Mishandling of IRA Account

I had opened a rollover IRA account in January of 2007 with National City. Since this was the first IRA account I had ever opened, I was not sure what to expect. I had noticed that the money in this account was growing, but very slowly and only by about $20 over the 6 months that I had opened it (I had rolled over ~ $3380 originally, and today I have $3400 in this account). Recently, a banker from National City called me to tell me that this money was sitting in a savings account and had not been invested at all. Apparently the banker that had assisted me with originally opening this account was either fired or had quit. I had noticed that the stock market has been doing very well. Pardon my ignorance, by I am not very knowledgeable about the stock market, but I had heard that it was close to or at a record high of 14,000. If my money had been invested correctly, how much money could I have made? Is there any action I can take against National City if I this amount was greater than the small amount I had earned while my IRA funds sat in a savings account? I am considering taking my money elsewhere, so you input is greatly appreciated.

If you had an ORDER in to purchase stocks, or a specific mutual fund, then National City dropped the ball. If there was no order, then there's nothing they could have done. Their call, however, was a nice courtesy -- now it's up to you to decide what you want to invest in.

How much you could have made depends on what you ordered the money to be put into. You have ABOUT the same amount as I have in an IRA. I changed my fund to a more aggressive one at the beginning of this year, and have made $500 in six months. So, let's pretend that return will continue, and at the end of this year maybe I'll make a grand in one year, (best case scenario).

On the other hand, my husband's less aggressive fund has made him (on a similar amount) about $150, and if that continues he'll have made a hair under 10%.

You're not looking at huge amounts here. A lawyer will take all your profit in fees anyway.

However, I'd strongly advise you to figure out what you're doing with your own money. Didn't you receive statements that showed you were NOT invested in XYZ fund, or ABC Company? Did you not notice this? If you don't know what you're doing, educate yourself -- the magazine that sponsors this forum is a great place to start.

I'd also strongly advise you to consider switching IRA companies, if you feel they are somehow at fault in this. For example, if they don't have online access to your account, and you feel you could have managed this better with online access, then choose a company that offers online access to your accounts.

The stock market run up isn't over - it can't be, or none of us will be able to retire. It MUST continue to grow, so that our investments grow. The DOW hit 14,000 -- good for the DOW, good for us, it should keep on going!

Thank you for your response!! I will look into means of being able to monitor my account better. I did receive statements, but I really did not understand them. Now, I know better. I wonder if there is an "Investment for Dummies" book I can purchase.

There is, absolutely! It's "Investing for Dummies"! But seriously, the magazine is great.