Rollover 401(k) - E*Trade vs Vanguard?

[robybuck]

Hello everyone,
Been reading this site for a few months. Thanks so much for everyone posting such valuable insight and with such transparency. This information has helped me tremendously. So thanks for giving me examples to learn from.

I have recently changed jobs and have a 401(k) to roll over. I currently have an E*Trade account with DW tIRA and a Roth IRA for myself. But after reading through much of this site, there seems to be a definite preference for Vanguard. Since I can buy Vanguard funds through E*Trade, just curious to everyone's thoughts about:

1. just keeping my E*Trade account and opening a rollover IRA account there
2. Opening a Vanguard account (Voyager Services level) and rolling the 401(k) to Vanguard
3. Rolling everything to Vanguard.(Voyager Services level)

A big reason i wish to rollover is i have learned about Fund expense fees - thanks to this site; and all my fund fees are north of %1.0

Another question i have concerns AA. Currently i am heavily equities (90%). I realize now i need to correct that. I am 45, and would appreciate any suggestion as to funds I should look at to address my AA.

Thanks for all the past information and any suggestions/input you can offer.

Thanks,
Roby

[Accidental Retiree]

If you purchase Vanguard funds through e*Trade, won't you pay a commission? If you purchase those same funds or ETFs through a Vanguard account, you pay no commission on the purchase.

DH and I are long-time Schwab customers, and e*Trade, to a lesser extent, but slowly are moving money over to Vanguard.

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robybuck Hello everyone, Been reading this site for a few months. Thanks so much for everyone posting such valuable insight and with such transparency. This information has helped me tremendously. So thanks for giving me examples to learn from. I have recently changed jobs and have a 401(k) to roll over. I currently have an E*Trade account with DW tIRA and a Roth IRA for myself. But after reading through much of this site, there seems to be a definite preference for Vanguard. Since I can buy Vanguard funds through E*Trade, just curious to everyone's thoughts about: 1. just keeping my E*Trade account and opening a rollover IRA account there 2. Opening a Vanguard account (Voyager Services level) and rolling the 401(k) to Vanguard 3. Rolling everything to Vanguard.(Voyager Services level) A big reason i wish to rollover is i have learned about Fund expense fees - thanks to this site; and all my fund fees are north of %1.0 Another question i have concerns AA. Currently i am heavily equities (90%). I realize now i need to correct that. I am 45, and would appreciate any suggestion as to funds I should look at to address my AA. Thanks for all the past information and any suggestions/input you can offer. Thanks, Roby

Don't forget the options of:

1. Leaving your 401k at your old employer. That's what I did. I'm very happy with the 401k plan at my previous MegaCorp employer and am allowed to continue there despite no longer being an employee or contributing.
(Edit: just noticed you mentioned high ER's on funds in your old employer's 401k. That probably eliminates this option. My ex-employer's 401k fund choices carry extremely low ER's, so a different scenario.)

2. Move the 401k at your ex-employer to the 401k at your new employer.

Before you convert a 401k to a rollover IRA, be sure you understand the pros and cons of 401k's vs IRA's in your particular situation. In my own situation, my TIRA's contained substantial amounts of post-tax money and I'm doing some Roth conversions. I did not convert my 401k to a rollover IRA because I did not want to dilute the tax advantage of converting post-tax dollars from a TIRA to a Roth.

If you do decide to convert, ETrade would be as good a place as any, especially since you are already doing business with them.

[robybuck]

Hi Accidental Retiree,
Thanks for the reply. You are correct. the fees for ETFs at E*Trade are 9.99. I dont trade heavily, so i didnt consider this too heavily, but maybe that is short sided on my part. Given that i will need to rebalance my AA as well, this probably needs more consideration.

[robybuck]

Hi youbet,
Thanks for the reply.
Yeah the expenses are one of the driving factors. I have left my 401(k) there for about 9 months as my returns have been pretty good. But reading about expenses rates here has caused me to consider that I should roll it over to have the ability to control those over time.

My current employer plan is with Prudential, and their fees aren't that great either. Generally %.8 and up.