Vanguard Lifestyle Funds vs. Morgan Stanley

[scubamonkey]

I am considering rolling my Morgan Stanley IRA account to a Vanguard Lifestyle within the next year

My motivations are fees and it will be time to start moving more portfolio into bonds as only 15% is in cash now.

I currently have about 20% of my retirement portfolio in a Morgan Stanley managed account - the investments are a bascially stock mutual funds. I am not too happy about the 1% fee they skim each year (Vanguards is .21%), especially when the funds I pick are performing approximatley the same as MS.

Is there a better alternative?

 

[Olav23]

I think you have the better alternative already in mind. What about one of the target retirement funds that match what your asset allocation requires?

 

[unclemick]

Hmmm - note - trad IRA - 1996 to 2006 Lifestrategy moderate and then traded that in plus all my leftover small side ventures(sm cap value index, REIT index, and high yield corp) and went Target Retirement 2015 at a young at heart age 63 plus my lonely file cabinet of DRIP plans and a few stocks.

Note that Lifestrategy has 25% Asset Allocation fund which moves between stocks, bonds, cash based on a quant formula.

The Target slides assets with age.

Like them both. Step back and see how they fit in your total investment picture.

Getting expenses down is a great first step.

heh heh heh

 

[scubamonkey]

Thanks guys, I believe I am going to roll it.