Do ER Member Have all their "Eggs" in One Basket?

[youbet]

In round numbers:

Schwab: 95%
Former employer credit union: 2%
Local bank: 3%

I don’t count the grand kid’s 529b’s as part of this.

This represents a significant consolidation from where I was a few years ago and it feels good to have simplified things.

 

[Retch The Grate]

Please consider consolidating. While we expect and hope you will be around for a long, long time, this many accounts can be a real exercise for your loved ones. It seems every bank, every institution has its own requirements when it comes to settling an estate, and they make you jump through their hoops. My FIL had accounts at numerous banks, and DW and I spent a lot of time getting everything settled.

Two or three, plus maybe a local place for banking should be plenty.


-ERD50

My sister-in-law's mom is going through this still (which really means my brother is), her husband had money squirreled away all over the world, in all sorts of hidden accounts because he was an international tax attorney and they lived in asia for many many years. He died unexpectedly a few years ago and she basically lost access to all their wealth. It is taking years to track it all down and gain access to it, which is bad since she ended up falling very badly and needing medical care and now assistive nursing.

There was no benefit to her from having the money scattered all over the place in impossible to track down accounts.

My grandfather passed away a number of years ago now, and my parents went through something similar, though fortunately in that case there was no pressure of needing money to pay bills, and he hadn't been nearly as complex with his money (though it did take more than a year to track down all the different accounts. Assuming they actually found them all).

My parents, my brother, and I, all believe in keeping our accounts as simple and organized as possible based on these life experiences. I've got all my investments in Vanguard, except for my work 401k, one personal bank account, and one shared account with my wife. Trying to keep it simple and easy to unravel if something bad happens to me and my wife needs access to it all.

 

[jazz4cash]

I've noticed that many, like I, have multiple accounts across institutions. Does anyone have a good way to keep track of their investments? I use a MAC and really want something that evaluates allocations, returns, net etc. I have a friend that uses Quicken but I hear it's not as good with a MAC.
Thanks

I use Fido's portfolio tracker (GPS). It auto updates my Fido accounts and anything with a ticker. I do not use the automated input feature. I manually update every quarter. I guess I could export the data but haven't actually tried to since I don't see the need to do so.

 

[mrc758]

I use Fido's portfolio tracker (GPS). It auto updates my Fido accounts and anything with a ticker. I do not use the automated input feature. I manually update every quarter. I guess I could export the data but haven't actually tried to since I don't see the need to do so.

Thanks for the reply. I don't have a Fido account and would rather not open one. I wanted something on the home computer that I could get a handle on things. Looks like Quicken is my best shot otherwise Personal Capital.
MRC