Rollover IRA enticements

[explanade]

OK, I was probably going to roll it over to Vanguard, where I already have Roth IRA (and possibly tIRA, if I make a contribution this year before I FIRE).

But some institutions dangle carrots, like $2500 to rollover to TD Ameritrade.

They probably don't have the same low-cost fund options, esp. Admiral shares that VG has.

So over a period of time, or maybe in one year, that $2500 you end up paying back in higher expenses. But Ameritrade must get kickbacks, though they don't know which fund you're going to choose.

Maybe maintenance fees of some kind?

 

[KingB]

Fidelity is offering me $2500 to roll-over my 401K to their IRA.

 

[LOL!]

A couple years ago, my spouse rolled over a 401(k) to TDAmeritrade to collect the bonus. We already have other accounts at TDAmeritrade and at Vanguard, so we knew what to expect at each place.

At TDAmeritrade, she invested only in Vanguard ETFs for no-commission. They have the same low expense ratios as Vanguard Admiral shares. No maintenance fees as well.

Our other TDAmeritrade accounts are invested in no-commission Vanguard ETFs as well. Basically, one doesn't need to have an account at Vanguard in order to benefit from the low-expense ratio Vanguard funds.

 

[explanade]

Obviously a 401k rolled over represents a big chunk of your savings, that will probably grown until you're 70 or 71 for the RMDs.

So you generally shouldn't change to a different asset class which would upset your AA?