Vanguard Rollover IRA Brokerage Account

[Kayzmum]

I rolled over my 401K to Vanguard and it was automatically put in a Rollover IRA Brokerage Account. I've spent the last 2 or 3 hours trying to figure out how to move it and allocate the assets. It looks like right now it's just sitting there dormant, like it's not invested at all. I hope it's okay to ask this here. They are closed today and it's really hard to make personal phone calls at work. I could wait until after work tomorrow, but I'm anxious to get it done and I don't want them trying to talk me out of my choices.

 

[Sunset]

In general all the 401K rollovers to other brokerages I've done have put them into a Rollover IRA Brokerage Account. So that sounds normal and what I'd expect.

The markets are closed, so don't know why you are attempting to "move it". ??
I would not be trying to shift my allocations during a closed market.

When 401K's get rolled over, it can take many days to weeks (in bad cases) to occur.

I'm guessing your money is all in cash right now ?
What are you intending to buy that you are concerned they will talk you out of ?

 

[youbet]

I rolled over my 401K to Vanguard and it was automatically put in a Rollover IRA Brokerage Account.

Good.

I've spent the last 2 or 3 hours trying to figure out how to move it and allocate the assets.

There are two issues here. (1) What do you want the AA of this account to be at this time? (2) How do you accomplish that on Vanguard's site? Don't be in too much of a rush with the current volatility of the markets and the complexity of today's world economic situation. But when you do understand what you want to hold in this account (and it could be you already do), just do it online. I don't have a Vanguard account but I assume they have a tutorial on placing buy orders, etc.

It looks like right now it's just sitting there dormant, like it's not invested at all.

Until you buy holdings with this cash, indeed it's not invested.

I'm anxious to get it done and I don't want them trying to talk me out of my choices.

As I said, go through Vanguard's tutorial on placing buy orders (they must have one) and you won't need to talk to anyone and no one will try to "talk you out of your choices."

The time to learn about the Vanguard web site was when you first decided to roll over the 401k to them. But, that's water under the bridge so just go get up to speed now.

 

[Sunset]

OP - Ask here, about what you want to buy. Folks will give advice and may like the ideas you have

Do you have other brokerage accounts, or is this the first one for you ?

 

[RunningBum]

Kayzmum, Vanguard has two different interfaces to see your account and do transactions.

The one I like is https://personal.vanguard.com/us/TPView. In that view, under the account on the left use the "Buy and sell" pulldown to see option to buy, sell, or exchange funds along with a few more options.

The other view is https://personal1.vanguard.com/hol-client-holdings/. In that view, use the "Transact" pulldown on the right side under the account to see the same buy, sell, exchange, etc options.

Is that what you are looking for?

 

[RunningBum]

And there is a tutorial. Start at https://support.vanguard.com/triage/transact/A0002 and I think you want to end up at https://support.vanguard.com/triage/transact/F0049 to get the tutorial. I started higher up in case your issue is different from what I assume.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

When a 401k is rolled over to an IRA, it typically comes into the IRA as cash. Vanguard does indeed call this type of account “a Rollover IRA”. So that’s normal.

A Rollover IRA is a brokerage account. The account can hold multiple investment vehicles…mutual funds, ETFs, individual stock, etc. You will need to decide which vehicle(s) you want to invest in to meet your desired asset allocation. Until you decide what to buy with your cash, it sits in a special type of mutual fund within your IRA — a money market fund. That fund is The Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund (Ticker VMFXX). This fund serves as the “Settlement Fund” for your IRA account. It is where any uninvested money sits until you tell it where to be invested.

Once you buy your desired investments, if you want any dividends to be reinvested, make sure you set that option in your account settings. It might be the default setting, I forget. If you don’t reinvest dividends, they will be deposited into your Settlement Fund if you don’t redirect them to a checking account.

When you sell a fund but don’t redirect the proceeds somewhere (like into another investment or your checking account), they will also be sent to your Settlement Account.

So, learn how the settlement fund works and monitor it. The IRA will always have the Settlement Account. It can be empty of any money though (until something happens to put money in it). I tend to keep less than $1 in my settlement fund. But at times it will have thousands if I’m buying and selling over a period of time.

Finally, money in the Settlement Fund will earn monthly interest, but at current rates, it’s very little interest.

 

[Kayzmum]

The markets are closed, so don't know why you are attempting to "move it". ??
I would not be trying to shift my allocations during a closed market.

When 401K's get rolled over, it can take many days to weeks (in bad cases) to occur.

I'm guessing your money is all in cash right now ?
What are you intending to buy that you are concerned they will talk you out of ?

I'm a moron newbie -- that's why I'm attempting to move it on a Sunday. In this one-time experience of rolling over to Vanguard it happened quickly. It's in a rollover IRA brokerage account. Is that a cash account? Sorry for sounding like such an idiot. My husband is a retired electrician. His union did all the investing for him. I have a couple of 401 Ks. I recently received a substantial legal settlement that I deposited in Vanguard. I put that in CDs temporarily until I learn more. I'm 63YO and cutting back working as a nurse to 2 days a week soon. I want to be conservative. I just bought a $10,000 iBond with cash in our savings and will probably buy another one in my husband's name once one of the CDs matures. With this 401K money, I was thinking of putting at least 75% in Vanguard Inflation Protected bonds, VIPSX, 20% in Vanguard S&P 500 etf (VOO) and 5% in Vanguard S&P total international. Once my work hours are cut back more, I will work on our budget and reallocate if need be. I want all essential needs in something very conservative. Does this sound like a good idea?

 

[Kayzmum]

When a 401k is rolled over to an IRA, it typically comes into the IRA as cash. Vanguard does indeed call this type of account “a Rollover IRA”. So that’s normal.

A Rollover IRA is a brokerage account. The account can hold multiple investment vehicles…mutual funds, ETFs, individual stock, etc. You will need to decide which vehicle(s) you want to invest in to meet your desired asset allocation. Until you decide what to buy with your cash, it sits in a special type of mutual fund within your IRA — a money market fund. That fund is The Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund (Ticker VMFXX). This fund serves as the “Settlement Fund” for your IRA account. It is where any uninvested money sits until you tell it where to be invested.

Once you buy your desired investments, if you want any dividends to be reinvested, make sure you set that option in your account settings. It might be the default setting, I forget. If you don’t reinvest dividends, they will be deposited into your Settlement Fund if you don’t redirect them to a checking account.

When you sell a fund but don’t redirect the proceeds somewhere (like into another investment or your checking account), they will also be sent to your Settlement Account.

So, learn how the settlement fund works and monitor it. The IRA will always have the Settlement Account. It can be empty of any money though (until something happens to put money in it). I tend to keep less than $1 in my settlement fund. But at times it will have thousands if I’m buying and selling over a period of time.

Finally, money in the Settlement Fund will earn monthly interest, but at current rates, it’s very little interest.

Thanks for your help/advice Paunchy Pirate. I will remember all of this.

 

[Kayzmum]

Kayzmum, Vanguard has two different interfaces to see your account and do transactions.

The one I like is https://personal.vanguard.com/us/TPView. In that view, under the account on the left use the "Buy and sell" pulldown to see option to buy, sell, or exchange funds along with a few more options.

The other view is https://personal1.vanguard.com/hol-client-holdings/. In that view, use the "Transact" pulldown on the right side under the account to see the same buy, sell, exchange, etc options.

Is that what you are looking for?

Yes, that's what I was trying but what I wanted didn't pop up to be chosen. I'm assuming that's because the market is closed right now?

 

[OldShooter]

I'm a moron newbie

Not a single one of us was born knowing all this stuff. Relax. Do some reading. It is a bad idea to be in a rush making these decisions. You will remember a rushed mistake forever. If it takes you a few weeks or even a few months to figure out the right thing you will soon forget that the delay even happened.

With this 401K money, I was thinking of putting at least 75% in Vanguard Inflation Protected bonds, VIPSX, 20% in Vanguard S&P 500 etf (VOO) and 5% in Vanguard S&P total international. Once my work hours are cut back more, I will work on our budget and reallocate if need be. I want all essential needs in something very conservative. Does this sound like a good idea?

None of us can say whether it is a good idea because we do not know all your circumstances. In an abstract sense, it is on the conservative end -- maybe too conservative for someone who has all of retirement ahead of them. My standard recommendations:

"If You Can" by William Bernstein https://www.etf.com/docs/IfYouCan.pdf (free 16 page download)

"The Coffee House Investor" by Bill Schultheis https://www.coffeehouseinvestor.com/ (This is Bill's first book; read it before reading his second one.) Very laid back; he even gives you a recipe for pumpkin pie.

"The Bogleheads Guide to Investing" by Taylor Larimore et al https://www.amazon.com/Bogleheads-Guide-Investing-Taylor-Larimore/dp/0470067365 This is where your ideas will start to gel and your chosen strategy will become clearer.

 

[gauss]

Just be real careful not to inadvertently transfer your IRA holdings to a non IRA account at Vanguard.

-gauss
"Measure twice - cut once"

 

[Kayzmum]

Not a single one of us was born knowing all this stuff. Relax. Do some reading. It is a bad idea to be in a rush making these decisions. You will remember a rushed mistake forever. If it takes you a few weeks or even a few months to figure out the right thing you will soon forget that the delay even happened.

None of us can say whether it is a good idea because we do not know all your circumstances. In an abstract sense, it is on the conservative end -- maybe too conservative for someone who has all of retirement ahead of them. My standard recommendations:

"If You Can" by William Bernstein https://www.etf.com/docs/IfYouCan.pdf (free 16 page download)

"The Coffee House Investor" by Bill Schultheis https://www.coffeehouseinvestor.com/ (This is Bill's first book; read it before reading his second one.) Very laid back; he even gives you a recipe for pumpkin pie.

"The Bogleheads Guide to Investing" by Taylor Larimore et al https://www.amazon.com/Bogleheads-Guide-Investing-Taylor-Larimore/dp/0470067365 This is where your ideas will start to gel and your chosen strategy will become clearer.

You're my man, Ole Shooter. I'm on it. You told me about these in another thread and I've been reading. I finished the PDF and the first Coffee House book, and I'm almost finished with the 2nd Coffee House Investor book. I'm 63 YO and cutting work back to 2-3 days a week and hope to retire soon, so yes, I'm being conservative. I put my legal settlement money in CDs temporarily until I learn more, but this 401 K money is just sitting like it's in a regular savings account so I want to move it somewhere conservative but better than the marginal interest rate it's getting now.

 

[Kayzmum]

Just be real careful not to inadvertently transfer your IRA holdings to a non IRA account at Vanguard.

-gauss
"Measure twice - cut once"

I definitely will. Thanks!

 

[RunningBum]

Yes, that's what I was trying but what I wanted didn't pop up to be chosen. I'm assuming that's because the market is closed right now?

You should be able to put in a buy order for a mutual fund right now. It won't get executed until after the close on Monday. Not sure about ETFs, but since they can be executed in the middle of the trading day I agree with waiting and doing it while the markets are open.

 

[OldShooter]

... I want to move it somewhere conservative but better than the marginal interest rate it's getting now.

Wouldn't we all? DW and I have been using VG Ultra Short Bond (VUBFX), but that's more out of laziness than out of precision yield optimization. @pb4uski is the scholar of this stuff; maybe he'll be along with suggestions.

 

[purplesky]

I rolled over my 401K to Vanguard and it was automatically put in a Rollover IRA Brokerage Account. I've spent the last 2 or 3 hours trying to figure out how to move it and allocate the assets. It looks like right now it's just sitting there dormant, like it's not invested at all. I hope it's okay to ask this here. They are closed today and it's really hard to make personal phone calls at work. I could wait until after work tomorrow, but I'm anxious to get it done and I don't want them trying to talk me out of my choices.

Does your husband have a union pension? Do you have a pension?
Are you investing this 401k rollover for beneficiaries or will you need it to live on?

It sounds like the Vanguard Digital advisory service would be perfect for you.
Vanguard Digital Advisor charges a 0.20% annual gross advisory fee and the first 90 days allows you to cancel the service and Vanguard will waive the fee.

You need help investing this money and strangers on the internet are not the answer. Said no one ever. lol

A portfolio of Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF, Total International Stock ETF, Total Bond Market ETF, and Total International Bond ETF is what you will get using the Vanguard Digital advisory service.

People here will tell you that a .20% advisory fee is a ripoff but it sounds like a perfect fit for you and your husband if you are complete newbies.

Also if Vanguard does recommend a option for you over the phone please listen and digest it.

 

[Kayzmum]

Does your husband have a union pension? Do you have a pension?
Are you investing this 401k rollover for beneficiaries or will you need it to live on?

It sounds like the Vanguard Digital advisory service would be perfect for you.
Vanguard Digital Advisor charges a 0.20% annual gross advisory fee and the first 90 days allows you to cancel the service and Vanguard will waive the fee.

You need help investing this money and strangers on the internet are not the answer. Said no one ever. lol

A portfolio of Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF, Total International Stock ETF, Total Bond Market ETF, and Total International Bond ETF is what you will get using the Vanguard Digital advisory service.

People here will tell you that a .20% advisory fee is a ripoff but it sounds like a perfect fit for you and your husband if you are complete newbies.

Also if Vanguard does recommend a option for you over the phone please listen and digest it.

My husband has a union pension. I do not have any pension. This roll-over will be to live off of.

 

[purplesky]

My husband has a union pension. I do not have any pension. This roll-over will be to live off of.

Sounds like VANGUARD PERSONAL ADVISOR SERVICES would be a good option for you and your husband to get a big picture financial game plan in place.
As fiduciaries Vanguard will help you and not sell you anything.

The advisory fee is .30% annually and $50,000 is required to start the Service.
$3000 to start the Digital Advisor option.
Seems worth the time to checkout their recommendations for your retirement situation.

A Vanguard CFP will provide an investment plan for you and your husband based on life expectancy and use your husbands pension and your SS income to develop a plan.

If you are a newbie I would first get FREE advice from a Vanguard CFP.

 

[rk911]

In general all the 401K rollovers to other brokerages I've done have put them into a Rollover IRA Brokerage Account. So that sounds normal and what I'd expect.

The markets are closed, so don't know why you are attempting to "move it". ??
I would not be trying to shift my allocations during a closed market.

When 401K's get rolled over, it can take many days to weeks (in bad cases) to occur.

I'm guessing your money is all in cash right now ?
What are you intending to buy that you are concerned they will talk you out of ?

my wife inherited her late brother's Fidelity 401k which she then rolled over to her JPMorgan tIRA. in her case the 401k included proprietary funds not available to other investors so Fidelity liquidated the account and transfered the cash to JPM.

 

[Sunset]

I'm a moron newbie -- that's why I'm attempting to move it on a Sunday.

In this one-time experience of rolling over to Vanguard it happened quickly. It's in a rollover IRA brokerage account. Is that a cash account? Sorry for sounding like such an idiot. My husband is a retired electrician. His union did all the investing for him. I have a couple of 401 Ks. I recently received a substantial legal settlement that I deposited in Vanguard. I put that in CDs temporarily until I learn more. I'm 63YO and cutting back working as a nurse to 2 days a week soon. I want to be conservative. I just bought a $10,000 iBond with cash in our savings and will probably buy another one in my husband's name once one of the CDs matures. With this 401K money, I was thinking of putting at least 75% in Vanguard Inflation Protected bonds, VIPSX, 20% in Vanguard S&P 500 etf (VOO) and 5% in Vanguard S&P total international. Once my work hours are cut back more, I will work on our budget and reallocate if need be. I want all essential needs in something very conservative. Does this sound like a good idea?

All of this is my own opinion.

The I-bond purchase is great, Yes your husband can buy one. And you can each gift $10K to each other -leaving it in the gift box and it earns the fantastic interest while sitting there. That would be a total of $40K. The gifts do take up next year's $10K allotment or whatever year you actually "give" them.

Back to the Rollover IRA, You will have the ability to buy funds or ETF's , funds are actually purchased at the end of the day after you have ordered them sometime during the day.
ETF's are like stock and they trade immediately.
This is why I said not to put orders in on the weekend as you have no idea what price an ETF will be on Monday and could drastically overpay.
If you do buy an ETF/Stock, be sure it's a LIMIT order and only trade during the day.

Funds certainly will be safer to buy at first.
Your plan sounds very conservative (too conservative unless you have millions). Remember, this is a long term thing 30-35 years. Historically stocks have been much more rewarding than interest bearing CD's and bonds, especially as interest rates have nowhere to go but up as this will lower the value of the bonds.

Instead of the etf VOO, Vanguard has the admiral fund VFIAX , the difference in the rate of .03 vs 0.04 is basically nothing it's so small. The advantage is the fund is easier and safer to buy. In an IRA, the advantages of an ETF for taxes doesn't matter.

Also consider VTSAX which is like the etf VTI, it's similar to VOO but has 8x more companies in it, (maybe more diversified)