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First, 6-7% growth in a tax-advantage account is solid.
Second, look up backdoor roth ira
1
if you don’t max out your back door Roth you are literally pissing money away. I just maxed it for the first time last year and feel like an idiot for not doing it sooner. You can even pull the money out early and spend it if you want to. It’s a no brainer
How are you only getting 6-7% returns? You can have a self-directed Roth and then contribute with a back-door Roth. Use the employer retirement vehicle as your long-term growth account. Diversify into a bunch of funds they offer. You'll probably get 8% return minimum most years in that. Then, in your Roth, be risky. Since it's a post-tax advantage, capital gains won't be taxed. I have typically gotten 12-16% in my Roth just in things like SPDR, JEPY, TQQQ, QQQM, etc. I even do some day trading with about 25k for funsies, and it has usually panned out during the bull market run we've had. I'll probably push it over to a Dvd paying stock once we hit correction.
If your income is past the threshold, you should be investing in multiple vehicles for long-term and personal gains.
It's mostly about tax timing and your current income tax rate. I would take advantage while you're able because you'll hit phaseout pretty quickly in IB.
As a rule of thumb, the higher your tax rate, the more you benefit from tax deferral and less from Roth. Individuals in the 22%/24% tax bracket will often hedge their bets (on future tax rates) and contribute some to pre-tax and some to Roth (assuming Roth 401k option).
Backdoor Roth's are fine where applicable, but I also like the flexibility of adding money to brokerage accounts. Big Roth conversions when the market has significant drawdowns can also be advantageous.
The only big no-no is after-tax 401k/ IRA contributions that aren't converted to Roth. They offer next to no benefit.
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