The Best IRA Accounts

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Saving for retirement is getting easier and less expensive. Brokerage firms and investment companies all want to be the go-to company for traditional and Roth IRAs, rolling out consumer-friendly options that reduce fees, therefore improving investors' returns.

Here are some top-rated IRAs

Brokers for individual stocks

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Unless you plan on making hundreds of trades in any given year -- which you probably shouldn't do -- there aren't all that many differences between discount brokers. Of the major online discount brokers, the difference in cost amounts to just a few dollars or cents per trade.

Brokerage	Stock Commissions
Capital One	$6.95 or $3.95 for automatic investments
Scottrade	$7.00
Fidelity	$7.95
Vanguard	$7 for the first 25 trades, and $20 thereafter Data sources: Capital One, Scottrade, Fidelity, and Vanguard. Capital One's brokerage (formerly known as ShareBuilder) has an interesting commission schedule that allows you to invest in individual stocks for as little as $3.95 per trade. The catch is that the purchases must be automatic -- trades are completed on every Tuesday the market is open. Admittedly, if you want to invest in individual stocks, you probably don't want to buy a stock regardless of the price, so the $3.95 option may not be ideal for most people. Fidelity, Scottrade, and Vanguard (if you make fewer than 25 trades per year) are also fairly inexpensive. One caveat: Scottrade was recently acquired by TD Ameritrade, and it's possible its commissions may be increased to match the $9.99 price charged by TD Ameritrade on its platform. IRA providers for ETFs Where most brokerages charge $7 to $9.99 to trade stocks and exchange-traded funds Broker Number of ETF Sponsors Number of Commission-Free ETFs Charles Schwab 16 210 TD Ameritrade 9 101 Fidelity 2 83 Vanguard 1 55 Data sources: Schwab, TD Ameritrade, Fidelity, and Vanguard. Charles Schwab's list of commission-free ETFs is the most exhaustive, but of the funds on its list, Schwab's ETFs are the most compelling. Its "Core" ETFs for stocks and bonds -- foreign and domestic -- can be used to build a diversified portfolio with an average annual fee of less than 0.10% per year. TD Ameritrade allows you to trade select Vanguard and iShares ETFs commission-free. iShares' ETFs are perhaps your best choice, because you can buy its S&P 500 ETF and compliment it with iShares' small- and mid-cap ETFs. Fidelity also offers commission-free trades on Fidelity and iShares ETFsown ETFs IRAs for mutual funds Buying mutual funds through independent brokers can be both clunky and costly. Don't be (small-f) fooled. Go straight to the source. If it's Vanguard's funds you'd like to invest in, open an IRA with Vanguard. Similarly, if Fidelity's funds Unfortunately, most brokers will charge you an arm and a leg ($20 to $80) to buy funds that aren't their own. And while they may tout their long lists of no-transaction-fee mutual funds, brokerages make up for lost commissions by collecting fees from mutual fund managers. Not surprisingly, most brokers' no-transaction-fee fund lists are dominated by mutual funds with loadsexpense ratios Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and Vanguard will allow you to invest in their funds without paying commissions. Similarly, mutual fund companies that do not have brokerage businesses will happily set you up with an IRA to buy their mutual funds without paying a commission to do so. A universal tip for IRAs IRA providers frequently charge maintenance or custodial fees In other words, if you agree to save your account provider on postage, most will waive some annual account fees for you. Select this option to save on fees when possible. It's basically free money. A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early, in-the-know investors! To be one of them, just click here Jordan Wathenfree for 30 daysconsidering a diverse range of insightsdisclosure policy