I logged into my TradeKing account, where my wife and I have our Roth IRAs, and I noticed that one of the ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) that I own paid a dividend last month. But, instead of being automatically reinvested, the dividend was simply deposited into my money market fund.
In the future, I want the dividend to be automatically reinvested in the ETF. I used the “live chat” feature and asked a representative to fix the situation. Within a few minutes, the representative clicked a few buttons and I have been assured that, from now on, all dividends will be automatically reinvested.
If you have investments, you might want to check your statements, just to be sure that dividends are being invested the way you want them to be invested. MOST brokerages offer FREE dividend reinvestment.
As a side note: I have sent a check for my 2008 contribution to my Roth IRA to TradeKing, and I’m thinking about how to invest it. I’ll probably stick with VTI, my ‘go to’ ETF. (I do not, in any way, recommend that you follow my investing strategy. Do your own research and make your own decisions! THAT is why it’s called PERSONAL finance!)
This post does NOT include affiliate links.
I don’t know how other companies do it, but all my Mutual Fund/Index orders through Scottrade ask you when you purchase the fund how you want your dividends handled, and I’ve always gone the DRIP (Dividend reinvestment program) route. Especially in a Roth where you won’t have to pay any taxes on them!