Considering Making Some Changes

[Badger]

Which is why Schwab and Fidelity are filling the void.

+1
Although my wife and I have our IRAs with Vanguard they are very simple and don't require any hand-holding. The individual stocks we have are with TD Ameritrade/Schwab and I have a very good relationship with 2 folks there that I have been working with ever since i bought my first stock. I like that they are close and available.
However, if I was starting out or making a change to simplify my investments and needed a sounding board then I would look into the local Fidelity and/or Schwab brick and mortar.

Cheers!

 

[target2019]

stygz,
Most recommend what institution is their favorite, so keep that in mind. Try to look past the biases in recommendations and find real evidence of how you'll be supported. For example, the EJ guy is over-compensated, and certainly has the time to field your call, and sell you on more EJ soup. Each institution lays out opportunity where they get a chance to sell you something else.

My first guess is that Vanguard will not be a good choice for you. I say that after using them for over 40 years. We are incrementally moving our investments away, to consolidate with Schwab for simplicity and service.

My second guess is that Fidelity would be a solid choice as well. As long as you can DIY and stay with your own plan it will turn out fine.

What it comes down to is how much personal service will you require. So you will start the search by visiting each local office, Fidelity and Schwab. That is the beginning of customer service, IMO. Then you can evaluate the web platform of each, and how it fits your needs, not mine. Be aware that some Schwab offices are corporate, with franchisees in certain locations. I am not sure about Fidelity.

You can also look around for reviews of what each company delivers, and ask investors on different forums how true the features are, what they actually mean in practice.

 

[stygz]

stygz,
Most recommend what institution is their favorite, so keep that in mind. Try to look past the biases in recommendations and find real evidence of how you'll be supported. For example, the EJ guy is over-compensated, and certainly has the time to field your call, and sell you on more EJ soup. Each institution lays out opportunity where they get a chance to sell you something else.

My first guess is that Vanguard will not be a good choice for you. I say that after using them for over 40 years. We are incrementally moving our investments away, to consolidate with Schwab for simplicity and service.

My second guess is that Fidelity would be a solid choice as well. As long as you can DIY and stay with your own plan it will turn out fine.

What it comes down to is how much personal service will you require. So you will start the search by visiting each local office, Fidelity and Schwab. That is the beginning of customer service, IMO. Then you can evaluate the web platform of each, and how it fits your needs, not mine. Be aware that some Schwab offices are corporate, with franchisees in certain locations. I am not sure about Fidelity.

You can also look around for reviews of what each company delivers, and ask investors on different forums how true the features are, what they actually mean in practice.

I did open a Fidelity account yesterday after reading reviews, videos, and a comparison on Clark Howard. I threw a $20 in to buy two ETFs (IVV, IJH) to see how the platform works.

I called Fidelity about transfer fee reimbursement. They cover this on accounts over $25k. They took my information and are going to call me about more questions and such I may have.

I sent off some questions to my EJ guy as well. At the minimum I am going to stop contributing to American funds in our Roth's and move to ETFs.

I was thinking about doing more in our Roth TSP as the fees are very low but I found four good funds with Fidelity that beat the TSP in cost and match or beat the TSP in performance.

FXAIX
FSMDX
FSPSX
FDVV

I am thinking of mixing these up in our Roth's going forward. We have individual stocks and will keep those.

 

[target2019]

I'm not sure what your comparing, but
FXAIX
FSMDX
FSPSX
FDVV
may work for you. You could also compare the broad U.S. stock market ETF or fund (Fidelity® ZERO Total Market Index Fund (FZROX)) as a single investment. It's your choice.

 

[stygz]

I'm not sure what your comparing, but
FXAIX
FSMDX
FSPSX
FDVV
may work for you. You could also compare the broad U.S. stock market ETF or fund (Fidelity® ZERO Total Market Index Fund (FZROX)) as a single investment. It's your choice.

Those are similar funds. The returns over a 10ys and 5yr were little better over the zero funds. However, Expense ratio averaged 0.025 vs 0. Generally, I am finding and reading these broad funds perform near the same when comparing apples to apples.

I am looking at some of the type of accounts (IVV, IJH) ETFs for our taxable account.

 

[stygz]

I did a check with EJ.

I have a "select account". No management fee to be found in my records or listed on their website for select accounts. They do charge a fee for different types of accounts though.

https://www.edwardjones.com/us-en/working-financial-advisor/fees

From what I have researched so far paying a management fee costs more than simply a commission.

 

[target2019]

Those are similar funds. The returns over a 10ys and 5yr were little better over the zero funds. However, Expense ratio averaged 0.025 vs 0. Generally, I am finding and reading these broad funds perform near the same when comparing apples to apples.

I am looking at some of the type of accounts (IVV, IJH) ETFs for our taxable account.

Total Market = Large + Mid + Small. I wouldn't call that similar. You could mix the right three to give you exactly what Total Market is, or tilt towards one of the three, but, simplicity.

The point was that you could hold one fund, with -0- expense, and enjoy the simplicity.

Since high yield corp tracks Total Market more closely than Bond, it does not diversify as much as you might think.

For me one fund has its allure, unless there is some investment decision to tilt, such as to mid-cap. But it is your choice in the final analysis.