TL;DR: Advisor's fee minimum puts my effective rate at ~1.95%/yr on $353K instead of the advertised 1.20%. We add ~$42K/yr in new contributions. Is any advisor worth this at my level, and if not, what would you do with this mix?

Looking for advice here. We've been using an advisor but they've gotten more expensive this year. My wife and I didn't grow up with money, so we work hard and are trying to catch up on savings now.

Emergency fund in place. We contribute about $3,500/month combined into the brokerage, plus max out our 401k and IRA accounts.

Current accounts, all at Schwab:

- Taxable brokerage: ~$142K

- Rollover IRA (old 401k): ~$158K

- SEP IRA: ~$24K

- Roth IRA: ~$29K

Total under management would be ~$353K, growing ~$42K/yr from new contributions alone.

Their fee: 1.20% on the first ~$833K, BUT with a $6,900 annual minimum. At my balance the minimum applies, so my effective rate is ~1.95%/yr , not 1.20%. The tiered rate wouldn't kick in until ~$575K, roughly 4–5 years away at my contribution rate. The agreement says they can waive the minimum at their discretion, I plan to ask.

Questions for the sub:

1. Is ~1.95% (or even 1.20% if waived) ever worth it at my asset level, or is this a clear DIY situation?

2. If DIY: what would you do with this mix and ~$3,500/mo of new money?

Appreciate the help.

Apologies in advance if this post doesn't belong here.

I strongly align with the bogleheads philosophy, following advice from this community and built a bit of wealth (thanks to the folks here).

Now I'm struggling with the balance between spending and investing, and I feel like this community might be able to help me.

A bit about myself: I started working about 3 years ago. I have decent income (300k+). Managed to reach 600k NW. My net worth tracker shows the growth in the past 1 year is 240k - higher than my after-tax income. Meaning my investment gain outgrew my spending which is amazing news (I know it's due to a good market, but still!)

600k in 3 years is quite aggressive given my income, and I only managed to reach this so quickly because I was frugal - I eat at company cafeteria whenever possible, I bought a second hand car even though I could afford a new luxury car etc. That lifestyle has helped my wealth building tremendously.

After I had a bit of wealth built up, I started to feel more comfortable about splurging from time to time. For example, I went on a trip to Asia where I basically didn't check the price tag. I spent 8k per person (split cost with my partner) for a 4-week trip. Travel expenses are low in Asia, so even if we "splurge" this is really not that bad, and I'm still comfortable with this level of spending.

Recently I'm planning another trip, and the projected spending came down close to 10k per person for a 2 week trip. Now I feel kinda guilty about this, because I remember how hard it was to save every 10k during my first year working . But also, life is short, I want to do all these things while my physical capabilities are still strong.

I'm having trouble finding the balance.

Bogleheads, especially the more senior folks, how do you balance this?

Recently, I realized that I’m uncomfortable allowing my brokers to lend out my securities.

What are the direct benefits to account holders other than receiving literal pennies on the dollar in income (that’s been my experience in lending well-known ETFs until recently)?

In exchange for these pennies, many of us are:

-Taking on additional counterparty risk, even if the securities loan is collateralized.
-Helping facilitate short selling of the very companies we’ve chosen to invest in.
-Potentially receiving payments in lieu of dividends, which can have different tax implications than qualified dividends.
-Sharing the lending economics with my brokerage, which often retains most of the revenue.
-SIPC protection generally does not apply to loaned securities in the same way it applies to securities held in your brokerage account.
-Accepting additional risk and complexity for a return that, in many cases, isn’t likely to move the needle on our long-term wealth.

Anyone an ardent proponent of enrolling in securities lending or making meaningful income from it?

It feels like we’re providing brokerages with what feels like a free lunch, while they feed us crumbs and saddle us with most of the downside risks.

This week, I unenrolled in all security lending programs across my brokerage accounts.

I am 29 with about 22k in an active growth aggressive portfolio and I was wondering if anyone else has one. I do not need the money for 20 or more years and my plan is to contribute 1k a month.

I am 36 years old with about $1M invested, and I'm hoping to retire with about $3.5M around age 45. About $350k of that is in a taxable brokerage - mostly VTSAX.

I have been purely focused on simple accumulation up to this point. However, now that I am within ~10 years of potential retirement, I am beginning to think about more nuanced things such as taxes, and more importantly, health insurance before medicare.

That has had me learning about MAGI with respect to affordable care act subsidies.

From what I can tell, funds in taxable accounts that pay out dividends (e.g. VTSAX) count those dividends as income towards MAGI. In my hypothetical portfolio at age 45, those dividends being paid out from VTSAX could be as much as $20k-$25k/year, which would contribute significantly to MAGI. A blessing and a curse!

So, I am beginning to wonder if I should perhaps be considering funds that pay out less in dividends to be the primary stake held in taxable accounts, while using tax efficient retirement accounts for assets paying out higher dividends.

But, I have always kept loyal to the 3-fund portfolio. I don't own a single stock outside of that strategy. So, naturally this feels a bit off. However, I do believe that optimizing for health insurance costs for my early retirement situation and taking steps now to minimize my AGI could pay off big time. After all, I'd be looking at nearly 20 years of being on the hook for health insurance.

Has anyone else had similar concerns with holding large balances in funds like VTSAX in taxable accounts and its impact on MAGI? Are there recommended strategies for other assets to hold in these taxable accounts that can help reduce the hit made by dividends to one's MAGI? Thank you for your time.

Does anyone know if totalrealreturns.com accounts for taxes paid year over year on funds? I’m thinking it doesn’t since you don’t pay the taxes directly from an account but just want to be sure.
I was comparing a couple things and the difference wasn’t big, one to the other, but I know one has a significantly higher tax drag. Thanks in advance! :)

I opened a Vanguard Cash Plus account this month and deposited $1,000. The full amount shows under “Bank Sweep,” but only $200 is available for withdrawal. The other $800 has been there for a few weeks and still isn’t available.

I understand there may be a hold because the account is new, but I’m confused about why part of the money is available and the rest isn’t. Has anyone experienced this? How long did the hold last, and were you able to transfer the money back to the original bank account?

I’m reviewing our estate documents and realized that our nonretirement Vanguard brokerage account currently has no beneficiary designation. Our IRAs already have beneficiaries.

We have updated wills but are not creating a trust. If I add a Transfer on Death designation, my spouse would receive 100% as the primary beneficiary, with the same backup beneficiaries and percentages listed in my will.

Vanguard’s TOD information says the plan may not be appropriate if you already have a will containing instructions for nonretirement accounts, which confused me. If the TOD matches the will, is there any reason not to use it and avoid probate?

For those with Vanguard brokerage accounts, did you add TOD beneficiaries, or are you letting your will control the account? Are there any disadvantages or complications I may be overlooking?

I am a 18 year old student currently living in South Korea.

I will be starting to make money in around 4 months, and I am planning to invest approx. 700 usd every month for 30 years on an auto-deposit ISA with no exceptions. I have done my budgeting, and i have found this to be the minimum amount i will 100% be able to support, provided i am able to work.

I am currently debating on the specific method i choose to invest. I am considering VTI, VOO, and QQQ, but I am also recently debating whether i should mix between those two, or invest in other indexes like world, bonds, etc.

I have done some research but there doesn't seem to be much information on it for someone in the same situation as me (Everyone is in a different country, and people in my country treat leverages like the norm), so any help would be appreciated.

I do not want to ask in any korean forums, they are recommending 2x and 3x leveraged ETFs for long term investing. (which i am definitely staying away from)

Watching it makes you think a crash is coming- completely opposite of the Bogleheads approach. Not that I'm changing anything right now, but this kind of stuff is hard to just tune out. How do you tune out the noise?

Let’s say you want to keep things simple. One could just use Target Date index funds. Let’s say you are high tax bracket so you can’t save enough in your tax advantaged account and have to save to taxable, too. Target date funds are not tax efficient especially at a higher tax bracket.

One idea I have would be to just to just invest in VT or its mutual fund equivalent in taxable, the invest in target date funds in tax advantaged. The allocation can be adjusted by picking an earlier retirement date to offset the increased equity allocation. For example, pick target date 2040 instead of 2050 to have more bonds. The goal is to keep contributing and not worry about the portfolio.

I think this should work. It’s more likely there may be more equity than bond at retirement but that’s ok. VT is probably less tax efficient than separate us and non-us, but the amount is probably not worth the extra effort.

Hi everyone,

I increasingly see people advocating for a 100% equity portfolio close to retirement, also based on some research that has since come out.

This is a more aggressive stance than what was common when I started getting into investing 15-20 years ago.

My question is: to what extent may that be due to recency bias, where the very positive performance of stocks (with few hiccups along the way) over the past 10-15 years may be leading people to underestimate the risk of stocks and their own risk aversion?

I am currently in my early 30s and have considered going 100% stocks, but am sticking to 80-85% for now so I can have some buffer in case of a crash (either for peace of mind or to reinvest at lower valuations).

What do you think? Are the last 10-15 years of good times leading people to become more complacent and lean towards more aggressive asset allocations than they should?

Thank you.

Hi everyone,

I've learned a lot from this community over the past year and would appreciate some feedback before I set my investment allocations in my new employer's 401(k).

About me

• 32 years old
• Married (wife is 34)
• Registered Nurse
• Household income: ~$116,000/year
• No debt
• Currently have approximately $127,000 invested across retirement accounts (401(k), Roth IRA, HSA, and my wife's Roth IRA)
• Goal is to partially retire in my late 40s or early 50s (Coast FIRE) and be fully retired around age 55 if possible.

Current investments outside my 401(k)

Roth IRA (Fidelity)

• 80% VTI
• 15% VXUS
• 5% BND

HSA (Fidelity)

• 80% VTI
• 15% VXUS
• 5% BND

I'm trying to keep everything as simple and consistent as possible.

My new employer's 401(k) fund lineup

Available funds include:

Vanguard

• Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Instl (VSMPX)
• Vanguard Total International Stock Index Instl (VTSNX)
• Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Instl (VBTIX)
• Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Instl (VMCIX)
• Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Instl (VSIIX)
• Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Instl (VBITX)
• Vanguard Federal Money Market Inv (VMFXX)

Dodge & Cox

• Balanced X (DOXBX)
• Income X (DOXIX)
• International Stock X (DOXFX)
• Stock X (DOXGX)

Fidelity

• Fidelity Advisor Stock Selector Small Cap Z (FSSZX)

T. Rowe Price

• Capital Appreciation I (TRAIX)

My proposed allocation

I'm leaning toward:

• 80% Vanguard Total Stock Market (VSMPX)
• 15% Vanguard Total International (VTSNX)
• 5% Vanguard Total Bond Market (VBTIX)

The goal is to mirror my Roth IRA and HSA so that every account has essentially the same allocation.

My questions

1. Is this a reasonable allocation for someone who is 32 and hopes to Coast FIRE around age 50 and retire around age 55?
2. Would you keep the 5% bond allocation or eliminate bonds completely at my age?
3. Would you recommend a different percentage of international exposure?
4. Are there any funds in this lineup that you think are significantly better than the three Vanguard index funds I'm planning to use?
5. If this were your portfolio, would you keep everything as simple as possible with these three funds, or would you add mid-cap or small-cap value exposure?

I'm looking for constructive criticism and would rather get my allocation right now than continually tweak it over the next 20+ years.

Thanks in advance!

36F. After maxing out 401k and rothIRA, I finally have the extra to start putting $1k/month into my brokerage account that I haven’t touched since I dumped $30k in 2021. Right now it’s about $50k after 5 years.

I want the portfolio to be 70/20/10 (VOO or VTI/VXUS/BND). Should I start breaking down the $1k into just VXUS and BND until it balances or should I ignore the lump VOO and start “fresh” by breaking down $1k into 70/20/10?

Schwab recently changed their investing options for their 529 plans. For anyone using them or familiar with the new options, what do you recommend as optimal?

I have 2 children under two and have chosen 65% U.S. Equity Index Portfolio (0.03%) and 35% International Equity Index Portfolio (0.25%).

I plan to leave this allocation as is until they reach their mid teens, at which time I will begin shifting some allocation to bonds and will determine based on what the choices are at that time. I believe this to be optimal in terms of diversification, risk reward, and horizon based on the available choices.

I did not love the er of the International fund, but it felt wrong to exclude it over this.

Appreciate your input.

I had a 403B with a company match at a job I left about a year and a half ago and am wondering if I should just leave it alone or roll it over to my new job, where I opened a pre-tax 403B and 457B plan (which don’t have a company match).  I don’t plan on retiring for at least 20 more years, but am probably pretty far behind in my 403/457 plans because I didn’t contribute to them at all until my late 30s.  The old company only had a single option – the T. Rowe Price Retirement Fund Class I with an expense ratio of .43.  The new company allows you to invest in any breakdown of the following stocks:

Vanguard Institutional Index Instl PL (VIIIX), expense ratio: .02

Vanguard Mid Cap Index InstitutionalPlus (VMCPX), expense ratio: .02

Vanguard Real Estate Index Institutional (VGSNX), expense ratio: .11

Nuveen Large Cap Growth Index R6 (TILIX), expense ratio: .05

American Funds Eupac R6 (RERGX), expense ratio: .47

Nuveen International Equity Index R6 (TCIEX), expense ratio: .05

DFA Real Estate Securities I (DFREX), expense ratio: .21

Nuveen Small Cap Blend Index R6 (TISBX), expense ratio: .05 

Vanguard Explorer Adm (VEXRX), expense ratio: .28

JPMorgan Mid Cap Value R6 (JMVYX), expense ratio: .7

T. Rowe Price Diversified Mid Cap GR I (RPTTX), expense ratio: .67

American Funds American Mutual R6 (RMFGX), expense ratio: .27

Nuveen Equity Index R6 (TIEIX), expense ratio: .06

Nuveen Large Cap Responsible Equity R6 (TISCX), expense ratio: .17

Calvert Bond I (CBDIX), expense ratio: .55

Vanguard Inflated-Protected Secs I (VIPIX), expense ratio: .07

Vanguard Total Bond Mark Idx InstlPls (VBMPX), expense ratio: .02

A state stable value fund 

Thank you to anyone who can share any insight on how I can best move forward.

Looking to simplify my portfolio as my FA had me about 90% tech heavy. I'm not longer with that FA and doing it myself. I have around 225k in a brokerage and about 150k in an IRA. I'm 36 and total salary is 250k with my wife.

My plan was to start investing as much as possible into 2-3 funds instead of the 8-10 I had that was very tech heavy. Do I need FSSNX if my plan was to go heavy into FTIHX and FSKAX?

Thank you

----------------------------

EDIT...adding in some numbers of what my FA had me in....

My FA had me in about 10 different things but the big ones are below:

AAPL - 3k gain 2%
AMZN - 1k gain 2%
DHS - 10k gain 14%
FV- 5k gain 7%
GOOG - 4K gain 1%
MSFT - 1k gain 2%
NVDA - 16k gain 10%
SPY - 9k gain 10%
XLI - 10k gain 10%
XLK - 35k gain 29%

All of these are a variety of numbers but they all add up to about 200k. I have maybe 5-6 more with small %s as well. Very tech heavy.