Investing isn't just about what stocks to buy; you also have to know where to buy them. Making the most of tax-favored retirement accounts, such as IRAs, is crucial in saving the most you can for your retirement.
In the following video, Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool's director of investment planning, takes a closer look at how to find smart stocks to buy for your IRA. Dan notes that IRAs give you shelter from taxation on dividend and capital-gain income, thereby making it smart to put any high-dividend stocks into an IRA.
Dan discusses the differences between putting regular high-yielders Windstream (WINMQ) and Frontier Communications (FTR) versus niche investments like mortgage real-estate investment trusts Two Harbors (TWO 1.18%) and ARMOUR Residential (ARR 1.07%), highlighting that the different tax treatment of various investments makes some more attractive within IRAs than others.
At the same time, Dan notes that you have to be comfortable with a stock's prospects, rather than simply dumping high-yielding dividend stocks willy-nilly into your IRA.
Dan concludes with some thoughts about the ability to use IRAs for short-term trading strategies when you think an investing prospect will pay off quickly.
