Having multiple IRAs is a great way to diversify your investments and take advantage of different tax benefits. There is no limit to the number of IRAs you can have, and you can even have multiple IRAs of the same type, such as Roth, SEP, and traditional IRAs. Years ago, IRA owners could make several distributions and transfer them in the same year, as long as they only transferred one distribution per IRA. This rule prevents you from making more than one transfer of distributions made in a one-year period; it does not necessarily prevent you from making more than one renewal in a one-year period.
You can divide the allowed contribution between your IRAs or contribute the full amount to an IRA. You can create an IRA in a robo-advisor for low-cost, automated portfolio management and another IRA in a brokerage agency that offers stock trading, or two separate accounts in the same company if it offers both services. In fact, the rule says that you cannot transfer a distribution from an IRA made within the following year to a previous distribution that was renewed. But if not, another distribution of a different IRA could be used to replace the funds withdrawn from the first IRA.
