Who holds your Solo 401k?
- new2bogle2
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Who holds your Solo 401k?
I use VG for my Roth (max it every year). I am self employed. I have read a whole number of different things online but want to talk here with like-minded investors. Also I think there is a whole wealth of trusted information that can be obtained here from bogleheads, and the internet is filled with information that cannot be trusted.
At the moment, I still qualify for my Roth, I do hope one day that I make enough money to not qualify, but I think I am (at least) a few years away from that success, of course the sooner the better and of course I may never reach such limits. My wife and I file together and the past couple years we only average a few thousand over $100k in taxable income.
If there is any other information I could answer, to help me select the correct place to hold my 401k, please ask. thanks.
At the moment, I still qualify for my Roth, I do hope one day that I make enough money to not qualify, but I think I am (at least) a few years away from that success, of course the sooner the better and of course I may never reach such limits. My wife and I file together and the past couple years we only average a few thousand over $100k in taxable income.
If there is any other information I could answer, to help me select the correct place to hold my 401k, please ask. thanks.
Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Vanguard for mine.
Other custodians plans can be useful if you both have other non-Roth IRAs and make too much to
contribute directly to a Roth IRA. Other custodians also offer products other than VG mutual funds. Neither of these restrictions bothered me.
Other custodians plans can be useful if you both have other non-Roth IRAs and make too much to
contribute directly to a Roth IRA. Other custodians also offer products other than VG mutual funds. Neither of these restrictions bothered me.
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Ameritrade. We had some traditional IRAs we needed to rollover, and Vanguard doesn't support that. Ameritrade offers most Vanguard ETFs without a commission, though. It was fairly easy to setup.
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Vanguard doesn't offer Admiral shares or ETFs in their i401k plans.
- new2bogle2
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
are their regular shares still low enough fees, or can you find lower fees at other places for a i401k?placeholder wrote:Vanguard doesn't offer Admiral shares or ETFs in their i401k plans.
- new2bogle2
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
do I have this correct: Ameritrade offers some/most VG ETFs in a person's i401k without a commission, but VG itself offers 0 such ETF's in that same person's i401k?chrysogonus wrote: Ameritrade offers most Vanguard ETFs without a commission, though.
- bertie wooster
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Mine is managed by fidelity. Their spartan funds are excellent and I'm pretty happy with them.
Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Fidelity
"One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity" –Bruce Lee
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
TD Ameritrade.
- TheTimeLord
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Fidelity, they were just a lot easier to work with and more helpful than Vanguard. Vanguard was also limited in your investment options. On the plus side for Vanguard they offered a solo Roth option that Fidelity does not.
Last edited by TheTimeLord on Mon Sep 22, 2014 10:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Vanguard only offers Vanguard mutual funds, investor shares. There is no brokerage option.new2bogle2 wrote:do I have this correct: Ameritrade offers some/most VG ETFs in a person's i401k without a commission, but VG itself offers 0 such ETF's in that same person's i401k?chrysogonus wrote: Ameritrade offers most Vanguard ETFs without a commission, though.
Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Fidelity, but only because Vanguard wasn't offering solos at the time I set it up.
It still has Vanguard ETFs in it.
It still has Vanguard ETFs in it.
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Correct. The only two ETFs that are not commission free that I wish were are VXUS and VNQI. The fullnlist is on their site.new2bogle2 wrote:do I have this correct: Ameritrade offers some/most VG ETFs in a person's i401k without a commission, but VG itself offers 0 such ETF's in that same person's i401k?chrysogonus wrote: Ameritrade offers most Vanguard ETFs without a commission, though.
Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Fidelity here as well. 9 years ago when I created mine the only Vanguard option was through a third party.
No customer service issues.
No customer service issues.
- White Coat Investor
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Mine is at Vanguard, but there are good reasons to go somewhere else:
http://whitecoatinvestor.com/where-to-o ... solo-401k/
Etrade, for instance, should get a mention on this thread.
http://whitecoatinvestor.com/where-to-o ... solo-401k/
Etrade, for instance, should get a mention on this thread.
1) Invest you must 2) Time is your friend 3) Impulse is your enemy |
4) Basic arithmetic works 5) Stick to simplicity 6) Stay the course
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Fidelity for me, as well.
Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
We also use Fidelity. Vanguard would be my second choice.bertie wooster wrote:Mine is managed by fidelity. Their spartan funds are excellent and I'm pretty happy with them.
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
+1EmergDoc wrote:Mine is at Vanguard, but there are good reasons to go somewhere else:
http://whitecoatinvestor.com/where-to-o ... solo-401k/
Etrade, for instance, should get a mention on this thread.
The finest, albeit the most difficult, of all human achievements is being reasonable.
- new2bogle2
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
EmergDoc wrote:Mine is at Vanguard, but there are good reasons to go somewhere else:
http://whitecoatinvestor.com/where-to-o ... solo-401k/
Etrade, for instance, should get a mention on this thread.
I hadn't thought of Etrade - what are some advantages Etrade offers that others don't?
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Why not more for TDAmeritrade as they have 100 commission free ETFs with no minimum limits that have many Vanguard ETFs? I looked at Fidelity and they do have low ER Spartan funds but many appear to have minimum limits of 2500 or 10k (Im just starting a solo 401k this year and don't have a lot of money yet to hit these minimums) and you also have to pay the trading fee everytime you buy/sell correct? If that is the case are most people only buying in at one time per year to minimize this cost? As I'm starting out would I maybe be better off using TDAmeritrade with the commission free ETFs and no limits until I build up a larger portfolio then switch to Fidelity or Vanguard? TIA
Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Few points. First, you don't pay trading fee when purchasing Fidelity Spartan funds. Second, their investment minimum in Spartan funds - investor shares in solo 401k accounts is $500, not the usual $2,500. And third, you can buy commission-free ETFs if you really prefer ETFs over MFs. I don't see any reason not to use Fidelity from the get to.huskerdoc2035 wrote:Why not more for TDAmeritrade as they have 100 commission free ETFs with no minimum limits that have many Vanguard ETFs? I looked at Fidelity and they do have low ER Spartan funds but many appear to have minimum limits of 2500 or 10k (Im just starting a solo 401k this year and don't have a lot of money yet to hit these minimums) and you also have to pay the trading fee everytime you buy/sell correct? If that is the case are most people only buying in at one time per year to minimize this cost? As I'm starting out would I maybe be better off using TDAmeritrade with the commission free ETFs and no limits until I build up a larger portfolio then switch to Fidelity or Vanguard? TIA
Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Often the fund minimums are different in 401(k) accounts. Vanguard Individual 401(k) waves fund minimums where the general minimum is less than $10k. For example Vanguard Total Stock Market Investor Shares $3k minimum is $0 minimum within a Vanguard i401(k).
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Thanks snowman, that's really helpful. I tried looking through their site but maybe needed to dig a little bit deeper. I also need to read some more to get a better understanding of the difference between ETFs and MFs. Several books I read seemed to make ETFs as the way to go and then I'm seeing more and more about funds on here.snowman wrote:Few points. First, you don't pay trading fee when purchasing Fidelity Spartan funds. Second, their investment minimum in Spartan funds - investor shares in solo 401k accounts is $500, not the usual $2,500. And third, you can buy commission-free ETFs if you really prefer ETFs over MFs. I don't see any reason not to use Fidelity from the get to.huskerdoc2035 wrote:Why not more for TDAmeritrade as they have 100 commission free ETFs with no minimum limits that have many Vanguard ETFs? I looked at Fidelity and they do have low ER Spartan funds but many appear to have minimum limits of 2500 or 10k (Im just starting a solo 401k this year and don't have a lot of money yet to hit these minimums) and you also have to pay the trading fee everytime you buy/sell correct? If that is the case are most people only buying in at one time per year to minimize this cost? As I'm starting out would I maybe be better off using TDAmeritrade with the commission free ETFs and no limits until I build up a larger portfolio then switch to Fidelity or Vanguard? TIA
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Thanks I appreciate that, I have a hard time teasing out those details from looking at their websites.JDDS wrote:Often the fund minimums are different in 401(k) accounts. Vanguard Individual 401(k) waves fund minimums where the general minimum is less than $10k. For example Vanguard Total Stock Market Investor Shares $3k minimum is $0 minimum within a Vanguard i401(k).
- new2bogle2
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
snowman wrote:Few points. First, you don't pay trading fee when purchasing Fidelity Spartan funds. Second, their investment minimum in Spartan funds - investor shares in solo 401k accounts is $500, not the usual $2,500. And third, you can buy commission-free ETFs if you really prefer ETFs over MFs. I don't see any reason not to use Fidelity from the get to.huskerdoc2035 wrote:Why not more for TDAmeritrade as they have 100 commission free ETFs with no minimum limits that have many Vanguard ETFs? I looked at Fidelity and they do have low ER Spartan funds but many appear to have minimum limits of 2500 or 10k (Im just starting a solo 401k this year and don't have a lot of money yet to hit these minimums) and you also have to pay the trading fee everytime you buy/sell correct? If that is the case are most people only buying in at one time per year to minimize this cost? As I'm starting out would I maybe be better off using TDAmeritrade with the commission free ETFs and no limits until I build up a larger portfolio then switch to Fidelity or Vanguard? TIA
sounds good snowman. are there any negatives to Fidelity as host of a 401k account??? anyone?
Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
I would suggest using a search function, there have been multiple discussions in the past year about advantages/disadvantages of all companies offering solo 401k accounts. Mine is with Fidelity, and I don't see any downside. However, they do not offer Roth, nor do they allow you to take out a loan. Other brokers have different limitations, so it really depends on what features/functions you are looking for.new2bogle2 wrote:snowman wrote:Few points. First, you don't pay trading fee when purchasing Fidelity Spartan funds. Second, their investment minimum in Spartan funds - investor shares in solo 401k accounts is $500, not the usual $2,500. And third, you can buy commission-free ETFs if you really prefer ETFs over MFs. I don't see any reason not to use Fidelity from the get to.huskerdoc2035 wrote:Why not more for TDAmeritrade as they have 100 commission free ETFs with no minimum limits that have many Vanguard ETFs? I looked at Fidelity and they do have low ER Spartan funds but many appear to have minimum limits of 2500 or 10k (Im just starting a solo 401k this year and don't have a lot of money yet to hit these minimums) and you also have to pay the trading fee everytime you buy/sell correct? If that is the case are most people only buying in at one time per year to minimize this cost? As I'm starting out would I maybe be better off using TDAmeritrade with the commission free ETFs and no limits until I build up a larger portfolio then switch to Fidelity or Vanguard? TIA
sounds good snowman. are there any negatives to Fidelity as host of a 401k account??? anyone?
Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Fidelity also doesn't make electronic contributions as easy as other providers. For some that matters not at all, but it was semi-important to me. There have been some great discussions here, and a general Google should turn up some blog comparisons of features among providers as well.snowman wrote:I would suggest using a search function, there have been multiple discussions in the past year about advantages/disadvantages of all companies offering solo 401k accounts. Mine is with Fidelity, and I don't see any downside. However, they do not offer Roth, nor do they allow you to take out a loan. Other brokers have different limitations, so it really depends on what features/functions you are looking for.new2bogle2 wrote:snowman wrote:Few points. First, you don't pay trading fee when purchasing Fidelity Spartan funds. Second, their investment minimum in Spartan funds - investor shares in solo 401k accounts is $500, not the usual $2,500. And third, you can buy commission-free ETFs if you really prefer ETFs over MFs. I don't see any reason not to use Fidelity from the get to.huskerdoc2035 wrote:Why not more for TDAmeritrade as they have 100 commission free ETFs with no minimum limits that have many Vanguard ETFs? I looked at Fidelity and they do have low ER Spartan funds but many appear to have minimum limits of 2500 or 10k (Im just starting a solo 401k this year and don't have a lot of money yet to hit these minimums) and you also have to pay the trading fee everytime you buy/sell correct? If that is the case are most people only buying in at one time per year to minimize this cost? As I'm starting out would I maybe be better off using TDAmeritrade with the commission free ETFs and no limits until I build up a larger portfolio then switch to Fidelity or Vanguard? TIA
sounds good snowman. are there any negatives to Fidelity as host of a 401k account??? anyone?
- new2bogle2
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
thanks snowman and jddsJDDS wrote: There have been some great discussions here, and a general Google should turn up some blog comparisons of features among providers as well.
- new2bogle2
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
are you also an Etrade supporter? care to explain in any more detail please (or anyone else)?oragne lovre wrote:+1EmergDoc wrote:Mine is at Vanguard, but there are good reasons to go somewhere else:
http://whitecoatinvestor.com/where-to-o ... solo-401k/
Etrade, for instance, should get a mention on this thread.
- new2bogle2
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
bertie wooster wrote:Mine is managed by fidelity. Their spartan funds are excellent and I'm pretty happy with them.
is the Spartan fund the S&P 500 index or the US Total Market Index?
Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
What is the fee to buy Vanguard funds in the Fidelity solo 401k? Is it worth it? I like to contribute weekly. Is it a fee every time you make a contribution? Or just the first time you buy the fund?
Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
new2bogle2 wrote:bertie wooster wrote:Mine is managed by fidelity. Their spartan funds are excellent and I'm pretty happy with them.
is the Spartan fund the S&P 500 index or the US Total Market Index?
Spartan is more like a brand or family of funds. There's a comparison to Vanguard on the wiki: http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Fidelity ... _investing
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Think of Spartan as a marketing label to convey meaning. Definition: suggestive of the ancient Spartans; sternly disciplined and rigorously simple, frugal, or austere. Which is pretty much what all index funds are. Vanguard and other competitive index funds are the same, but Fidelity marketing people like cute names for things.JDDS wrote:Spartan is more like a brand or family of funds. There's a comparison to Vanguard on the wiki: http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Fidelity ... _investingnew2bogle2 wrote:is the Spartan fund the S&P 500 index or the US Total Market Index?bertie wooster wrote:Mine is managed by fidelity. Their spartan funds are excellent and I'm pretty happy with them.
There are many Spartan (S&P 500, Total Market, TIPS, Total Bond Market, etc...) index funds.
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
I helped my daughter open up an Individual Roth 401k as a contract worker for the US Government with Vanguard because she has her general mutual fund account, her Roth IRA and her variable annuity with Vanguard.
I thought it would be a lot easier to roll over the Vanguard Individual Roth 401k to her Roth IRA after she gets a full time job with benefits.
It was pretty easy to open the Vanguard I Roth 401k as Vanguard does a lot of hand holding if you need it.
bill
I thought it would be a lot easier to roll over the Vanguard Individual Roth 401k to her Roth IRA after she gets a full time job with benefits.
It was pretty easy to open the Vanguard I Roth 401k as Vanguard does a lot of hand holding if you need it.
bill
- new2bogle2
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
ok got it, thanks!JDDS wrote:new2bogle2 wrote:bertie wooster wrote:Mine is managed by fidelity. Their spartan funds are excellent and I'm pretty happy with them.
is the Spartan fund the S&P 500 index or the US Total Market Index?
Spartan is more like a brand or family of funds. There's a comparison to Vanguard on the wiki: http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Fidelity ... _investing
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Re: Who holds your Solo 401k?
Schwab. Funded it today.
BTW, information on whitecoatinvestor says you can't do IRA rollovers. This is wrong, as I rolled in 2 IRAs today. They may not have realized they are listed as 403b plans in the solo 401k plan documents.
BTW, information on whitecoatinvestor says you can't do IRA rollovers. This is wrong, as I rolled in 2 IRAs today. They may not have realized they are listed as 403b plans in the solo 401k plan documents.