Personal Finance Advice and Education! (9 Viewers)

[FUBAR]

Spoke to a financial planner today (CFP, fee based).

Fees seemed a bit high...

$1000 dollars for an initial meeting that I'd have to wait 2 weeks on while he researches my w2s, bank statements, tax returns, investments, savings, monthly expenses, etc.

From there it's $5000 per year. Which I realize includes Tax Prep, and on going planning, but I'm not sure I make enough money to justify that cost. Then again, I have enough money currently in stock options that a fee/% based guy may make a killing if those are reinvested and do well.

From guys who know these things (Dr D) does 5k per year seem a bit steep? His office is in one of the most affluent areas in the state, and that may be a big reason (he's used to dealing with bigger bucks?)

Wanted to get a sanity check on those types of fees.

small price for a millionaire.

 

[Tiger Fan]

Spoke to a financial planner today (CFP, fee based).

Fees seemed a bit high...

$1000 dollars for an initial meeting that I'd have to wait 2 weeks on while he researches my w2s, bank statements, tax returns, investments, savings, monthly expenses, etc.

From there it's $5000 per year. Which I realize includes Tax Prep, and on going planning, but I'm not sure I make enough money to justify that cost. Then again, I have enough money currently in stock options that a fee/% based guy may make a killing if those are reinvested and do well.

From guys who know these things (Dr D) does 5k per year seem a bit steep? His office is in one of the most affluent areas in the state, and that may be a big reason (he's used to dealing with bigger bucks?)

Wanted to get a sanity check on those types of fees.

small price for a millionaire.

disagree. there are a lot of millionairie who get there by not wasting money. spending $5k/year as opposed to $1k/year can make a big difference....even for a millionaire

 

[SeveredHorseHeads]

I wouldn't spend 5k a year for someone to pick a bunch of mutual funds for me to invest in.

 

[mquinnjr]

Spoke to a financial planner today (CFP, fee based).

Fees seemed a bit high...

$1000 dollars for an initial meeting that I'd have to wait 2 weeks on while he researches my w2s, bank statements, tax returns, investments, savings, monthly expenses, etc.

From there it's $5000 per year. Which I realize includes Tax Prep, and on going planning, but I'm not sure I make enough money to justify that cost. Then again, I have enough money currently in stock options that a fee/% based guy may make a killing if those are reinvested and do well.

From guys who know these things (Dr D) does 5k per year seem a bit steep? His office is in one of the most affluent areas in the state, and that may be a big reason (he's used to dealing with bigger bucks?)

Wanted to get a sanity check on those types of fees.

That seems extremely high IMO. Mine is about $1000/year. I initially went filled out a packet with all of that info and they input it all in to generate a report and that drove our conversation from there. I use Ameriprise FWIW.

Thanks - ok - it did seem high.

This guy, like I said, likely handles multi millionaires given his location. This is likely the reason why the cost is so high.

mquinnjr and I both live in this area, he can attest to the money out here on the Main Line. (I'm just a renter of condo and way out of place amongst all these Drs. )

Yeah man, here's a good Wiki on the area: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Main_Line

I am definitely not High Society, lol, I rent an apartment that is technically on the Main Line. It's nice and well kept, and the neighborhood is great. Actually from a rent and tax perspective, it's like stealing vs. living in Philadelphia for what you get vs. what you pay.

But yeah, I'm a far cry from the typical clientele and generations of old money your guy is advising/managing on a daily basis I'd have to imagine.

 

[Tiger Fan]

I wouldn't spend 5k a year for someone to pick a bunch of mutual funds for me to invest in.

If you're actually a multi-millionaire running a business. Why wouldn't you pay someone $5k to do just this and also make sure everything else you're doing is tax advantageous?

b/c you could perhaps do it for less

 

[wilked]

I wouldn't spend 5k a year for someone to pick a bunch of mutual funds for me to invest in.

Exactly, do it yourself.

Decide what you value your time as (maybe it is $20/hr, maybe $50/hr, maybe more). Divide $5000/that rate and if the number is > 20 than spend a few hours each month and do it yourself. It is not rocket science.

 

[John Bender]

Well one of the services he provides is tax prep and planning.

My taxes this year are going to be egregious. He may be able to save me 5k the way he talks, but still...too pricey.

I'm not a millionaire. A lot of my salary comes from bonuses and restricted stocks, which makes knowing a tax sharp, more appealing for me as opposed to just a straight CFP. I just happened to have 2 years in which my bonuses were maxed out every quarter due to the industry and made 150% on top of my salary just in bonuses. i've also stupidly never purchased any of my options and now they are worth a lot of dough.

Every year isn't going to be like that, especially not this year. I'll likely make just over half of what I did last year. Which makes a perpetual 5K a year not such a great deal.

I'm going to consult with one more guy - if not, it's time to start reading books and learn to do this myself.

 

[wilked]

Once again...it is not rocket science. Surely you must have a decent aptitude to be making 150% bonuses

Bonuses are taxed as supplemental income and you have two choices on how to deal with it

http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/2011/12/09/bonus-time-how-bonuses-are-taxed-and-treated-by-the-irs/

Most likely you would do the first. It is a separate line item on your 1040 but it is easy enough to handle

Stock options maybe are a little trickier but if you sat down and read through the paperwork my guess is they are not too tough to handle. You have an option to buy a number of shares at a certain price. If the current value > option price it is in your favor to exercise those options. Sometimes you can delay when you exercise the options and you can make judgment on when to exercise them, but overall the basic premise is fairly easy to digest.

As for tax handling, maybe that gets a little trickier and you hire a CPA as needed, but for ####'s sake don't pay a CPA or 'tax sharp' $1000-5000 to prepare taxes for you

 

[John Bender]

Once again...it is not rocket science. Surely you must have a decent aptitude to be making 150% bonuses

Bonuses are taxed as supplemental income and you have two choices on how to deal with it

http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/2011/12/09/bonus-time-how-bonuses-are-taxed-and-treated-by-the-irs/

Most likely you would do the first. It is a separate line item on your 1040 but it is easy enough to handle

Stock options maybe are a little trickier but if you sat down and read through the paperwork my guess is they are not too tough to handle. You have an option to buy a number of shares at a certain price. If the current value > option price it is in your favor to exercise those options. Sometimes you can delay when you exercise the options and you can make judgment on when to exercise them, but overall the basic premise is fairly easy to digest.

As for tax handling, maybe that gets a little trickier and you hire a CPA as needed, but for ####'s sake don't pay a CPA or 'tax sharp' $1000-5000 to prepare taxes for you

I got it wilked...

I'm not the Otis of the diet world, in here, asking for advice and then not following it.

House search is on hold.

I checked with some advisors and spoke to 4 already as suggested earlier.

I've ordered 2 books on investing and financial planning.

I plan to educate myself and become self sufficient accordingly at this point.

Just wanted some basic feedback on why those fees were what they were.

Thank you for the direction - I will be following it. I may chime in with a few dumb questions going forward, but it'll all a part of advancing my own knowledge and becoming more aware and efficient.

 

[wilked]

I am willing to hire myself out as needed for you JB, $50/hr (at least half of what these other guys want, probably 25%). Send me the paperwork on the options and I will model all the scenarios for you, will spend whatever it takes to explain the concepts clearly so you have a strong understanding of how they work

 

[John Bender]

I am willing to hire myself out as needed for you JB, $50/hr (at least half of what these other guys want, probably 25%). Send me the paperwork on the options and I will model all the scenarios for you, will spend whatever it takes to explain the concepts clearly so you have a strong understanding of how they work

Assuming discretion assured...

Do you have some familiarity on the tax side of things (that's the real issue)?

And do you have any ability to use gotomypc or the like? It's easier to log into my portfolio and show you want's what as opposed to collecting statements where I wouldn't even really understand what I'm looking for?

 

[wilked]

I think most of these guys bill at $125-200 / hr. For the initial meetup they will spend time info-gathering (let's say 2 hours), later translating all of that into a canned excel or other program they have set up that feeds into graphs used for a report (say 3-4 hours). At that point they might double back with you to fill in gaps (1 hour), update their models (1 hour), then write up and package the report (2 hours). Later you will meet face to face to explain the report and answer any questions (2 hours).

Add em up and you got 12 hours @ 200/hr = $2400. I see $2500 quoted usually for initial financial meeting. After that they will probably charge you an annual maintenance fee of $1000 to update their models and have another meeting with you

 

[No. 16]

Regarding Vanguard Index Funds. I see that the "Admiral" Funds have lower expense ratios VTSAX (.05%) vs VTSMX (.17%) due to the higher minimum fund price 10k vs 3k. If you buy 10k worth of VTSAX, can you buy less than 10k worth of VTSAX in the future and still get the lower expense rate or do you always have to buy in at least 10k worth?

 

[wilked]

I am willing to hire myself out as needed for you JB, $50/hr (at least half of what these other guys want, probably 25%). Send me the paperwork on the options and I will model all the scenarios for you, will spend whatever it takes to explain the concepts clearly so you have a strong understanding of how they work

Assuming discretion assured...

Do you have some familiarity on the tax side of things (that's the real issue)?

And do you have any ability to use gotomypc or the like? It's easier to log into my portfolio and show you want's what as opposed to collecting statements where I wouldn't even really understand what I'm looking for?

we should probably take it to PM, but - I have a desktop sharing I can set up. Full discretion, we could even draft something if you were concerned. I am far from a CPA, my knowledge is more on general finance (stuff being discussed here), but I do my taxes myself by hand and am certain I could handle the tax nuances of everything you have mentioned (house, bonuses, high earner consequences, and stock options)

 

[wilked]

Regarding Vanguard Index Funds. I see that the "Admiral" Funds have lower expense ratios VTSAX (.05%) vs VTSMX (.17%) due to the higher minimum fund price 10k vs 3k. If you buy 10k worth of VTSAX, can you buy less than 10k worth of VTSAX in the future and still get the lower expense rate or do you always have to buy in at least 10k worth?

so long as your total > $10K you get Admiral status. They automatically switch you should your balance fall below $10K for that fund.

 

[Gamma1210]

Once again...it is not rocket science. Surely you must have a decent aptitude to be making 150% bonuses

Bonuses are taxed as supplemental income and you have two choices on how to deal with it

http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/2011/12/09/bonus-time-how-bonuses-are-taxed-and-treated-by-the-irs/

Most likely you would do the first. It is a separate line item on your 1040 but it is easy enough to handle

Stock options maybe are a little trickier but if you sat down and read through the paperwork my guess is they are not too tough to handle. You have an option to buy a number of shares at a certain price. If the current value > option price it is in your favor to exercise those options. Sometimes you can delay when you exercise the options and you can make judgment on when to exercise them, but overall the basic premise is fairly easy to digest.

As for tax handling, maybe that gets a little trickier and you hire a CPA as needed, but for ####'s sake don't pay a CPA or 'tax sharp' $1000-5000 to prepare taxes for you

I got it wilked...

I'm not the Otis of the diet world, in here, asking for advice and then not following it.

House search is on hold.

I checked with some advisors and spoke to 4 already as suggested earlier.

I've ordered 2 books on investing and financial planning.

I plan to educate myself and become self sufficient accordingly at this point.

Just wanted some basic feedback on why those fees were what they were.

Thank you for the direction - I will be following it. I may chime in with a few dumb questions going forward, but it'll all a part of advancing my own knowledge and becoming more aware and efficient.

Bender,

I have all three types of options through my company also. If you have any specific questions, I can probably answer them, especially the NQs and ISOs. Based on your other post, your RSUs seem setup slightly differently than mine.

 

[John Bender]

Once again...it is not rocket science. Surely you must have a decent aptitude to be making 150% bonuses

Bonuses are taxed as supplemental income and you have two choices on how to deal with it

http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/2011/12/09/bonus-time-how-bonuses-are-taxed-and-treated-by-the-irs/

Most likely you would do the first. It is a separate line item on your 1040 but it is easy enough to handle

Stock options maybe are a little trickier but if you sat down and read through the paperwork my guess is they are not too tough to handle. You have an option to buy a number of shares at a certain price. If the current value > option price it is in your favor to exercise those options. Sometimes you can delay when you exercise the options and you can make judgment on when to exercise them, but overall the basic premise is fairly easy to digest.

As for tax handling, maybe that gets a little trickier and you hire a CPA as needed, but for ####'s sake don't pay a CPA or 'tax sharp' $1000-5000 to prepare taxes for you

I got it wilked...

I'm not the Otis of the diet world, in here, asking for advice and then not following it.

House search is on hold.

I checked with some advisors and spoke to 4 already as suggested earlier.

I've ordered 2 books on investing and financial planning.

I plan to educate myself and become self sufficient accordingly at this point.

Just wanted some basic feedback on why those fees were what they were.

Thank you for the direction - I will be following it. I may chime in with a few dumb questions going forward, but it'll all a part of advancing my own knowledge and becoming more aware and efficient.

Bender,

I have all three types of options through my company also. If you have any specific questions, I can probably answer them, especially the NQs and ISOs. Based on your other post, your RSUs seem setup slightly differently than mine.

You in Jersey?

Come join mquinn and I for Quizzo tomorrow night IMO (beer on me!)

I can PM you - I appreciate it!

 

[Gamma1210]

Once again...it is not rocket science. Surely you must have a decent aptitude to be making 150% bonuses

Bonuses are taxed as supplemental income and you have two choices on how to deal with it

http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/2011/12/09/bonus-time-how-bonuses-are-taxed-and-treated-by-the-irs/

Most likely you would do the first. It is a separate line item on your 1040 but it is easy enough to handle

Stock options maybe are a little trickier but if you sat down and read through the paperwork my guess is they are not too tough to handle. You have an option to buy a number of shares at a certain price. If the current value > option price it is in your favor to exercise those options. Sometimes you can delay when you exercise the options and you can make judgment on when to exercise them, but overall the basic premise is fairly easy to digest.

As for tax handling, maybe that gets a little trickier and you hire a CPA as needed, but for ####'s sake don't pay a CPA or 'tax sharp' $1000-5000 to prepare taxes for you

I got it wilked...

I'm not the Otis of the diet world, in here, asking for advice and then not following it.

House search is on hold.

I checked with some advisors and spoke to 4 already as suggested earlier.

I've ordered 2 books on investing and financial planning.

I plan to educate myself and become self sufficient accordingly at this point.

Just wanted some basic feedback on why those fees were what they were.

Thank you for the direction - I will be following it. I may chime in with a few dumb questions going forward, but it'll all a part of advancing my own knowledge and becoming more aware and efficient.

Bender,

I have all three types of options through my company also. If you have any specific questions, I can probably answer them, especially the NQs and ISOs. Based on your other post, your RSUs seem setup slightly differently than mine.

You in Jersey?

Come join mquinn and I for Quizzo tomorrow night IMO (beer on me!)

I can PM you - I appreciate it!

Yeah in northern NJ. No promises I know all the details for your company and I'm not a professional, just have dealt with the taxes for these a bunch.

 

[No. 16]

Regarding Vanguard Index Funds. I see that the "Admiral" Funds have lower expense ratios VTSAX (.05%) vs VTSMX (.17%) due to the higher minimum fund price 10k vs 3k. If you buy 10k worth of VTSAX, can you buy less than 10k worth of VTSAX in the future and still get the lower expense rate or do you always have to buy in at least 10k worth?

so long as your total > $10K you get Admiral status. They automatically switch you should your balance fall below $10K for that fund.

Thanks.

What are you guys opinion on getting a piece of International Stock Index and REIT? Just trying to pick your brains some.

I'm still going to be 100% stock since I want to keep my exposure to the stock market at least 80% and ideally 90% (since I am 30 years old) and Vanguard index fund minimum is 3k and I only have 5.5 last year (VTSMX) and 5.5 this year to play with in my ROTH. Though I could buy 3k this year in bonds and that would put me at almost 30% which is the more traditional path.

 

[RUSF18]

I went about 90% VFIAX (US) and 10% VTIAX (International). Didn't want to go down the REIT path just yet.

 

[FUBAR]

Well one of the services he provides is tax prep and planning.

My taxes this year are going to be egregious. He may be able to save me 5k the way he talks, but still...too pricey.

I'm not a millionaire. A lot of my salary comes from bonuses and restricted stocks, which makes knowing a tax sharp, more appealing for me as opposed to just a straight CFP. I just happened to have 2 years in which my bonuses were maxed out every quarter due to the industry and made 150% on top of my salary just in bonuses. i've also stupidly never purchased any of my options and now they are worth a lot of dough.

Every year isn't going to be like that, especially not this year. I'll likely make just over half of what I did last year. Which makes a perpetual 5K a year not such a great deal.

I'm going to consult with one more guy - if not, it's time to start reading books and learn to do this myself.

understand the 5k dude might not be the best choice. (I was only being somewhat serious with that comment) but taxes in your position are going to be a key.

For me, I don't pay anyone and won't, because our financial picture is simple. I have a set allocation that I've gone back to - although there may be disagreement on whether it's ideal, it's certainly not costing me that much if I'm wrong. Your situation is different.

 

[FUBAR]

I went about 90% VFIAX (US) and 10% VTIAX (International). Didn't want to go down the REIT path just yet.

any specific reason why?

 

[RUSF18]

I went about 90% VFIAX (US) and 10% VTIAX (International). Didn't want to go down the REIT path just yet.

any specific reason why?

More about my own ignorance of them beyond the basics. With an industry-specific focus, I don't feel as comfortable as I am investing in a diverse fund.

 

[rascal]

Thinking about setting up ugma/utma, but worried about impact to financial assistance for college? How do I get around that?

 

[John Bender]

The links mquinn provided on taxes have help immensely with my stop options taxes.

It appears, this is the story - feel free for anyone to smack me if I'm wrong....

ISOs -

Exercise them whenever you want -

If held for more than 1 year after exercise date: Pay 20% Long Term Capital Gains Taxes.

If held for less than 1 year after exercise date: They essentially become Non-qualified and are taxed as per below.

(Question: Are these not only taxed for the Long Term Capital Gains but additionally added to my income via w2 so I wind up paying income tax on them as well? Or is it just the one time 20%?)

NQs (non qualified)

Exercise them - but note you are taxed based on your income tax bracket rate upon exercising them - the gains are essentially added to your W2 and you pay your income tax percentage on them come tax season

If held for more than 1 year after exercise date: you additionally will pay the 20% long term capital gains taxes as well.

(Question: What happens if I exercise and sell NQs less than a year after exercising them? They are already taxed as income and Capital Gains, is there an ADDITIONAL penalty for paying them and classifying them as Short Term Capital gains for these?)

Fix where I'm wrong....

I'll dig into RSUs next, but I'm pretty sure I understand these.

 

[dino259]

Regarding Vanguard Index Funds. I see that the "Admiral" Funds have lower expense ratios VTSAX (.05%) vs VTSMX (.17%) due to the higher minimum fund price 10k vs 3k. If you buy 10k worth of VTSAX, can you buy less than 10k worth of VTSAX in the future and still get the lower expense rate or do you always have to buy in at least 10k worth?

so long as your total > $10K you get Admiral status. They automatically switch you should your balance fall below $10K for that fund.

This.

Also, if you start out at lower, say, 3k, and keep depositing, once you reach the 10K, they'll ask if you just want to switch over to Admiral shares (and, I believe, at no cost).

That is what happened for me.

 

[ghostguy123]

Jesus I need to reed an investment book for dummies. I know 100% I should spend time on this, but for some dumb ### lazy reason I don't

Look one post up.

Right, that post is why I made my post. Anyone else vouch for that book? Looks like something I should get (2014 version on ebay for 21 bucks).

Anyway, this is info on the Vanguard fund i was thinking of switching my money into. For whoever knows, let me know if this is a good one to be in.

Vanguard Institutional Index Fund Institutional Shares

• Symbol: VINIX

Large Blend

Inception 7/31/90

Exp Ratio (Gross) 0.04%

Exp Ratio (Net) 0.04%

Turnover Rate 6%

Management fee 0.04%
Not even sure what some of that means. Just wanna know if this is a good one to put large amount of the retirement into

One difference I definitely see between this and the target date fund I am using is the Exp ratios.

Exp ratio (Gross) 0.31%

Exp ratio (Net) 0.2%

Seems the 4-5% the cost would sure add up. Seems like the target date would fund would have to pretty significantly outperform the Vanguard fund just to make up for those fees over the long haul. Am I right on that?

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Once again...it is not rocket science. Surely you must have a decent aptitude to be making 150% bonuses

Bonuses are taxed as supplemental income and you have two choices on how to deal with it

http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/2011/12/09/bonus-time-how-bonuses-are-taxed-and-treated-by-the-irs/

Most likely you would do the first. It is a separate line item on your 1040 but it is easy enough to handle

Stock options maybe are a little trickier but if you sat down and read through the paperwork my guess is they are not too tough to handle. You have an option to buy a number of shares at a certain price. If the current value > option price it is in your favor to exercise those options. Sometimes you can delay when you exercise the options and you can make judgment on when to exercise them, but overall the basic premise is fairly easy to digest.

As for tax handling, maybe that gets a little trickier and you hire a CPA as needed, but for ####'s sake don't pay a CPA or 'tax sharp' $1000-5000 to prepare taxes for you

I got it wilked...

I'm not the Otis of the diet world, in here, asking for advice and then not following it.

House search is on hold.

I checked with some advisors and spoke to 4 already as suggested earlier.

I've ordered 2 books on investing and financial planning.

I plan to educate myself and become self sufficient accordingly at this point.

Just wanted some basic feedback on why those fees were what they were.

Thank you for the direction - I will be following it. I may chime in with a few dumb questions going forward, but it'll all a part of advancing my own knowledge and becoming more aware and efficient.

Bender,

I have all three types of options through my company also. If you have any specific questions, I can probably answer them, especially the NQs and ISOs. Based on your other post, your RSUs seem setup slightly differently than mine.

You in Jersey?

Come join mquinn and I for Quizzo tomorrow night IMO (beer on me!)

I can PM you - I appreciate it!

which quizzo we talking about here? under-wealthy main liner here also.

 

[No. 16]

The electronic edition should be cheaper.

 

[John Bender]

Just wanted to say thank you to all the help given in this thread and via PM by various folks (as well as in person by a gb fbg)

I have read 2 books, talked to 2 accountants, 3 financial planners, and the gentleman who manages my company stock options.

I've learned about cashless exercises, back door Roth's, tax implications of all types of stock options, etc etc.

I'm in a pretty spot of understanding things at this point - not only my tax implications, but re-investing for the future as well.

Will be making some decisions in the coming weeks. Wilked was spot on, this is not rocket science. You just have to be eager to educate yourself.

Gracias all.

 

[John Bender]

BTW

Anyone know of any modeling software or have a modeling spreadsheet that can help with respect to stock option purchase/sales and includes in it's formulas taxes I'll need to hold back?

Looking for something that I can in put numbers and have it spit it out how much I can take out as liquid or reinvest and how much should be held back for tax implications.

Surely, this exists somewhere.

 

[Gamma1210]

BTW

Anyone know of any modeling software or have a modeling spreadsheet that can help with respect to stock option purchase/sales and includes in it's formulas taxes I'll need to hold back?

Looking for something that I can in put numbers and have it spit it out how much I can take out as liquid or reinvest and how much should be held back for tax implications.

Surely, this exists somewhere.

My company stock options are through etrade and they have this built in. Not the most user friendly but it is useful for understanding taxes to withhold. What broker are your options through?

 

[John Bender]

BTW

Anyone know of any modeling software or have a modeling spreadsheet that can help with respect to stock option purchase/sales and includes in it's formulas taxes I'll need to hold back?

Looking for something that I can in put numbers and have it spit it out how much I can take out as liquid or reinvest and how much should be held back for tax implications.

Surely, this exists somewhere.

My company stock options are through etrade and they have this built in. Not the most user friendly but it is useful for understanding taxes to withhold. What broker are your options through?

Morgan Stanley

They just upgraded their website for these things and there is a model option. Haven't played around with it enough however to see if it helps with the tax side of things as well.

ETA: their models only allow you to model for different types of individual options. I'd like a place to combine all of the ISO, NQs, and RSUs into one place. Spreadsheet seems the most ideal.

 

[belljr]

I need to get better educated. I know the basics and I don't dabble in the stock market but probably should or at least understand things better,

 

[FUBAR]

I need to get better educated. I know the basics and I don't dabble in the stock market but probably should or at least understand things better,

no, you shouldn't dabble in the stock market.

you should however, invest.

 

[mquinnjr]

Anybody on here use the Robinhood app? I just got an invite, and can send out up to 3 if anyone wants one, so PM me if so.

Here's the trading fee schedule: https://brokerage-static.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/robinhood/legal/RHF%20Retail%20Commisions%20and%20Fees%20Schedule%20Rhfv1.2%2020131210.pdf

Looks like a pretty cool concept. I'm putting $1 in to give the site a spin and see how it looks/feels. $0 commission trading.

 

[Mystery Achiever]

Anybody on here use the Robinhood app? I just got an invite, and can send out up to 3 if anyone wants one, so PM me if so.

Here's the trading fee schedule: https://brokerage-static.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/robinhood/legal/RHF%20Retail%20Commisions%20and%20Fees%20Schedule%20Rhfv1.2%2020131210.pdf

Looks like a pretty cool concept. I'm putting $1 in to give the site a spin and see how it looks/feels. $0 commission trading.

They were on cnbc today. I wasn't really paying attention, but here's the segment.

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000361324&play=1

 

[wilked]

JB, I would make my own spreadsheet. Even if there was a ready made tool I wouldn't trust it (I think tax impact is too personal and must be customized)

 

[belljr]

I need to get better educated. I know the basics and I don't dabble in the stock market but probably should or at least understand things better,

no, you shouldn't dabble in the stock market.

you should however, invest.

i do in various ira, roth and 401k. But that's it for now

 

[John Bender]

JB, I would make my own spreadsheet. Even if there was a ready made tool I wouldn't trust it (I think tax impact is too personal and must be customized)

Thanks wilked.

Guess it's time for me to post in the Excel thread next with all of my clueless questions

Should be easy enough.

ETA: Actually this will be tricky if you aren't an excel guru. I'd like it to be pretty dynamic and estimate project my year end salary at any time based on bonuses (Averaged) out, take into account all 3 types of stocks and the taxes I've already paid on them or will pay on them, etc etc.

Fun little weekend project IMO

 

[wilked]

It still doesn't sound that tricky. I would do a sensitivity analysis on salary (bonus levels), then on the 3 types of stocks. I would figure 1-2 hrs to set up, and an hour to model and arrange results

 

[rascal]

Thinking about setting up ugma/utma, but worried about impact to financial assistance for college? How do I get around that?

bump

 

[rascal]

Vanguard has a cool tool to help you decide which portfolio matches your risk, goals, etc.

Did mine and it came out with:

49% VTI

21% VXUS

24% BND

6% BNDX

 

[NutterButter]

Vanguard has a cool tool to help you decide which portfolio matches your risk, goals, etc.

Did mine and it came out with:

49% VTI

21% VXUS

24% BND

6% BNDX

Where do you find it on the site?

 

[John Bender]

It still doesn't sound that tricky. I would do a sensitivity analysis on salary (bonus levels), then on the 3 types of stocks. I would figure 1-2 hrs to set up, and an hour to model and arrange results

Shouldn't be too bad, but making it a bit more dynamic is not my strong suit with Excel. I know you're the Excel master

Probably going to take 3-4 hours for me to figure it all out and format at it the way I like it.

Definitely going to get cracking on it this weekend.

 

[rascal]

Vanguard has a cool tool to help you decide which portfolio matches your risk, goals, etc.

Did mine and it came out with:

49% VTI

21% VXUS

24% BND

6% BNDX

Where do you find it on the site?

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/etf/tools/recommendation?reset=true

 

[ghostguy123]

Right, that post is why I made my post. Anyone else vouch for that book? Looks like something I should get (2014 version on ebay for 21 bucks).

Anyway, this is info on the Vanguard fund i was thinking of switching my money into. For whoever knows, let me know if this is a good one to be in.

Vanguard Institutional Index Fund Institutional Shares

• Symbol: VINIX

Large Blend

Inception 7/31/90

Exp Ratio (Gross) 0.04%

Exp Ratio (Net) 0.04%

Turnover Rate 6%

Management fee 0.04%
Not even sure what some of that means. Just wanna know if this is a good one to put large amount of the retirement into

One difference I definitely see between this and the target date fund I am using is the Exp ratios.

Exp ratio (Gross) 0.31%

Exp ratio (Net) 0.2%

Seems the .4-5% the cost would sure add up. Seems like the target date would fund would have to pretty significantly outperform the Vanguard fund just to make up for those fees over the long haul. Am I right on that?

Sorry to quote myself, but was hoping someone with some knowledge would enlighten me as to whether or not this is a good swap to make, putting money into this Vanguard

 

[inca911]

Sorry to quote myself, but was hoping someone with some knowledge would enlighten me as to whether or not this is a good swap to make, putting money into this Vanguard

Absolutely. You have the lowest possible expense ration on Vanguard with Admiral Shares. It's fire and forget investing trending to the S&P 500, although you are rather exposed to market downturns if you plan to retire anytime soon. I just recommended this fund in the PBS Frontline thread as the poster child for long term index fund investing. Lots of good advice in that thread.

 

[ghostguy123]

Sorry to quote myself, but was hoping someone with some knowledge would enlighten me as to whether or not this is a good swap to make, putting money into this Vanguard

Absolutely. You have the lowest possible expense ration on Vanguard with Admiral Shares. It's fire and forget investing trending to the S&P 500, although you are rather exposed to market downturns if you plan to retire anytime soon. I just recommended this fund in the PBS Frontline thread as the poster child for long term index fund investing. Lots of good advice in that thread.

I am 35, and don't see retirement in the next 20 years.

And I very much prefer to "set it and forget it" with investing. I think the more changes I personally make the more I will F things up.

 

[ghostguy123]

I got the Boglehead book, 2014 version.

Not too far in, maybe 60 pages just talking about the different types of investments and stuff.

They seem to be pimping Vanguard pretty hard obviously. For anyone who has read the book, is this just going to be a 300 page version of saying "invest in Vanguard"?