ING Direct Products: More than just savings accounts
ING Direct offers more than just a high interest savings account. They also offer CDs, mutual funds, home loans, and business accounts, and they own sharebuilder.com, an online brokerage firm where you can buy stock.
Certificate of Deposit (CD)
ING’s Orange CDS are available in the following terms: 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 48, and 60. They offer competitive interest rates for their CDs. With the wide range of terms available you can create an effective ladder. To make a CD ladder you start by buying CDs of different terms, let’s say 12, 24, 36, and 48. Now, every year you can buy one more 12 term CD. This way you are varying your interest rate to get the most for your money and are constantly have CDs expire to reinvest. Technically, you don’t need to add any more money, but I would suggest adding more and more money each time you buy another CD.
You can open and fund a CD online or you can mail in an application. Your CDs are FDIC insured up to $100,000. Security is important in any investments you make.
Investing and Retirement
ING offers IRAs, mutual funds, and they have also bought sharebuilder.com. Visit the IRA center to learn about learn more about their Roth IRAs and Traditional IRAs. These are great for when you want to start preparing for retirement, which should be right away!
ING offers 15 no load mutual funds. The mutual funds are professionally managed and are diversified. They have very low risk investments for the conservative investors nearing or at retirement and very high risk investments for younger investors that can afford the risk. They have a very low minimum of $1,000 so you can get started even with very little money.
Orange Home Loans
ING Direct offers Mortgages and Home Equity Loans. They have low interest rates and low closing costs and they try to make things as simple as possible so that it’s easy for you to apply.
Business Accounts
Do you own a small or large business? ING Direct offers business savings accounts, business CDs, and 401Ks for your employees. If you don’t want to leave your money sitting in a low interest account, you can open a business savings account.
ING Direct has so many different products to offer. Check them out to get the most for your money!