I finally did it! [I'm managing my retirement accounts]

[TX_Aggie]

I finally got the nerve to take over my retirement accounts!! I'm a big bit nervous. A bit scared. And really excited, too!

Last you all heard from me I made this post:
Ready to Leave Edward Jones and control my destiny

That was way back in May. Anyhow, today I went into Fidelity and we started the process of moving my accounts there, from Edward Jones. They are all getting moved over and I will be self-managing!

To start, I'm just having them moved across. I don't know how long it will take for that to happen. Once the accounts are all moved over I will collapse them into one of the portfolios recommended here. I've got some research to do this weekend on what makes the most sense!

[livesoft]

Good for you!

[Parkinglotracer]

Congrats - will fidelity give you any coin for moving your assets there ? Some brokerages will!

[arcticpineapplecorp.]

congrats. doesn't appear to be any tax implications except for:

The taxable brokerage account (@backpacker61 thanks for helping me with the proper "lingo") is very basic. It only has two stocks: AAPL and VWAGY.

did you transfer the assets in this account (AAPL and VWAGY) in kind to the new brokerage? i.e., assuming you didn't sell these holdings but rather just transferred them to the new brokerage?

and did you keep track of the original cost basis of these holdings?

[abuss368]

I finally got the nerve to take over my retirement accounts!! I'm a big bit nervous. A bit scared. And really excited, too!

Last you all heard from me I made this post:
Ready to Leave Edward Jones and control my destiny

That was way back in May. Anyhow, today I went into Fidelity and we started the process of moving my accounts there, from Edward Jones. They are all getting moved over and I will be self-managing!

To start, I'm just having them moved across. I don't know how long it will take for that to happen. Once the accounts are all moved over I will collapse them into one of the portfolios recommended here. I've got some research to do this weekend on what makes the most sense!

Congrats!

Please do not hesitate to use this forum or perhaps engage the services of Vanguard PAS if you need help and support.

https://investor.vanguard.com/advice/financial-advisor

Best.
Tony

[UpperNwGuy]

Keep us posted on your portfolio changes. People here can help.

[Wiggums]

Congratulations

[student]

Thanks for letting us know.

[TX_Aggie]

did you transfer the assets in this account (AAPL and VWAGY) in kind to the new brokerage? i.e., assuming you didn't sell these holdings but rather just transferred them to the new brokerage?

and did you keep track of the original cost basis of these holdings?

Yes. Transferred "in kind". And I think I have the tax info, not sure, but think I'm good. I have a form that has Performance Timeline, Cost Basis and Unrealized Gain/Loss. I honestly don't know exactly what I need but hope this is it?

[enad]

I finally got the nerve to take over my retirement accounts!! I'm a big bit nervous. A bit scared. And really excited, too!

Last you all heard from me I made this post:
Ready to Leave Edward Jones and control my destiny

That was way back in May. Anyhow, today I went into Fidelity and we started the process of moving my accounts there, from Edward Jones. They are all getting moved over and I will be self-managing!

To start, I'm just having them moved across. I don't know how long it will take for that to happen. Once the accounts are all moved over I will collapse them into one of the portfolios recommended here. I've got some research to do this weekend on what makes the most sense!

Congratulations. You've taken the first step. Do you have a strategy in mind for the next step i.e. 2-Fund, 3-Fund, something else?

[nedsaid]

Somewhere in the great trading floor in the sky, St. John Bogle is happy. We got another one!

Congratulations, you made a big step. As others will tell you, you will save a ton in fees. Somewhere someone here posted a link to an article that discussed the costs of investing at different providers. Edward Jones was one of the most expensive, going from memory, their annual costs are often over 2% of assets a year.

Fidelity has very good index funds. You have some very fine choices there.

[txaggie]

Congrats! Love your name

[DesertDiva]

[MattB]

Congrats! Love your name

LOL.

[MattB]

I finally got the nerve to take over my retirement accounts!! I'm a big bit nervous. A bit scared. And really excited, too!

Last you all heard from me I made this post:
Ready to Leave Edward Jones and control my destiny

That was way back in May. Anyhow, today I went into Fidelity and we started the process of moving my accounts there, from Edward Jones. They are all getting moved over and I will be self-managing!

To start, I'm just having them moved across. I don't know how long it will take for that to happen. Once the accounts are all moved over I will collapse them into one of the portfolios recommended here. I've got some research to do this weekend on what makes the most sense!

Congrats.

I suggest making a portfolio review post here once everything is transferred over.

People here should be able to help you liquidate the trash and get you into a portfolio that is easy to manage.

[CyclingDuo]

I finally got the nerve to take over my retirement accounts!! I'm a big bit nervous. A bit scared. And really excited, too!

Last you all heard from me I made this post:
Ready to Leave Edward Jones and control my destiny

That was way back in May. Anyhow, today I went into Fidelity and we started the process of moving my accounts there, from Edward Jones. They are all getting moved over and I will be self-managing!

To start, I'm just having them moved across. I don't know how long it will take for that to happen. Once the accounts are all moved over I will collapse them into one of the portfolios recommended here. I've got some research to do this weekend on what makes the most sense!

[arcticpineapplecorp.]

did you transfer the assets in this account (AAPL and VWAGY) in kind to the new brokerage? i.e., assuming you didn't sell these holdings but rather just transferred them to the new brokerage?

and did you keep track of the original cost basis of these holdings?

Yes. Transferred "in kind". And I think I have the tax info, not sure, but think I'm good. I have a form that has Performance Timeline, Cost Basis and Unrealized Gain/Loss. I honestly don't know exactly what I need but hope this is it?

cost basis and date of purchase is the most important so if/when you sell at a later date you'll know whether you have a realized short term gain, short term loss, long term gain, or long term loss.

the difference between short and long term is whether or not you purchased the stock(s) more than (or less than) a year before selling.
the difference between gain and loss is whether you sold the stock for more (or less) than you purchased it originally.

the difference between realized and unrealized is just whether or not you sold the item or not. If you haven't sold the item, and the value is less than your bought it, that's an unrealized loss (nothing to do, though). Same if it's worth more than you originally bought it (that would be an unrealized gain, again, nothing to do here).

If you sell it then you have realized gains (or losses) if you sell for a price that's higher than you bought, or lower than you bought, respectively.

you need to know these things for when you report to the IRS (on a future tax form, after selling) whether or not you're paying taxes (if gained) and whether at short term cap gains rates or long term cap gains rates, or whether you're claiming losses and if so how much (because if you claim losses they will offset any gains sold in the same tax year. And if not, or after such gains in a tax year when losses are realized are used up, then $3000 a year can be used to offset ordinary income. Then any remaining losses can be carried over to future years, until used up).

[John Z]

Congrats!

Not to overwhelm you but this is one of the most popular posts on the whitecoat investor's website (and mostly comprised of index funds):

https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/150-p ... han-yours/

[sxtail]

Way to go! I was once in the same type of spot at one time (EJ). It can be quite liberating to be free from all of the multiple funds and many fees.

[TX_Aggie]

Congratulations. You've taken the first step. Do you have a strategy in mind for the next step i.e. 2-Fund, 3-Fund, something else?

No strategy. That's the next step, after all my money is moved over.

[TX_Aggie]

Congrats! Love your name

Gig'em!

[TX_Aggie]

Congrats.

I suggest making a portfolio review post here once everything is transferred over.

People here should be able to help you liquidate the trash and get you into a portfolio that is easy to manage.

Good idea! I'll search that up and get a post as soon as all the money is moved.

[TX_Aggie]

cost basis and date of purchase is the most important so if/when you sell at a later date you'll know whether you have a realized short term gain, short term loss, long term gain, or long term loss.

the difference between short and long term is whether or not you purchased the stock(s) more than (or less than) a year before selling.
the difference between gain and loss is whether you sold the stock for more (or less) than you purchased it originally.

the difference between realized and unrealized is just whether or not you sold the item or not. If you haven't sold the item, and the value is less than your bought it, that's an unrealized loss (nothing to do, though). Same if it's worth more than you originally bought it (that would be an unrealized gain, again, nothing to do here).

If you sell it then you have realized gains (or losses) if you sell for a price that's higher than you bought, or lower than you bought, respectively.

you need to know these things for when you report to the IRS (on a future tax form, after selling) whether or not you're paying taxes (if gained) and whether at short term cap gains rates or long term cap gains rates, or whether you're claiming losses and if so how much (because if you claim losses they will offset any gains sold in the same tax year. And if not, or after such gains in a tax year when losses are realized are used up, then $3000 a year can be used to offset ordinary income. Then any remaining losses can be carried over to future years, until used up).

Thanks for the info. I'm bookmarking this one.

One more question, if I may... In the report from EJ it also has a column called Return / Annualized with a $amount / X.XX%. Mind sharing a brief explanation of those?

[enad]

Congratulations. You've taken the first step. Do you have a strategy in mind for the next step i.e. 2-Fund, 3-Fund, something else?

No strategy. That's the next step, after all my money is moved over.

There are many ways to slice and dice a portfolio. Good reading here would include two very popular portfolios:

(1) Jack Bogle's 2-Fund Portfolio which you can read here:

(3) Taylor Larimore's 3-Fund Portfolio which you can read here: viewtopic.php?t=88005&hilit=2+Fund

The difference between these two is that Jack often said you don't need International in your portfolio (hence the 2-Fund) but if you insist, then no more than 20% of your US equities (hence the 3-Fund). These two camps are entrenched and their viewpoints are often contentious on this forum as well as among others who insist on wide diversification and even factor tilting. Jack Bogle gave a speech titled "The TellTale Chart" in which he discusses reversion to the mean, value and even factor investing. You can read about it here: Take it with a grain of salt. The best approach is the one that you can stick with and lets you sleep at night i.e. not worry. Holding a small percentage in cash doesn't hurt either and can help to rebalance your portfolio.

Best wishes, you're in the right place. There are a lot of smart people here.

[Harry Livermore]

Congratulations! Please continue to post, especially a portfolio review request, as others have said.
Take your time, and never stop learning. You got this.
Cheers

[arcticpineapplecorp.]

One more question, if I may... In the report from EJ it also has a column called Return / Annualized with a $amount / X.XX%. Mind sharing a brief explanation of those?

without seeing a screenshot (without any identifying info) I can only guess they're telling you the return of your investments in percentages and dollar amounts. Over what time frame, I can't say without seeing it. Could be year to date or could be since you started investing with them? If there are any dates listed above the numbers you can tell what period of time they're looking at.

it might or might not be helpful depending upon if they're giving you the internal rate of return or not (i.e., were you investing periodically over the time period they're measuring or not? That can make a difference in the return figures they're giving you).

your return is based on what you invest in, the performance of those things you invested in, what percentages of your portfolio you invested in those things, whether there were contributions or withdrwals and how much or how little, and over what time frame.

others might chime in with more info if i'm missing any details.

[MattB]

Congrats.

I suggest making a portfolio review post here once everything is transferred over.

People here should be able to help you liquidate the trash and get you into a portfolio that is easy to manage.

Good idea! I'll search that up and get a post as soon as all the money is moved.

Here is the standard template: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Asking_ ... _questions

Don't be intimidated by it. You might find stuff you don't understand. That's normal. Just ask.

You'll likely learn a lot as you work your way thought it.

[Highfeehater]

Awesome. Congrats. Everyone has good advice and it is always available. You will do well. We are looking forward to your future posts as you develop your portfolio. Take your time, especially as you decide what funds to use. Keep it simple and stick to your plan. Enjoy your new experience.

[ElGalloRico]

Good for you!

Think about it... a simple Boggleheads-style 3-Fund portfolio has a high likelihood to outperform whatever those money managers where going to get you especially when accounting for fees.

So even if you keep it VERY simple, you'll likely do even better anyways.

I am so happy I fired my money guy some years ago! I did keep my accountant... those are, IMO, a LOT more important (tax season, dealing with capital gains taxes, etc.) but also a lot cheaper and simply fee-based.

[Rob Relyea]

Congrats! I'm very happy to see people break free of the Edward Jones', Ameriprise's, etc... of the world.


From a comment in bogle.tools/portfolio - tool to help collect and format Portfolio Review info thread

2) Any chance there is a way to upload or copy/paste the portfolio rather than enter each holding? Hopefully when I have everything cleaned up I might not even pause when entering a few funds across a Taxable, and a few Tax Deferred accounts. Today I look at the data entry being asked an I pause.

Import of Vanguard or Fidelity CSV files with accounts/investments

Hope you like the new support for:
1) downloading csv file from Vanguard/Fidelity
2) upload that csv file to bogle.tools/portfolio/retirement-assets using the choose file button.
(note, i put lots of warnings on that page...)
3) classify each account (they will all default to Taxable)
4) delete "account note" that the import procedure left the account name (when using fidelity)

Clearly, not every user should get in the habit of uploading files like these...Need to figure out how I can make this "local web app" known to be trustworthy. It is open source, but that doesn't stop a malicious actor from deploying slightly different app than the github source shown.

Other Custodian Import Support
I'm willing to write import routines for more Custodians, but I don't have access to their CSV file formats. Feel free to Private Message me with an example file that you remove any personal information you don't want to share with me. (please do!) Schwab is probably next on my list.

If Edward Jones' , Ameriprise, and other similar Custodians have a download investment info, I'd love to build import support for them...and perhaps a tool to help coach parts of the process...

Please private message me with any info towards that goal...

[JD101]

Some posts are talking about keeping track of cost basis. Is this applicable to after tax accounts or retirement accounts as well? If you are transferring assets from brokerage to brokerage without even seeing a check, doesn't everything get transferred? What do we need to keep track of when we transfer assets?

[Rob Relyea]

Some posts are talking about keeping track of cost basis. Is this applicable to after tax accounts or retirement accounts as well? If you are transferring assets from brokerage to brokerage without even seeing a check, doesn't everything get transferred? What do we need to keep track of when we transfer assets?

Cost Basis doesn't matter in retirement accounts (401k, IRA, Roth IRA), as you can sell one investment and buy another without capital gains taxes.

Cost Basis does matter in brokerage (taxable) accounts because getting out of a bad investment has the possibilities of capital gains tax.

When transferring, often assets can be moved in-kind, where you will have the same assets in the new Custodian's account.
My impression is that when you cannot move somethings in-kind, you must sell them as part of the transfer, as the new Custodian cannot hold that investment.

My step-mother had an illiquid Ameriprise sold asset that we still cannot liquidate, several years after she passed away.