In this episode of ETF Spotlight, I speak with Tracey Ryniec, Zacks Senior Equity Strategist, about investing lessons from Ted Weschler's $264 Million Roth IRA.
Roth IRAs owned by ultra-wealthy Americans have been in spotlight after ProPublica obtained more than 15 years of tax return data on them. The largest one belonging to PayPal (PYPL) co-founder Peter Thiel had over $5 billion in assets as of 2019. Thiel used the account to buy founder’s shares in PayPal, and also shares in Palantir (PLTR) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) (FB) when they were still private companies.
Unlike Thiel, Warren Buffett’s deputy Ted Weschler built his retirement wealth through publicly traded investments and strategies available to all investors. His investing journey provides some good lessons for other investors. These lessons include: start young, buy stocks, stay invested, maintain a diversified portfolio, and capture the power of compounding.
IRAs allow investors to buy individual stocks, bonds, ETFs or mutual funds. ETFs are excellent tools for retirement investors since they provide an easy way to build a diversified portfolio at a low cost.
Tracey recommends owning high quality stocks like Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Nvidia (NVDA), and ETFs in retirement accounts. The Invesco QQQ ETF (QQQ) and its cheaper version Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (QQQM) hold many highly innovative companies. Apple, Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (GOOG) are the top holdings in these funds.
Investors should also consider low-cost ETFs like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) and iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT) for broad market exposure.
Further, dividend paying ETFs are better placed in an IRA as income is sheltered from taxes. The Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) and the iShares Core High Dividend Growth (DGRO), which hold companies that have a record of increasing dividends over time, are worth a look.
Tune in to the podcast to learn more.
Make sure to be on the lookout for the next edition of the ETF Spotlight and remember to subscribe! If you have any comments or questions, please email podcast@zacks.com.
(In full disclosure, Neena owns shares of VIG in the ETF Investor Portfolio.)
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Invesco QQQ (QQQ): ETF Research Reports
Facebook, Inc. (FB): Free Stock Analysis Report
PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL): Free Stock Analysis Report
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI): ETF Research Reports
Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG): ETF Research Reports
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO): ETF Research Reports
iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO): ETF Research Reports
iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT): ETF Research Reports
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