Vanguard or Fidelity IRAs

[Debinnov a]

I have recently retired, fairly risk averse and have heavy cash/cd portfolio. I have some equity funds at Vanguard as well as our IRAs which are still in "cash" since they were recently rolled over from a 401(k) .

We've recently moved to an area with a local Fidelity office. I like to be able to meet with someone face-to-face. Vanguard has been fine, but really just wants me to buy bond and international bond funds for that portion of my portfolio. So thinking about possibly moving the IRA money to Fidelity, but not sure.

My questions are, what products other than bond funds can I look at that are the most safe (little risk of principal) for my bond/cash allocation? If I want to buy actual bonds like Tips, do I do that on my own (where)? or can I do it through Fidelity or Vanguard?

I'm just not comfortable buying bond funds right now or at least going all in. But I have to do something with this IRA money as it is earning nothing right now. Are brokered CDs my only other option through Vanguard or Fidelity?

Any suggestions? Thanks!





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[Hamster]

Most of the people posting here seem to trust a straightforward stock/bond allocation and will probably recommend the same for you. There are a few people who prefer preferred stocks for income and others who use utilities or REITs as an alternative to bonds for at least a portion of their fixed income.

These have all been discussed here more than once and some very recently. I won't try to recap any of those discussions which you should read yourself. The search function should take you to some of the recent posts.

 

[bingybear]

try treasurydirect.gov for tips and ibonds.
before moving assets to fidelity, go talk with them. I have accounts both places.

 

[MRG]

Fidelity has a bond desk that allows cheap transactions on individual bonds.

Somehow on this Forum I learned about Target maturity ETF'S I put a little into IBCD and IBCE, these are IShares ETf's with a .10 ER. It should be noted, these are thinly traded so watch the price closely if you buy or sell.

 

[Debinnov a]

Thanks, I have purchased ibonds from treasury direct, but not tips. I will look into that. I now have a meeting set up to speak to Fidelity and will look into individual bonds. I will also research preferred stock or utilities as a possibility for some of my fixed income space.

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[Salaryman]

Rather than limit to one, why not multiple custodians? I have Vanguard for their cheap index funds, Etrade for individual securities/ETF and Schwab for the rest. Holding medium/long term fixed income these days really don't make much these days especially if Fed finally gets off their butts and lets rate rise.

That said, I have a very aggressive approach to investing and feel much different about CD's and Treasuries than the OP.

 

[wanaberetiree]

I have recently retired, fairly risk averse and have heavy cash/cd portfolio. I have some equity funds at Vanguard as well as our IRAs which are still in "cash" since they were recently rolled over from a 401(k) .

We've recently moved to an area with a local Fidelity office. I like to be able to meet with someone face-to-face. Vanguard has been fine, but really just wants me to buy bond and international bond funds for that portion of my portfolio. So thinking about possibly moving the IRA money to Fidelity, but not sure.

My questions are, what products other than bond funds can I look at that are the most safe (little risk of principal) for my bond/cash allocation? If I want to buy actual bonds like Tips, do I do that on my own (where)? or can I do it through Fidelity or Vanguard?

I'm just not comfortable buying bond funds right now or at least going all in. But I have to do something with this IRA money as it is earning nothing right now. Are brokered CDs my only other option through Vanguard or Fidelity?

Any suggestions? Thanks!





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I have used Fido to buy foreign bonds (GE Australia) and was very happy with my experience with Fido. At the time Fido was offering ability to keep proceeds in foreign currency, which I wanted (which is not a big advantage I'd say now). I also have TIPS with Fido.

However if you plan on buying some managed MF (like VWENX or VWIAX) it's difficult to beat VG in my opinion.

 

[LOL!]

One can buy individual bonds at Vanguard, too. Since you have an account there, have you seen their inventory?

 

[Debinnov a]

I've inquired of my Rep about individual bonds, but she has pushed for total bond and international bond. She said I would need to speak with someone in their fixed income division, which I plan to do.

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[bingybear]

I've never looked at individual bonds an Vanguard (do have an account there), but both schwab and fidelity have bond specialists. They know more about bonds and the current offerings in their systems. You are better off talking to them about individual bonds and your needs.