Hi everyone,

IRA newbie here. My husband and I are both planning to open an IRA (2 accounts). This is the first time either one of us has contributed to an IRA.

Since we don't qualify for a Roth IRA or deductible traditional IRA, we are going to go with the non-deductible traditional IRA.

My questions:
(1) Is there any advantage of opening it at one place versus another? We currently have accounts at Solomon Smith Barney, Etrade, and Schwab. Of course, we could always go for a completely separate brokerage firm or bank. I'm just not sure if there is an advantage of one over another.

(2) Any recommendations on what to invest in? Should we think differently because this is an IRA account? E.g., since this account is not taxed, my husband is thinks it is ok to aim for mutual funds that generate a lot of taxes since it won't affect us. He thinks that we should go for funds we think will generate the highest return regardless of the load, turnover, dividends, etc. Is this thinking right?

Any other suggestions you can give me would be much appreciated.

~cg