Low-frequency hydromagnetic waves excited by newborn ions in the solar wind plasma are studied. The freshly created ions appear in the solar wind frame with a ring beam distribution. Both Alfv¿n and fast magentosonic waves are made unstable by the presence of the newborn ions. The dependence of the growth rate of both waves on the newborn ion density, the angle between the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and solar wind flow, and the angle of wave propagation relative to the IMF is investigated. Analytic approximations for the growth rates are presented, and numerical solutions of the dispersion equation are shown. The approximations are quite close to the numerically determined growth rates. We find that the waves grow preferentially in the direction parallel to the IMF and that the growth rates increase with both newborn ion density and the angle between the IMF and the solar wind flow. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1988