Robo-advised Roth IRA or Self Directed??

[Kassandra Shoemaker]

I am 20 years old and I want to dip my toes into investing. I want to start with a Roth IRA because that fits my income and plans for right now. I have narrowed it down to using Fidelity, but I am not sure if I would be better off using the self-directed version or the robo-advised account. The robo-advised account has low fees ($0 for accounts under $10,000, which mine will be for at least a couple years) and the self-directed practically no fees at all. I feel like I would be able to do the self-directed because I have been studying up and listening to BP, but I am worried without the robo-advisor, I might get lost and I do not have another direct/human resource to go to for personal account advice. What should I do? Are there any low-cost advisors out there for beginners?

[R. Marcella Poole]

Have you looked at Vanguard?  I appreciate their simple fee structure and inexpensive rates for investing--but I'm very conservative.  For a paradigm shift on investing, you may enjoy the read "The Simple Path to Wealth" by JL Collins.