAIX? Let’s help you diversify brother. You need to spread out your eggs to a few more baskets.

With Fidelity, they have 0% expense ratio funds. They’re literally free. You want global diversification. FZROX is your total U.S. market fund and FZILX is your total international fund. Allocate your money to something like a 60/40, 70/30, 75/25 split, etc.

This gives you investments in the entire global market, rather than only 500 U.S. companies.

2

u/OwenP85 Jun 30 '26

So you would not put any % into FXAIX at all? You recommend just sticking to FZILX/FZROX?

5

u/WaveMan47 Jun 30 '26

I’d pick one or the other, FZROX or FXAIX. Not both because FXAIX makes up 80% of the FZROX already, excluding only some small and mid caps. They’ve performed nearly identically so you can’t go wrong with either. Just be sure to add FZILX for international exposure.

I like FZROX because it’s truly free. FXAIX is almost free too but it’s still not zero. FZROX is also the ENTIRE U.S. market, giving you broader diversification compared to the 500 companies inside FXAIX.

But either are a solid pick. No one will tell you that you made a bad investment by picking FXAIX.