Open an IRA Online

Brokers now offer 100% online account set-up, management and trading, so it’s never been easier to start saving for retirement. You can select and open an online IRA account in about fifteen minutes.

Recommended IRA Brokers

Where should you open an IRA? Look for low minimum account balance requirements, low fees, affordable per-trade commissions and solid customer service. For IRAs I recommend two “newbie friendly” brokers: Zecco and E*Trade. Both have no minimum balance requirements; E*Trade has no fees, Zecco has a $30 annual fee but lower per-trade commissions. Both offer award-winning service and support traditional, Roth and rollover IRAs.

E*Trade

E*Trade has no minimum account balance requirement, no annual IRA fee (as long as you receive electronic statements) and offers free dividend reinvestment. Trades cost $12.99. New accounts receive 100 commission-free trades for use within 30 days of account opening.

Open an E*Trade IRA

Zecco

Frequently named a SmartMoney Magazine “best discount broker”, Zecco has no minimum account balance requirement and trades are just $4.50 each. There is a $30 annual fee. However, if you have a balance of at least $25,000 or make 25 trades a month, you get 10 free trades per month, making Zecco a great deal, fee notwithstanding.

Open a Zecco IRA

Want more options? Compare all of our recommended online brokers.