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There are a lot of finance articles that spell it out in laymen's terms, but I too was looking for a legal article to reference: Through google, I found what appears to be a lawyer's guide on the topic: http://www.shefskylaw.com/66BE91/assets/files/Documents/Retirement%20Plans%20and%20Creditor%20Pro...

As much as I hate "me too" posts, I'd be interested in attending as well.

Thanks!

We just got ours.... I believe we're in the 2MM range of assets. Asset-Based Fees. The annual Investment Management Fee, which is determined based on the aggregate amount of the Plan assets and is charged to your account pro-rata, will be approximately 0.70% of your account balance. Note that this i...

In a bankruptcy, there's an priority of creditors: IRS Employee Wages Secured Creditors Unsecured Creditors Preferred Stockholders Common Stockholders (You) If there's no money left, the next tier gets nothing. You're entitled to whatever's left over, which is very speculative. Chances you'll get a ...

If you want Gold that bad, consider GLD. No K-1. Why do you say that? My understanding is that if it's in an IRA I can pretty much put the K-1 form into a shredder as soon as it comes in the mail. http://www.taxalmanac.org/index.php/Discussion:K1_held_in_an_IRA_account http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

The document you should ask for is the "Summary Plan Document", and possibly the Organizing Documents themselves. At the company I work for, HR has a binder for 401k audits with checkmark boxes describing the various restrictions they chose to place on funds. In our case, adding after-tax+...

This being my first year at Schwab, does anyone find their substitute 1099-B confusing? I spent 15 min on the phone, asking where is the information for 6b (basis reported to IRS) only to be told that it was likely ticked if I purchased the security in 2011. I realize they want me to use Turbo-Tax t...

Thanks Brian. Are there ever instances for young investors (I'm 30) when this may not be the preferred approach, instead of investing the money in a taxable account? I understand that by moving more work earnings into the Roth (through the rollover) the money won't be accessible for years to come. ...

grok87 wrote:sounds good- can one do this at fidelity?

These are index options, so I imagine they should, just run an option chain on $SPXPM

I've been purchasing puts on SPY in my Roth IRA, and I couldn't be happier with the tax treatment. They've recently come out with SPXPM options that would make more sense if they were better spreads (In Schwab, Research>Options>Chains>$SPXPM) -1256 Contract (60% long term, 40% short term tax treatme...

The 17k limit applies to employee "tax deferrals" to a defined contribution plan (Traditional 401k/Roth 401k). The 49k limit applies to everything above, employer matches, and After-Tax 401k contributions. (A segregated account) You do not need to max out Traditional/Roth 401ks to contribu...

DBR gave the best answer to the question. SIPC protects against the broker stealing the securities, not against loss of value. You probably want to compare the fees between Wells Fargo and Raymond James very closely. If you decide that the fees are fair, the management style doesn't change, and that...

Does this ratio seem reasonable for an investor that wants global diversity in accordance with roughly the market weight? Referencing: http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Approximating_Total_Stock_Market http://portfolios.morningstar.com/fund/summary?t=FSGDX&region=USA&culture=en-us FSGDX is 90%...

I'm not Alan, but I can take a stab. I realize that I only contributed after tax dollars, about $20,000. If this is indeed an "After-Tax employers plan" and not a "Roth", it is my understanding any earnings would be tax deferred. I made one conversion from the original plan holde...

Hi, and welcome! As far as I know, transferring the funds from the old 401k to the WF 401k is the only option. Does a rollover to a IRA have restrictions such as age and employment or company 401k restrictions? This makes sense. There are only a few "triggering events" that the government ...

The way Cashier check scams are typically done is that - You deposit the check - The bank is forced to expedite the clearing of the check - Confidant that the funds are available, you then wire/write check for the refund/overpayment. - Bank realizes the check is a fake, and takes the money out - You...

There is a year old discussion with some citation on another forum: http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/1059368/ That in turn cited this thread at site for accountants: http://www.taxalmanac.org/index.php/Discussion:Wash_Sales,_Options_and_IRAs I don't believe there is a consensus. Cheers, Greg

Hmmm.. Now I am concerned. Cashistrash looks to be correct here. Following the trail from his Fairmark link I found this IRS newsletter entry to employers: The article was last updated in February 2010; the IRS newsletter was from Fall of 2008. I would look at YDNAR's posts http://www.bogleheads.or...

OP said his preference was Dell, but I've found them pretty expensive. Some of us got burned by Dell's exploding capacitor issue, and don't see them as reliable. They also depreciate as fast as cars, by the time the warranty runs out, you can get one that's 2x as fast for 1/2 the cost. For the price...

but i dont want to put all my eggs in one basket and have just started putting some money im my 401k im setting aside 11 % ..with my companys match of 9% im socking away about $500 dollars a month and at this time my 401k is at $43000. i still have around $500 extra a month, that is my play money. ...

1. AMEX is notoriously through/stingy with credit lines. Someone with your means and little record probably comes across as an outlier in their system. I'd ask to speak to a human. 2. There's no correlation between FICO and income. I have a friend on SS disability with a 800 credit score because she...

This is not legal advice but I've been told by a friend who's considering it after getting into a bad car accident. Please contact your attorney -Employer Plans under ERISA (401ks) are not considered part of a person's estate for bankruptcy reasons. (IRA is exempt up to a million dollars)* -Settleme...

you should easily find a system <400>$100), the All-In-Ones may make sense (problem is when you upgrade you will need a new screen again). All in ones (at least from Sony) are built w/ mostly laptop parts, and have difficult to repair/upgrade. I admit the compact sleek designs look attractive, but ...

aida2003, Amazon is a great shop, but doesn't have the best pricing for this sort of thing. That said.. http://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-Quad-Core-7200RPM-Windows/dp/B004G5ZTM4 @ $570 it's a midrange PC w. no monitor. A Better Non-Amazon deal: (both in PC and in price) $400 w/ free ship - 750 GB/6G...

The article advocates the purchase of stocks on margin at 2:1 while young. The general gist of their argument is that historically, the risk premium for equities has always been greater than the risk premium for margin. Margin is akin to steroids. Sure they can enhance performance and the side effe...

http://www1.salary.com/Real-Estate-Agent-salary.html Average agent makes $37k, and the turnover is incredible. They typically earn 6% commission, but must split it with buyer's realtor and staff. Being new in the field earns next to nothing, especially if you have no specialty. 2) how does one creat...

What is the discount rate and how can I determine what I should enter for it? Well, I chose 6.5% as the more conservative estimator from the range suggested in the article I linked. A higher discount rate means a lower present value. However, I'm not a finance guy, so can't give you a reasoned expl...

The point is if you can be certain that you'll be able to sell those stocks to pay your bills then why would you need bonds at all? Why not just make your AA 100% equities and sell what's needed in your taxable account? Obviously, the entire purpose of allocating a portion of your portfolio to bond...

livesoft wrote:gsmith, then keep your Roth/emergency fund in a short-term bond fund and not in a fund that would be affected "when the market nosedives 30-50%."

I edited my post to make this more apparent.

Thanks,

Greg

Why not just keep all of the funds in, for example, a Vanguard Roth IRA mutual fund. The money is very easy to get to, has the opportunity to still grow at a much higher rate than CD/bond, etc... Of course, I can only utilize the contributions without penalty, but as a emergency fund only, that wou...

Im assuming that I'll receive a check in the mail (or can request one) when the old plan terminates and then will need to deposit the proceeds into the new plan within a certain number of days. What you're describing is called a "triggering event". While employer termination of the 401K p...

How is this illegal? And it's $2k, who cares about the risk? I believe there is SEC/FINRA rules about "unofficial margin". Regardless, in 15 months, he will either need to accept the riskier AA, or sell for short term loss/gain. This does not sound very BHish. If his allocation is 70% sto...

That makes more sense. If he's got money, then why not just throw this into his normal asset allocation and worry about finding $2k 15 months from now? It doesn't need to be short term does it? Also, having a maxed out credit card might actual hurt your credit score more than help it. I'm not sure ...

1. Having a credit utilitatization over 1% does not increase his credit score. 2. Cash advance is eqiv. to payday loan, don't do it. 3. Most banks see transactions to financial places as cash advances. (I opened a bank account, making my initial deposit with Discover.) 4. Most sane places will not e...

ETFs, I tell ya, are the first big step on th' road t' degraydaytion. They turn honest investors into adrenaline-crazed, hopped-up speculators who don't eat, don't drink, don't sleep! They stay glued to their screens I say glued twenty-four-seven staring, staring, staring! Getting burned out eyebal...

I will now perform one of my useless poor decision making tasks and forward this blurb onto my boss and senior IT executives and organize a call (oh - another poor decision by HR :roll: ) to discuss how to handle this situation. Perhaps sensitivity training should be considered, or egads!, a RIF no...

Actually, I would suggest you look into Schwab's U.S. Broad Market ETF (SCHB). As a Schwab ETF is is commission free for you, and because it's in a tax free account, you can sell it at anytime if they raise the expense ratio, which is currently a very low .06% ER.[quote] The only difference is SCHB ...

Non-profits don't pay taxes, so it is more efficient to do a "qualified charitable distribution", also dubbed by some as the "IRA charitable rollover" from an traditional IRA. This also works with stocks in taxable accounts that have appreciated significantly. You can either keep...

When I was very skeptical about our 401k fees, I warned some coworkers/friends about this. Their answers saddened me; "Yes, I know it isn't the best, but the money comes directly out of my pay, and I would spend it otherwise." When we changed providers, I took a good look and advocated the...

Prokofiev wrote:My mother who is now in a nursing home at 88.

I would verify that any gov. subsidies would not be effected by the income. I don't have any direct experience, but I've heard stories.

Best of luck,


Greg

Let me put it this way - if the stock was likely to fall more on average than the put premium reflected, hence causing the Roth leg to make money, everyone would just buy the put because it was "too cheap". The purpose of the transaction is to speculate of course; I could copy any options...

chaster86, I would like to propose an alternative solution to "doubling tax advantage space" through options. Lets say I had a Roth IRA with $5000, and either a taxable account or trad IRA with $25000, and created a bear put spread with each leg in separate accounts. In the Roth, I would b...

There must be something I'm not getting. HR is bureaucratic :) Some companies pay match on a per-paycheck/monthly basis, and divide the maximum equally by pay period. Other (big/generous/gov) companies will rerun match calculations retroactively to smooth out that maximum over the entire year. Smal...

Wow... I had to read it a couple times to understand.. :shock: If the market plummets on the day of call expiration then you might be forced to move the entire position to the tax advantaged space (and zero out your taxable account). Selling the call in taxable, and buying it back in the IRA would b...

Wow! With a username like that, I would imagine you would have your own Asterisk system by now! There are a couple ways to do it. 1. MagicJack (junky device), reliant on your PC, Windows/Mac Only. :P 2. A standalone phone adapter (Linkysys PAP2) which converts internet back to a normal telephone. If...

Coulee Bank's 3.03% Checking
They used to pay 3.33%, and I've had them over a year.
http://www.couleebank.net

4 star safe+sound
http://www.bankrate.com/rates/safe-soun ... =&c=&s=&z=

I believe the most common answer is have your retirement completely funded, as they can get loans for college but not for retirement. The more controversial is that students HAVE to understand there is a cost, or they well spend like drunken sailors. Consider making the sacrifice transparent to them...

My new costs would be a $3K/year dumping fee and about $7K/year in gas. It sounds like you're valuing your labor for nothing, which would skew the numbers. I agree with KyleAAA, but you should value your own labor. The best run small business I've seen was a maid service where they hired someone fo...

1) Again, why have a minimum of 80%? This is the limit of what they are allowed to do under law. Perhaps we could enter an illiquid period (especially for international stocks) where they will need to build a huge stockpile of cash to handle redemptions. As you stated, they are only 1% cash currentl...

In the case of the IRA, the beneficiaries will need to take annual required minimum distributions (RMD), couldn't spend the money on college until he passes on, and then could spend the money on anything. I'd also double check how retirement accounts are counted toward aid. Edit: A good type of asse...