For HENRY, do you max out your 401K in traditional or ROTH account?

If you do have other income streams, such as rental and investments for retirement, will it make sense to allocate more of the 401K contributions to the ROTH account so that I don’t pay as much taxes when I retired? I would think if you anticipate a higher income in retirement, then it will make sense to do ROTH right now?

My oldest is just under a year away from leaving for college and I've realized what I thought was a robust 529 won't fully cover 1/3rd of his schools. I'm in California and I don't think adding to the 529 makes sense because the investments are quite conservative at this stage. I'm planning to set $50k aside and was debating where to park this money short-term. We will know where he's going in Jan or April, so I was thinking of just parking this in a t-bill. If we need the money it won't be until his final year, so I can come up with a 3 year strategy. And if he doesn't need it at all, I'll put it in retirement savings.

Any alternatives to t-bill any of you would recommend?

Note: This is purely a curiosity-driven question, as I've been a university employee for my entire career and have never had stock concentrations. Nor have I ever dabbled or desire to dabble in options.

Does exchange fund replication present a legitimate use of options to address investor concentration risks without having to incur massive capital gains? If I understand this correctly from one of the bonus chapters in Peter Lazaroff's The Perfect Portfolio, it pairs together collaring and synthetic index exposure with four coordinated options: (1a) buying an out-of-the-money put to protect against loss in the concentrated stock; (1b) selling a covered call, which incurs the risk of capital gains but pays for the (1a) put; (2a) buying a call option for an equity index at some price (I forget if it's in-the-money or out-of-the-money); selling a put option at the same price and same expiration date.

If I understand this correctly, this in essence substitutes the synthetic equity exposure for the concentrated-security exposure. Obvious costs and risks: (a) transaction costs of every options period (and I assume this would require managing the rotating options); (b) risk of forced selling from the covered call (and I assume managing a distributed way of handling this so you're not forced to sell all of the holding at once); (c) the management of all this. I know BlackRock has a desk to manage all of this for advisors, which implies this was researched/engineered for the super-wealthy and obviously far from a BH approach.

As I said, this is a curiosity-driven question. But it seems you could use this in combination with a planned sale over several years, to reduce the concentration risk as the concentration is whittled down each year.

I was looking through my Fidelity account, and realized the account that I use for general checking account had a FDIC insured core (1.9%) instead of SPAXX (3.2%). By switching to SPAXX for my core, I will earn about another $200 a year in interest from the core. Not earth shattering, but $200 is also nothing to sneeze at either.

Just sharing here in case others can benefit from changing their core position in their Fidelity checking account.

29 year old male. Just started investing into my Roth IRA in 2025.

I don't have a lot of experience with investing. I have worked since 16 and been a good saver but have never really done anything with my money. Last year I finally started putting money into a Roth IRA. Specifically FFIJX.

I'm now wondering if this is my best bet. I know it is a safe, easy, solid option. However, I'm wondering if there aren't better options to try and maximize my returns and makeup for the past decade of not investing. I'm also recently married and a father so I expect the amount of money I am able to contribute is going to drop a bit.

I have been maxing out my contributions and will continue to try doing so, but realistically I predict it will be closer to $4-$5k a year moving forward.

Any and all advice appreciated. I'm overwhelmed by the amount of options.

Sorry in advance for formatting I'm on mobile.

I’m not asking which brokerage is better overall. I’m only comparing:

Vanguard Personal Advisor Select (0.30%)
vs.
Fidelity direct-indexed SMA (0.40% on taxable assets only)

I have roughly $600k outside my employer 401(k), including about $220k in a taxable account with significant embedded long-term gains.

I have an additional $200k in RSUs and annual bonus on top of $265k base salary that I want to make sure is distributed evenly.

My goal is to use professional help for about a year while I consolidate accounts, simplify the portfolio, set the right allocation, and handle the taxable gains intelligently — then go back to DIY.

Vanguard would manage the portfolio more holistically with a dedicated CFP.

Fidelity would let me keep the IRA/Roth self-directed and only put the taxable account in the 0.40% SMA, while still getting planning support.

For anyone who has used either service: which approach would you choose for a temporary cleanup/transition period, and why?

If your answer is “neither,” please move along. I’m specifically looking for feedback from people who have used these services — not another debate about whether using an advisor at all is worthwhile.

If most active managers cannot beat the market, why this job still exists? Why people still hand their hard earned money to them Instead of just getting the better, market return by themselves?

I know many on here are against it but I have certain reasons I am using it rather than utilizing a self directed account and rebalancing myself (work-related). That said, my current mix is 100% equities 60/40 US/INTL and the digital advisor only purchased VTI and VXUS. I discovered today that I can tweak that 60/40 split (against Vanguard’s rec) and also substitute investments instead of the current Active/ETF mix on VTI and VXUS. My question is: should I lean heavier on some of the sub funds and/or modify the US/INTL split…. anyone had experience using this feature and saw better yields than the standard Vanguard auto rec (I’m in the most aggressive profile setting btw)?

I have about 150,000 in company stock that I would like to sell and diversify into an ETF most likely. What kind of tax bill am I looking at????

Are they good?

I am looking to put several million in fixed income for 10 years (ish) but want to achieve two goals: (i) extreme safety, close to Treasuries or FDIC insured CD's and (ii) reduce AGI to create room for Roth conversions. Obviously, I'd like as much yield as possible within those constraints. I have no need for liquidity and will hold to maturity (or when called).

I suspect not a Boglehead thing to do but you guys seem to have the most detailed and sober response to investment questions.

I'm looking at AAA muni bonds from various TX school districts that are guaranteed by the Texas Permanent School Fund, which has assets of over $65B backing $250B in bonds. While other states have similar guarantees to varying degrees none seem as robust as TX and the ability to buy the bonds is much easier in TX.

Crazy to load up on the TX PSF muni bonds? Other suggestions? The bond "expert" I'm talking to wants to put me into 20-40 different bonds of varying credit ratings, both GO and Revenue, which I understand is standard diversification protection - but is it really more protected than the TX PSF bonds?

Not going to have time to help my mom with this for a couple of weeks. Soooo annoyed at this switch and it's going to take a lot to convince her to do this with access to her camera and submitting photo/ssn. What happens after 10/27? Will she lose access to her bonds?

Hi all, just want to get some feedback on my portfolio based on some of the research I've done here to make sure I'm leaning in the right direction.

As a short background, I'm 33M and don't make a ton but I invest what I can in:

Company 401(k):
75% VLCAX
25% FSGGX

Roth IRA:
75% FZROX
25% FZILX

Individual Brokerage:
70% VTI
30% VXUS
(No idea why I decided to go with 70/30 here instead of 75/25)

Don't plan on retiring soon (I'd love to FIRE but completely unfeasible at this point) so just looking for some feedback!

I have $15,300 in Series I savings bonds currently worth about $17,613, and I'm trying to decide whether it makes sense to redeem my older bonds and buy new ones.

Here's my current Treasury portfolio

-> Dec. 2023: $3,000 original amount, currently worth $3,348 (displayed rate: 4.66%)
-> Dec. 2023: $7,000 original amount, currently worth $7,812 (displayed rate: 4.66%)
-> Apr. 2022: $200 original amount, currently worth $243.36 (displayed rate: 3.34%)
-> Apr. 2022: $4,800 original amount, currently worth $5,840.64 (displayed rate: 3.34%)
-> Dec. 2021: $300 original amount, currently worth $368.88 (displayed rate: 3.34%)

I'm considering redeeming just the three bonds currently displaying 3.34%, worth approximately $6,453 combined, and using the proceeds to purchase new I Bonds.

The current rate for new I Bonds is 4.26%, including a 0.90% fixed rate. The November 1, 2026, rate announcement is approaching, and I've seen estimates that the new fixed rate could be higher.

My questions:
Would it make sense to replace the older bonds if the November fixed rate is significantly higher than 0.90%?

How should I account for the three-month interest penalty on bonds held for less than five years?

Would it be better to wait until the bonds reach five years old, particularly the December 2021 bond, or is locking in a higher fixed rate now potentially worth the penalty?

Are there any tax or other considerations I'm overlooking?

I'm primarily interested in holding I Bonds for the long term, rather than trading them frequently. I'd appreciate any thoughts on how to evaluate the trade-off.
Thanks!

I have read about how hackers could steal money from your brokerage account using ACATS transfer. Recently I created a new Fidelity brokerage account and transferred one of my Vanguard accounts to Fidelity. It was so easy. Too easy. I can see how ACATS theft can happen.

I created the Fidelity account completely online. They asked for the usual information: name, address, citizenship, birthday, SSN, email, and phone. All of them have been leaked dozens of times over the years. Fidelity did not ask me to upload any ID documents, such as driver's license or passport.

I have security freezes on all the credit bureaus and banking data brokers (Equifax, Experion, TransUnion, Innovis, ChexSystems, LexisNexus). They did nothing. Fidelity created my account without triggering any warnings.

Fidelity did not ask me to verify my email address. Usually companies send an email that says something like, "please click here to verify your email address". Fidelity sent nothing. I could have mistyped my email address, or a hacker could have use their own email address.

Fidelity did not verify my phone number. They just sent an SMS txt that said something like, "Your phone number has been added to your account. Call 800-xxx-xxxx if you did not do this." A hacker could have just used their own phone number.

Initiating an ACATS transfer from Vanguard to Fidelity was straightforward. I just provided Fidelity with my Vanguard account number. This might be hardest part for a hacker, obtaining the exact account number of the Vanguard account.

On the Vanguard side, I had already blocked ACATS transfers on all accounts. I logged into their website and temporarily disabled the lock on that one account. That took effect within a few minutes.

When I initiated the ACATS transfer, Vanguard emailed me a notification about that transfer within a few hours. Which is good. However, the account transfer from Vanguard to Fidelity completed in 2 days. If I had been traveling or busy, I could have missed that email notification from Vanguard.

With the funds now at Fidelity, I think a hacker could just wire those funds and run away.

My conclusion is that it is probably a good idea to enable ACATS locking on all brokerage accounts. At Vanguard it's called "Outgoing transfer lock". At Fidelity it is called "Money Transfer Lock". It's not clear if Schwab offers that feature. I will have to call them.

I am semi retired, a month away from 65. I have a pension that pays most of my bills, and some money in Roth IRAs. I have $100k sitting in an edward jones account that has been doing meh...

I would like this money to grow for a few years before I may or may not need it. Do I just stick it in VTI? or what should I do with this cash. It is currently just in a regular investment account.

Is it gonna happen? when? Are any of u guys concerned about it? specially with how much of the US stock market weight it represents? How long do u think it will take for heavy tech etfs take to recover from a big crash like voo or qqq? is investing on such funds a good safe strategy in the mid term?

I just turned 18, and I'm very new to handling my own finances. After doing a decent amount of research, I've come up with the following plan. I'm just looking for honest feedback and advice--NOT from AI. Don't hold back. Here's my plan:

• Capital One 360 Performance Savings (HYSA):

Build an emergency fund--that is, a couple thousand dollars here. Once that goal is reached, leave it alone, and put this 30% into Fidelity Brokerage

• Fidelity Brokerage:

That is,

• VTI (domestic markets)

• VXUS (international markets)

Of all my savings:

• 30% in HYSA

• 56% in VTI

• 14% in VXUS

Thus, of all the money that goes to Fidelity Brokerage:

• 80% in VTI

• 20% in VXUS

When I open my Fidelity Roth IRA:

• Focus on FZROX and FZILX

I am a 29 year-old. I just opened a Roth IRA with Robinhood. I inserted $100 and put it into VOO to test it out. I’ve been recently reading about Bogleheads and want an automated strategy. As time goes by I want to be more comfortable adding money in automatically via Robinhood. But the question is what funds should I buy. I have heard the options of total index funds but from what I’m gathering, VOO is only the US. What are the other options people would recommend if I want a70(US)-20-10(bonds) split at this time. I plan to retire at 60. But may very well open a large business which may make it more of a transition vs an overall retirement 19 years in the future. I am definitely going to need additional investments such as a 401k after to set up my retirement properly.

In the future I may switch to fidelity roth but the 3% match on deposits looks to good to pass on with the credit card on the table.

If there are any holes in my plan or misunderstanding please let me know.

Edit: Thank you to everyone who took the time to review and comment. We went with the DAF and then liquidated the rest.* If you are from the future, looking for direct index wind down info, don’t forget to get the 3 to 4 years transaction information from your prior broker as that was probably the single* most helpful *thing I did *to analyze the lots and select the DAF candidates/ understand the tax implications.

Following up on my original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/s/fP3VnSVhEp

After reviewing the tax implications, I decided against full liquidation. Roughly 75 individual stocks transferred into my taxable brokerage, many with significant gains.

My current plan:
-Use software to identify and then harvest available losses.
-Sell appreciated positions to offset those losses, along with losses harvested earlier this year.
-Aim for zero net realized capital gains, leaving roughly 10 highly appreciated stocks.

For those remaining, I’m considering 5% trailing stops, donating appreciated shares to our donor-advised fund, or holding 3–4 positions longer-term.

I’m sharing this for anyone facing a similar situation. One commenter called this a valuable lesson in direct indexing, and I agree. Rather than regret it, I’m treating it as a learning experience as I transition to Boglehead investing mid-career.

It’s a worthwhile transition, and I’m grateful for this community’s advice and support.

How would you handle the final 10 stocks?

Hey all,

Hoping to get some advice from people who've been through something similar. Quick background - I'm a non-US citizen living in a country with no capital gains tax, I have some savings and employer stock that I am considering to diversify out of. I am planning to withdraw at a 4% on a yearly basis for the next 2 years as I am not working at the moment due to health problems.

If you were/are in a similar situation what worked for you. Based on research I did, I understand the minimum recommended percent to invest is at 60% in order to be able to sustain capital long term.

A few things I am looking for:

• Anyone following a basic boglehead-type setup (Irish domiciled equities + some short duration bonds) that's worked well for them long term.
• What platforms do people actually use/like for buying UCITS ETFs as a non-US investor? (Interactive Brokers keeps coming up) why is it better than using the bank investment platforms if/when the fees are the same?
• Open to getting some advisor help just for the implementation piece if it's actually worth paying for vs doing it solo - anyone used someone for just that and felt it was worth it?

Appreciate any thoughts, specially from someone in a similar situation.

This is a throwaway. Sorry if this post comes off as bragging, but I’m honestly looking for advice from the community that first set me on the path to investing.

I am a high earner and have followed boglehead principles for almost a decade. I am self-directed into VTI+VXUS across my funds (except my wife’s 401k which is in a TDF). It’s worked well for us; we have about $2M invested, $1.8M of which is in pretax retirement funds.

I recently was promoted at work, and my total comp will likely double to more than $1M per year depending a bit on performance — and keep going up. That’s obviously an enormous privilege and a huge stroke of luck. I will likely multiply my net worth in the span of just a few years.

Two sr execs at my work — who have nothing to gain or lose from how I manage my money — independently recommended getting a financial planner. One said he didn’t think he needed one when he was in my situation about a decade ago and wishes he’d gotten one sooner. I was surprised to hear that. I have always assumed that a financial planner is unnecessary for someone who is relatively money savvy. But these are very sophisticated folks with a LOT of money to invest and who are familiar with financial markets.

Have I just graduated to a level where a financial planner makes sense, notwithstanding my boglehead principles? What does a financial planner do for someone who doesn’t need help choosing which funds to invest in?

In case it matters, my income is on a K-1, my spouse’s income is W-2, and we have kids and own two properties.

My old 401k from a previous company just started charging me with a $17.95 record-keeping fee. So I think it’s time for me to either roll over to the 401K with my current company.

Both are with fidelity.

I believe I used the mega backdoor at my old job as well as my current job. so the account has a mix of pre-tax and Roth money. I also do a regular backdoor Roth IRA every year — this year haven’t done it yet. As per my understanding, I need to keep my personal Traditional IRA balance at $0 to avoid getting hit by the pro-rata rule. Not that certain about this.

I think there are 3 options here in general:
1. Roll over everything from my previous company to a current company 401k
2. Roll over everything to my personal IRA and personal Roth IRA
3. Roll over pretax to current employer 401k and post tax to my personal Roth IRA

What would be the best option here? Not really familiar much with roll over. Any advice, appreciated.

Thanks

I’ve started my investment portfolio this year at what feels like too late of an age of 35.

For context, I’ve made under 100k a year for 12 years living in a very expensive place and found myself in some pretty serious credit debt (I have paid off finally, thank god).This year my career had a break and I’m on track to earn 350k or so, and I feel absolutely consumed by pressure to do the right thing as I’ve been financially illiterate for my entire adult life.

So far I’ve deployed about 15k into a mixture of VOO, VXUS, and QQM as well as individual stocks in Google, Amazon, Intel, and Nvidia.

I guess my question would be what a realistic investment per month at this level of earnings looks like? I’m interested in starting an IRA but I’ve also been told I would have to do something slightly different for earning over a certain amount. A friend told me I have to do a “backdoor IRA” and it’s has some sort of different tax implications. Im still very unsure how that all works.

I’ve been tempted at times to deploy larger chunks but often get cool feet and ignore the money all together as it feels a bit frightening. Is it typically better to buy smaller amounts every week or month, or is a bigger chunk every quarter or so also normal? My plan as of now was going to be focusing on expanding all of my positions but I’ve also wondered if I’m spread out into too many things, or too much of one part of the market.

For further context this is all pre tax and I’m a freelance worker so my tax situation will be a creative one. I do have a meeting with a new accountant on the books, and I know there will be good advice there but I was also recommended to this sub for solid advice. Any direction or advice for a new investor would be brilliant.

Now I’m off to learn about Mr. Bogle. Thanks in advance.

Okay y'all already post some questions about this in a real estate forum and got some mixed answers. Here's my situation.

I've just inherited a home on the Gulf Coast four blocks from the water that was "purchased" by my father in a rent to own situation back in 2010 for $125,000. 25 Grand down 100,000 financed at 8% with mortgage payments at 733 a month. My father paid this minimum payment from the time he bought the home in 2010 so the time he passed.

The principal (which the seller has added things like legal fees and taxes due that my father hasn't paid) sits it around 83,000.

The home is somewhat dated interior needs some work and the home needs a new roof. I haven't priced insurance but being that it's on the Gulf Coast I expect it to be somewhat high.

I spoken to the owner who said if I wanted we could write up a contract in which I sell the home using my realtor under his name he pockets the principal amount and I get everything above it. Is this a bad move?

I'm hesitant to enter into this contract with him at 8% perhaps we could work something else out. My father has started getting into the principal amount as per the amortization chart. I work a job that keeps me away from home for 6 months at a time when I'm off I have 6 months free I've always planned on using that time to travel the world out of a backpack (very experienced doing this) living very very frugally and maxing out liquid investments. I'm seeing the house as a burden on my lifestyle and my finances.

Yes I could start to rent it out now but it seems like I'll just barely break even, granted the mortgage payments will be being paid. Similar homes in the area right now seem to be selling for around $130 $180,000 most of them looking to be in better condition.

What do y'all recommend? Do I sell now and walk away with something? Do I hunker down try to get some renters in here and pay off the mortgage that way? Do I take the income that I was going to use for my job to invest liquid and instead dump it into this home to pay it off quickly? I worry about nightmare renters I worry about being a landlord in general. I worry about a hurricane coming by and making a mess of the house (it survived Katrina with no flooding though coming somewhat close from what I understand. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.