Howdy all!

[Whexican]

Hi all,


My wife and I are looking to leave Ameriprise and move our stuff to Vanguard. I've read through the various "I'm leaving Ameriprise" threads but I still have some questions regarding account closing and transferring fees.

It's my understanding that Ameriprise charges a $75 transfer fee for the account. However, is this for the total account, or per grouped holding. So for example, if my account has a Roth IRA with 4 mutual funds, stocks from 2 different companies, and 3 short or mid term mutual fund holdings; would I pay $75 to transfer everything, or do I have to pay $75 for the Roth, $75 for the stocks, and $75 for the mutual funds? or is it really bad where I have to pay $75 for each of the 4 holdings under the roth, each of the 2 stock holdings and etc. Some explanation would be greatly appreciated.

I'm also a little confused on what is charged for actually closing the account. I think I heard that the cost to close an account is $100 but I'm looking for confirmation.

[73ss454]

I know nothing about Ameriprise but what ever the fee to get outta there it'll be worth it. Just think of all the money you are going to save with Vanguard, look forward not back. Get outta there ASAP.

[Lisa99]

When we left Ameriprise we had five separate accts. The total administrative fees to close all accounts was $100.

However, closing the VUL was $5200 but that wasn't an admin fee.

As said in the previous post, don't dawdle with getting this done! Our fees have gone from an avg of 1.8% to .09% now with Vanguard and our portfolio has grown significantly now that we have a logical asset allocation and consistently do DCA investing.

Oh, and that pesky $750 annual 'advisor' charge goes away too so get the heck outa there as quickly as you can! :-)

[Whexican]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisa99 When we left Ameriprise we had five separate accts. The total administrative fees to close all accounts was $100. However, closing the VUL was $5200 but that wasn't an admin fee. As said in the previous post, don't dawdle with getting this done! Our fees have gone from an avg of 1.8% to .09% now with Vanguard and our portfolio has grown significantly now that we have a logical asset allocation and consistently do DCA investing. Oh, and that pesky $750 annual 'advisor' charge goes away too so get the heck outa there as quickly as you can! :-)

Lisa, did you incur any fees for transferring any funds or did you just liquidate any holdings and cash them out before closing?

Our goal is to close by the end of this month once we have everything lined up. For any others chiming in, please understand that this is not a question about whether we should leave but rather just about the fees so we can plan accordingly,

Regarding the VUL, we stand to lose a substantial amount if we close right now and it worked in our favor to just stop making payments and let the cost of insurance be pulled out of the account while reducing the benefit amount once the policy allows. It's not perfect, but such is life.

[Lisa99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whexican Lisa, did you incur any fees for transferring any funds or did you just liquidate any holdings and cash them out before closing? Our goal is to close by the end of this month once we have everything lined up. For any others chiming in, please understand that this is not a question about whether we should leave but rather just about the fees so we can plan accordingly, Regarding the VUL, we stand to lose a substantial amount if we close right now and it worked in our favor to just stop making payments and let the cost of insurance be pulled out of the account while reducing the benefit amount once the policy allows. It's not perfect, but such is life.

When we did this last year, the only accts that could be 'transferred' were qualified IRA-type accts. Vanguard or Fidelity can help you transfer those, but the non-qualified accts will have to be closed and you'll receive a check for the proceeds. It worked out great for us because every account was in a losing position so by cashing out we were able to take advantage of tax loss harvesting.

We were in the same position as you with the VUL. However, we chose to close it and take the hit because the funds available to invest in the VUL had very high fees and were performing poorly. So even though we took the $5200 hit by cashing out and reinvesting the money in Vanguard we've more than made up the $5200 loss through reduced fees and the good market return that the funds we're in have experienced.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whexican Our goal is to close by the end of this month once we have everything lined up. For any others chiming in, please understand that this is not a question about whether we should leave but rather just about the fees so we can plan accordingly,

Plan for what? You're not going to stop the transfer because you feel the fees are too high, and I doubt you're going to negotiate a lower fee. You're not going to call the SEC or the SIPC to have Ameriprise refund the excess fees. As has been pointed out, whatever ransom you pay as part of this transfer is far less than you'd pay throughout the rest of 2011.

When the kidnappers let the hostages go, you don't ask them to return your wallet...

It's easiest to fill out the Vanguard paperwork to "transfer all assets in kind", and then let Vanguard haggle with Ameriprise. Whatever Ameriprise balks on, you can cash out and have the cash transferred to Vanguard. You may get lucky and have everything transfer in kind to Vanguard, where you can then sell Ameriprise's funds and buy Vanguard assets at your leisure without having to listen to Ameriprise's threats whining admonishments.

[Coach]

When I transferred a brokerage account to Schwab, Schwab reimbursed me for the $75 transfer fee the other brokerage charged. Perhaps Vanguard will do the same. It's a very competitive market.

And Nord's advice is good -- let Vanguard do the transfer for you.

Coach