Vanguard Transition is too much trouble

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jollystomper Interestingly, I have an issue with Fidelity that I do not have with Vanguard. With Vanguard I can easily transfer money from a tIRA to a Roth IRA online. With Fidelity I have to call and have an agent do this. It will not let me do this online. So far all I have gotten from then is that my tIRA is in "the wrong type of account for online transfers", and nothing about being able to change it to the right type of account.

Maybe its like the airlines.... they all suck to varying degrees depending on the day.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jollystomper Interestingly, I have an issue with Fidelity that I do not have with Vanguard. With Vanguard I can easily transfer money from a tIRA to a Roth IRA online. With Fidelity I have to call and have an agent do this. It will not let me do this online. So far all I have gotten from then is that my tIRA is in "the wrong type of account for online transfers", and nothing about being able to change it to the right type of account.

I've done Roth conversions online at Fidelity many times. Been doing it for years.

Just an ordinary TIRA to an ordinary Roth. Maybe you have something different, like an inherited one?

[jollystomper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister I've done Roth conversions online at Fidelity many times. Been doing it for years. Just an ordinary TIRA to an ordinary Roth. Maybe you have something different, like an inherited one?

No, this is my own tIRA, opened many years ago. Added a Roth IRA this year, when trying to transfer online get the message "you do not have any accounts you can transfer from". Called Fidelity, they said correct, we cannot set up your tIRA for online transfer to your Roth, you have to call whenever you want this done.

And I used to think everything was just a simple matter of programming...

[braumeister]

Do you see both accounts on your login page?

Have you taken your RMD for the year (if you're of the age)?

I just checked and the conversion option is still available to me.
Seems very strange and I would escalate the matter if I were you.

[jollystomper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Do you see both accounts on your login page?

Yes, I can see all my account types without problem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Have you taken your RMD for the year (if you're of the age)?

I am not yet RMD age (61).

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister I just checked and the conversion option is still available to me. Seems very strange and I would escalate the matter if I were you.

Yeah, I will... so far have only done a couple of transactions but I will be looking into this further (weather has been too nice to spend time on it ).

[John Galt III]

I finally got around to attempting the transition a few months ago and there were just too many hoops to bother with, one of which I think was needing to give them my cell phone number (or maybe that was Fidelity), which I didn't want to do. Gave up. So I'm one of the 'change resisters' now I guess, lol. May try it again soon, just to see if they made it easier.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jollystomper No, this is my own tIRA, opened many years ago. Added a Roth IRA this year, when trying to transfer online get the message "you do not have any accounts you can transfer from". Called Fidelity, they said correct, we cannot set up your tIRA for online transfer to your Roth, you have to call whenever you want this done. And I used to think everything was just a simple matter of programming...

This sounds familiar. I think the "opened many years ago" is key. I don't recall if I ever did anything about it, or just called a few times. I've converted all those old tIRAs to ROTHs, so no longer an issue for me.

-ERD50

[eroscott]

I was able to so my SO's account pretty easily once she got the email. I had done mine some time ago.

Note that if you user Personal Capital that you may have double the accounts (new acct number). I deleted the old ones but lost that history. No big deal as I usually only look back a year.

[harllee]

OP here. I just got a message in my Vanguard account from someone at Vanguard apologizing for all the trouble I had in the transition and that they are working to make it smoother. The message noted I had been with Vanguard for 27 years!

[reawilliams]

I've been avoiding upgrading my last IRA to brokerage because that would make my IRA total exceed the SIPC 500K protection limit. I don't know if it is any safer as a VG mutual fund account, but don't want to exceed the SIPC limit. I will probably move it to another house if VG forces me to convert.

[RetMD21]

I'm surprised that people are having problems with this. We did it a long time ago and it was easy (ok they considered my IRA account transfer a taxable event/ distribution but they fixed that quickly)

[gwraigty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by reawilliams I've been avoiding upgrading my last IRA to brokerage because that would make my IRA total exceed the SIPC 500K protection limit. I don't know if it is any safer as a VG mutual fund account, but don't want to exceed the SIPC limit. I will probably move it to another house if VG forces me to convert.

I'm no Vanguard fan, but don't make decisions based on incorrect assumptions. SIPC doesn't cover your Vanguard mutual fund account. It only covers securities held in a brokerage account. Also, Vanguard has supplemental SIPC insurance, as noted on Vanguard's website:

https://investor.vanguard.com/invest...unt-protection

Many brokerage firms purchase supplemental insurance.

Some basic SIPC info:

https://www.sipc.org/for-investors/what-sipc-protects

[The HalfBreed]

I've been getting those messages for well over 6 months now, to transition my account. I have a taxable mutual fund and a ROTH IRA.
I called asking a few questions, and long story short, either he didn't understand me, or vice versa, because he didn't know.

ANYWAY ~

The Vanguard Rep told me I don't really HAVE to transition my account if I don't want to, and it's only there to give me access to other types of investments like ETF's and such.

I told him I have no interest in doing anything except holding onto those two funds, and he told me not to worry, because they can't FORCE me to transition my account if I don't want those other services, so, I'm ignoring it.

[UpAnchor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski I have both Vanguard and Fidelity... I don't notice one being demonstrably better than the other in my experience.... everyone seems to be gaga over Fidelity's website and tools and I've used them and just haven't been very impressed... they're ok but nothing to get excited about.

I feel the same way. Vanguard’s website (and mobile app) tells me only what I need to know without the “busy-ness” of Fidelity’s. But then I’m just a simple mutual fund investor who doesn’t trade so I’m not surprised there are others whose opinions would differ. I’m more surprised at how often Fidelity’s is highly praised while Vanguard’s is disparaged.

[UpAnchor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The HalfBreed I've been getting those messages for well over 6 months now, to transition my account. I have a taxable mutual fund and a ROTH IRA. I called asking a few questions, and long story short, either he didn't understand me, or vice versa, because he didn't know. ANYWAY ~ The Vanguard Rep told me I don't really HAVE to transition my account if I don't want to, and it's only there to give me access to other types of investments like ETF's and such. I told him I have no interest in doing anything except holding onto those two funds, and he told me not to worry, because they can't FORCE me to transition my account if I don't want those other services, so, I'm ignoring it.

Interesting, since I believe emails from Vanguard pushing me to transition have indicated that it “will” happen.

[Paulz]

Just a word of warning. I did the brokerage conversion with Vanguard and then a year later tried to rollover a small portion of my IRA to Fidelity. Since the Vanguard was a brokerage account, Fidelity would not allow a rollover to another IRA and claimed I had to open a brokerage account IRA with them. I thought it was a fluke, but received the same response from Schwab.

I tried numerous times to open new IRA at other places and do a rollover, with no luck. I fixed my problem by rolling the entire amount into my 401k and will move it back to another fund family after retirement.

I don't know what the brokerage account does for me in Vanguard, but I know what a PITA it is if you want to move it out from Vanguard!

[meleana]

Pardon my ignorance but what exactly is this "transition" you are all talking about?

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meleana Pardon my ignorance but what exactly is this "transition" you are all talking about?

From the old mutual fund only system to a brokerage system. It's been occurring since ~ 2016.

[harllee]

OP here, Vanguard says it is doing away with the old mutual fund system and wants everyone to "transition" to brokerage accounts. As far as I can tell it is being done for cost savings.

[easysurfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harllee OP here, Vanguard says it is doing away with the old mutual fund system and wants everyone to "transition" to brokerage accounts. As far as I can tell it is being done for cost savings.

"Wants" or "requires"?

I'll linger around with the old mutual fund system until get ushered out. Not purposely being stubborn, but I have not need for a brokerage account. Happy with just mutual funds.

The transition for me is like someone saying I need an SUV when I'm totally happy with a subcompact car.