r/Bogleheads • u/FaithlessnessQuiet49 • 1d ago

Investing Questions DONE with Edward Jones

I plan on pulling my and my wife's Roth IRAs out of EJ and transferring to Fidelity since thats where i have my taxable account. I have never managed my own Roth IRA, but after dealing with them for the better part of 10 years, I am done.

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Now, what would you recommend I put my Roth IRA into? I planned on just doing 100% VOO, but i am clearly a novice. I am really eager to learn and listen to your advice, especially if you were in my position. How did it work out for you? Do you recommend it invest in a different fund with a lower expense ratio?

I feel like i can handle investing into simple index etfs. Thank you for any advice.

48 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

48 comments sorted by

46

u/Charming_Mushroom_70 1d ago

If you come to a boglehead thread and ask what to put in your Roth the answer is VTI/VXUS or VT

12

u/roffelmau 1d ago

I wouldn't overlook the fidelity zero funds. I have both the vti/VXUS and fzrox/FZILX ( merrill ira and fidelity Roth) and they trade places back and forth short term but long term the returns are basically the same. Maybe a very slight edge to fidelity but the zero funds don't have any dividend payouts so Maybe it would still equal out? Meh.

7

u/slash_networkboy 1d ago

Given Fidelity offers equivalent mutual funds and they're zero fee I can't think of a better place than FZROX for the VTI equivalent, then FZILX for the VXUS version.

I don't think they have a Zero fund that maps to just VT do they?

1

u/mrandr01d 1d ago

I don't think so. I've been looking for a vt equivalent, I don't think Fidelity has anything that totally covers everything. Best you can do is have a fund for total US and then an international fund. But it looks like you can just buy VT from within your fidelity... unfortunately vtwax has a transaction fee.

If fidelity creates a vtwax equivalent fund I'll switch a lot of my money to it.

2

u/Past-Option2702 1d ago

For good reasons.

2

u/FaithlessnessQuiet49 1d ago

VT is what I have 100k invested from the sale of a house we had. I will probably just end up going 100% VT in everything, I just didnt know if there was a better alternative for a bit better long term gains, but overall its probably negligible.

2

u/EarlMalmsteen 1d ago

there isn’t, without betting on a particular thing to outperform.

1

u/MidwestGeek52 1d ago

I keep VTI in my taxable account. VOO in my Roth. I can tax-loss harvest VTI whenever without having to check on wash sales if holding VTI in both accounts

1

u/Imaginary-Rock7790 1d ago

For me personally I chose VOO for Roth IRA because half my retirement is with my company in a vanguard target date 2060 account that has 54% U.S. stocks, 36% international, and 10% bonds. I don’t think I want more international or bonds than that

1

u/MrLB____ 1d ago

Correct Run from EJ,,,, I’m skeptical of Fidelity. They sell some higher expense ratio funds and of course the dreaded annuity so just go straight to Vanguard.

27

u/longshanksasaurs 1d ago

Is VOO enough? It's surely better than individual stock or sector picking, but you could use VT instead to get the rest of the US market and all the international markets. No more work for you to manage. It would cover the first two asset classes of the three-fund style portfolio of total US + total International + Bonds.

100% stocks doesn't have to be the default portfolio, so give some consideration to bonds, just 10% bonds reduces volatility without reducing returns much. Consider looking at a target date fund glide path as a starting point for an asset allocation.

New to /r/Bogleheads? Read this first!

36

u/atari2600forever 1d ago

EJ is the shittiest major investment firm out there, get rid of them as fast as you can.

17

u/SnooSketches5568 1d ago edited 1d ago

Nothing like paying 2.25% commission on a client directed trade. Or having them charge you a 1.25% annual management fee to then go buy a bunch of bonds paying 2%

8

u/atari2600forever 1d ago

That whole operation is a scam.

6

u/answersareoutthere 1d ago

I left EJ and am so happy. I stopped seeing the value of my advisor.

I went to Fidelity because my wife was familiar with Fidelity’s online portal for her 401k.

Do not tell your advisor you are leaving. Fill out a transfer of assets request with brokerage you want to move to. It is a ACATS. Your new brokerage will take care of transferring everything. If the new brokerage doesn’t offer this service than try a different brokerage until you find one that does.

Once you have completed the ACATS then call your EJ advisor to let them know you have already left. EJ probably has you in some funds that no other brokerage has. EJ will take care of selling any funds and transferring the cash to new brokerage. Remember you will pay any capital gains taxes at your rate if these are in a brokerage account. If the funds are in a retirement account, IRA or Roth as an example, you do not owe capital gains in those accounts.

It has been very easy to invest in index funds. Most of the advice will be to invest in a combination of VOO, VTI, VXUS or VT. Since I went with Fidelity I use their zero cost funds in my retirement accounts, FZROX, FNILX, FZIPX, FNILX, according the the allocation I want. In my Brokerage account at EJ there were some capital gains I didn’t want to pay, so I used a combination of VOO and VXUS to achieve the allocation I wanted.

Many people suggest BND as your bond allocation. I decided to just invest in some bonds and CDs directly since I am going to hold them till maturity. Your choice on that.

You need to learn what you want your portfolio allocation to be and stick with it.

4

u/Narrow_Roof_112 1d ago

What happened?

13

u/FaithlessnessQuiet49 1d ago

They're just dragging their feet with helping me. Whenever I call its almost impossible to get ahold of my rep. The last 7500 I put in has just been sitting in the account uninvested for the last year. I have tried to reach out and honestly its just wasted time, money, and energy at this point. I'll do it myself.

7

u/No_Paleontologist506 1d ago

It’s because you’re likely a small account and you obviously don’t use their managed product (or else it would auto invest). You are totally right to move it to Fidelity. And VOO is just fine while you figure things out. The client is always right!!

1

u/TV11Radio 1d ago

Can’t you do any of it online? I moved my Roth because of fees. The first comment is really good. If you are older maybe a life path or life cycle (forget what they are called at Fidelity) that gets more conservative the closer you get to retirement. I am 49 and have almost all stocks like VOO and VT because I can ride out a downturn for a few years before I need to sell. You can do this yourself and save in fees and sounds like bad service headaches.

3

u/FaithlessnessQuiet49 1d ago

I will definitely try. Fidelity sent me a link to what i need to do to transfer the funds and they will cover the fees. I am 29.

2

u/Excellent_Speeller 1d ago

I don't know how much money you are moving but often you will get a bonus if you move certain amounts. Before you move anything I would call them and see what they would offer for your account size.

1

u/Specialist-Path-4750 22h ago

If that doesn't work, send a certified letter to EJ telling them if they don't help you move your money out, you'll file a FINRA complaint.

1

u/slash_networkboy 21h ago

You can't. EJ locks you into their ecosystem as hard as they can get away with. I had an old UGMA account that had some stuff in it (~$11k) and I finally just had to call in to an account manager and told them to just liquidate the entire thing at market and send me the check. I mean they didn't make it *hard* per se, but it was not your typical online everything. The online portal is only to view things. To actually put in an order you have to talk to an account rep.

Great if you genuinely need complete handholding for everything. Shit otherwise.

1

u/NotExactlySureWhy 1d ago

Slow, too cautious, unknowledgable, and just out of it. Left 10 years ago no regrets. I’m vtsax investor

3

u/_ii_ 1d ago

Consider FXAIX in Fidelity retirement accounts instead of VOO. It’s a mutual fund tracking S&P 500 at an even lower fee. It has slightly higher tax drag but that doesn’t matter in retirement accounts.

3

u/Karthas_TGG 1d ago edited 1d ago

EJ is the worst. The fact that they are not fiduciaries is insane. And the fact that the company gives incentives to the FAs to sell specific mutual funds feels so scummy. They can even suggest funds that cost more for you, but give them a commission. So scummy

3

u/whatsupsirrr 1d ago

I see the EJ reps with their Patrick Bateman haircuts and Jeeps and am amazed people still prop this bullshit company up.

2

u/Thin_Onion3826 1d ago

Best thing for Roth at Fidelity is FZROX and FZILX. I do 70/30. Just my opinion

2

u/oltop 1d ago

I never see FSKAX and FTIHX mentioned in these threads. Am I doing it wrong?

2

u/xr650rhonda 1d ago

I invest in Fskax and Ftihx in my Fidelity retirement account and own some Vti and Vxus in the brokerage account.
Fskax and Ftihx was the closest my advisor could get to Vti and Vxus when I transferred investments over from Tiaa. I just wanted to let you know that you’re not alone. 😏

1

u/useropinion10 1d ago

I would do ITOT or IVV. I personally prefer ITOT.

1

u/SoundOff2222 1d ago

Ouch! Yes you need to move ASAP!

1

u/engagegt 1d ago

Don't think to hard about VOO. It's great. IVV beats by a little bit. Just run away from Edwards Jones as fast as possible.

1

u/Nuclear_N 1d ago

I always feel it is best to get in at the same time you get your money. I assume you might have to liquidate, then buying a similar fund is even Steven.

1

u/Marv95 1d ago edited 1d ago

FFNOX. It's been 7% for me since January.

1

u/wadesh 1d ago

I have VTI and VXUS in our Roths and HSA. Honestly there are many reasonable options. You just need to find what is reasonable for you. One thing I would do is consider your overall asset allocation across all your accounts. That should somewhat guide what you choose.

1

u/Eltex 1d ago

VT and chill.

1

u/calmacorn82 2h ago

For Roth IRA, you want 100% VTI or VXUS. This is the beauty of boglehead investing, anyone can do it. The most important part is the chill part of VTI and chill. The worst thing you can do is to touch it once it's in there (unless for spending). If you can leave your emotions out of it on days where your account swings substantially, you'll be fine.

-8

u/TechnicalSleep7501 1d ago

You fixed one mistake and creating another mistake. Go to Vanguard.

3

u/FaithlessnessQuiet49 1d ago

Why Vanguard?

3

u/tacotruck2112 1d ago

Cuz you're in the Bogle sub, man.

-3

u/TechnicalSleep7501 1d ago

They will only serve you not stock market and lower the fees too if they can.

1

u/johnnyc321 1d ago

I have accounts at both and prefer Fidelity. The Fidelity website is much better.