IRA’s are retirement savings accounts with certain tax advantages, making them appropriate savings vehicles for retirement. A lot of people mistakenly think an IRA itself is an investment – but it’s just the vehicle in which you keep stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, CD’s and other assets.
Unlike business retirement plans, which are accounts provided by your employer, the most common types of IRA’s are accounts that you open on your own. Others can be opened by self-employed individuals and small business owners.