Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Transferring an Inherited Brokerage Account
Old 02-04-2023, 08:29 AM   #1
Recycles dryer sheets
lem1955's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 315
Send a message via Yahoo to lem1955
Transferring an Inherited Brokerage Account

I have recently inherited a brokerage account consisting largely of individual stocks, and a few mutual funds valued at ~ $300,000. It is currently held at Wells Fargo Advisors. I intend to transfer it to Vanguard. Is it better to liquidate the funds and transfer cash, or transfer the assets directly? Or is it moot because the stepped up basis pertains to either case? I do not intend to withdraw a large amount from that account in 2023 or 2024.
__________________
"Retirement isn’t really a switch you flip at a certain age anymore," the Schwab report states. "It’s a financial state that allows for the flexibility to make work optional."
lem1955 is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 02-04-2023, 09:08 AM   #2
Dryer sheet aficionado
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Posts: 37
I would transfer it in-kind and then sell after it get over to Vangard. Commissions on the sale will be much lower than Wells Fargo.
EQMAN is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-04-2023, 09:32 AM   #3
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Coronado
Posts: 3,655
Is the WF Advisors account one that has an AUM based fee with no commission on trades? If so, when is the next quarterly fee due? Are all the assets publicly traded and could they be moved in-kind to Vanguard? You should ask them these questions before making a decision.

If it turns out that it costs the same no matter where you sell, then do the selling at WF and move the cash to Vanguard. Otherwise, sell only the non-public investments, if any, at WF and move everything else to Vanguard.
cathy63 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-05-2023, 03:34 PM   #4
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Western NC
Posts: 4,600
Most brokerages make you setup an account with them to receive any inherited account holdings.

I bet WF does the same.

But then I'd transfer in-kind if possible.
ncbill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-05-2023, 03:46 PM   #5
Moderator Emeritus
aja8888's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Conroe, Texas
Posts: 18,593
I'm helping DD move her Roth containing CDs at Ally Bank to Schwab. We had to open a Roth at Schwab to set up the transfer. The funds will be transferred later this month on the maturity dates of the CDs.
__________________
*********Go Astros!*********
aja8888 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-05-2023, 06:10 PM   #6
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 6,679
Twice I helped my (snake-bit) friend move brokerage accounts from one company to Fidelity, where he was consolidating his holdings. Some were inherited accounts, some were now. Everything went in-kind, without liquidating anything. Except for one little thing from one financial company: That company did not allow fractional shares to be transferred, whether it was stocks or mutual finds. The company first liquidated the fractional shares then transferred its proceeds along with the small cash accounts within the overall portfolios. It was a minor nuisance reporting all these tiny sales on Form 8949 the following year on his income tax returns.
__________________
Retired in late 2008 at age 45. Cashed in company stock, bought a lot of shares in a big bond fund and am living nicely off its dividends. IRA, SS, and a pension await me at age 60 and later. No kids, no debts.

"I want my money working for me instead of me working for my money!"
scrabbler1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-05-2023, 09:01 PM   #7
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
pb4uski's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sarasota, FL & Vermont
Posts: 36,204
Quote:
Originally Posted by lem1955 View Post
I have recently inherited a brokerage account consisting largely of individual stocks, and a few mutual funds valued at ~ $300,000. It is currently held at Wells Fargo Advisors. I intend to transfer it to Vanguard. Is it better to liquidate the funds and transfer cash, or transfer the assets directly? Or is it moot because the stepped up basis pertains to either case? I do not intend to withdraw a large amount from that account in 2023 or 2024.
Not sure that it matters much because of stepped up basis, but I would avoid Vanguard... their customer service has become really poor... so poor that I have moved all my business and most of my family's business away from Vanguard.

If you like the individual stocks in the portfolio then transfer in kind, otherwise you can cash out and transfer (I assume this a taxable account).

Go with Schwab, they have a Burlington office if you ever need to go there. I have an account with Schwab in FL and when I call my person she actually answers the phone... refreshing!

Or alternatively, if the WFA fees are not too much you could leave it there. IIRC they have an office in St. J.
__________________
If something cannot endure laughter.... it cannot endure.
Patience is the art of concealing your impatience.
Slow and steady wins the race.

Retired Jan 2012 at age 56
pb4uski is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-06-2023, 06:13 AM   #8
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
The Cosmic Avenger's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Mid-Atlantic
Posts: 2,642
Quote:
Originally Posted by EQMAN View Post
I would transfer it in-kind and then sell after it get over to Vangard. Commissions on the sale will be much lower than Wells Fargo.
Agreed, and I would like to emphasize selling it after the in-kind transfer is done. My father was an accountant, and he spent a lot of his retirement researching investments and building his own portfolio, which is part of why I kept his investments after he passed. Looking back, I wish I had sold them after the stepped-up basis and dumped the cash into my planned asset allocation.
__________________
-Looking to FIRE in the mid-2020s, which would be our mid-50s.
The Cosmic Avenger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-06-2023, 09:24 AM   #9
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,635
Quote:
Originally Posted by pb4uski View Post
Not sure that it matters much because of stepped up basis, but I would avoid Vanguard... their customer service has become really poor... so poor that I have moved all my business and most of my family's business away from Vanguard.

If you like the individual stocks in the portfolio then transfer in kind, otherwise you can cash out and transfer (I assume this a taxable account).

Go with Schwab, they have a Burlington office if you ever need to go there. I have an account with Schwab in FL and when I call my person she actually answers the phone... refreshing!

Or alternatively, if the WFA fees are not too much you could leave it there. IIRC they have an office in St. J.
+1

We're in the process of DW's inheritance at VG. Hopefully, we'll see the money sometime this decade. I plan on selling the mutual funds and transferring the cash to Fidelity ASAP.

It sounds like you've been happy with Schwab? I might move our taxable assets there sometime in the future.
PatrickA5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-06-2023, 09:54 AM   #10
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 17,194
Another +1 on pb4's post....


I would only keep the individual stocks if I though they were the right ones to own for ME... as someone else mentioned, you might have to move to a WF account in your name first and then to where ever you want to end up..



I am in the process of moving my 401(k) and I am choosing Schwab... and I have never used Schwab before but after talking to people at Fidelity and Schwab, Schwab was better... if I do not like them in a year or so I can always move again... but to me I would not move to Vanguard.. I only have Vanguard right now because I am lazy to move what I have there...
Texas Proud is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
inheritance, inherited, stepped up cost basis


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Online Savings Account vs Brokerage Account with Bond Funds mountainsoft FIRE and Money 10 05-17-2020 10:31 AM
Vanguard Brokerage Account vs. regular Vanguard Account Telly FIRE and Money 71 11-08-2018 05:11 PM
Transferring Brokerage Account Jimmie FIRE and Money 9 02-11-2018 07:18 PM
Transferring HSA money to a new HSA account Mulligan FIRE and Money 13 06-27-2014 08:26 PM
Transferring 401K to brokerage account, and a question swampwiz FIRE and Money 3 04-01-2010 06:59 PM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:06 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.