Best Company to Keep 401K/IRA With

[RainMaker]

I have an IRA on my own and an old 401k from a previous employer. Going to merge them and figured this would be the best time to move it to a new company if I want to.

Does anyone have any recommendations or does it not really matter? I can't decide between all the big names like Fidelity, ING, TD Ameritrade, etc.

[terpkristin]

What are the options for the old vs. the new in terms of funds available?

My job's 401k is through TRowe, though if I changed jobs, I'd be looking at the Morningstar rating for the funds/options available compared to my current plan for that....

My IRA and investment accounts are through Fidelity, mostly because that's what my mom recommended, and she plays the game a lot more than I do.

/tk

[RainMaker]

I honestly have no idea. I just picked the funds that seemed safe and stable with the companies I have. I'm thinking of Fidelity because I've heard multiple people claim it's got some great options.

[digamma]

It depends on what you want, but if it is a broadbased set of index funds you should concentrate on lower fees. Vanguard and Fidelity are both solid options.

[SCgoatman]

Originally Posted by digamma

It depends on what you want, but if it is a broadbased set of index funds you should concentrate on lower fees. Vanguard and Fidelity are both solid options.

Vanguard is an excellent option for the lowest fee index funds you can find; they also have a great selection of funds.

If you want a low cost option for purchasing individual stocks in an IRA, Scottrade and Charles Schwab are two options that are usually well regarded.

[path12]

Sealy.

[flere-imsaho]

I use Fidelity primarily because they make the rollover process so incredibly painless and offer plenty of investment options for my rollover IRA, from low-cost index funds to stocks, etc....

I've heard good things about Vanguard and TIAA-CREF as well.

[lordscarlet]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can't just open up a 401k where ever you want. The choices are:

a) keep it where it's at
b) roll it into your new 401k
c) roll it into a traditional IRA

[flere-imsaho]

That's my understanding.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by scottonmoney.com

Moving Your 401k When You Leave

When you leave a company with a 401k plan you have to decide what to with that money.
You could leave it where it is. This may not be your best option. I've rarely heard of 401k plans with a great choice of low fee, high performance funds.
You could roll it over into a 401k with your new employer. If the new employer has a great selection of low fee, high performance investments that you like there is no harm. Again, I haven't heard of very many cases like this.

You can also roll your 401k over into an IRA. This is what I have done. This lets me choose what company I'm dealing with and allows me to invest in a very broad range of mutual funds and stocks. I like the flexibility and good performance this option gives.

If you do elect to roll over your account to an IRA make sure you roll it over to a new IRA account and you don't put any other IRA contributions into that account.

Why? If you do this you are likely eligible to roll this money back into a 401k at a later time. You may decide to do this because some 401k plans allow you to borrow against your plan. This can come in handy in certain situations like dealing with a significant health problems or paying your children's college bills.

bolded is an FYI for you RainMaker

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can't just open up a 401k where ever you want. The choices are:

a) keep it where it's at
b) roll it into your new 401k
c) roll it into a traditional IRA

Yeah, I wanted to roll the 401k into the new IRA I was going to create at whatever company. The 401k is from an old company I worked at years ago so it's only a few grand and there isn't any contributions going into it at the moment.

Basically I have an IRA at company A and a 401k at company B and am looking to roll both into an IRA at company C.

[DaddyTorgo]

seems like you ought to be able to do that...however the mechanics of it work out

[damnMikeBrown]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Yeah, I wanted to roll the 401k into the new IRA I was going to create at whatever company. The 401k is from an old company I worked at years ago so it's only a few grand and there isn't any contributions going into it at the moment.

Basically I have an IRA at company A and a 401k at company B and am looking to roll both into an IRA at company C.

Daddytorgo had a good point, if you are going to be moving your 401k (workplace sponsored account) to an IRA (Individual Retirment Account) with the possibility of moving it back in to a new company's 401k, then don't comingle the assets. HOWEVER...

1) not all 401k plans allow contributions from outside the plan (moving the rollover ira in to their 401k)
2) why would you put the IRA back in to a 401k?

I do this for a living. . . I work for one of the companies already listed. Call any of their 800 numbers for their indivdual investing side of the business (IRA's). Tell them what your situation is, what you want to accomplish and they'll explain what your options are, how to do it, time frames, etc. . .

It is simple, but easier when you do it all day long. Let them help you so that what you -think- is happening is actually going to be happening.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by damnMikeBrown

Daddytorgo had a good point, if you are going to be moving your 401k (workplace sponsored account) to an IRA (Individual Retirment Account) with the possibility of moving it back in to a new company's 401k, then don't comingle the assets. HOWEVER...

1) not all 401k plans allow contributions from outside the plan (moving the rollover ira in to their 401k)
2) why would you put the IRA back in to a 401k?

I do this for a living. . . I work for one of the companies already listed. Call any of their 800 numbers for their indivdual investing side of the business (IRA's). Tell them what your situation is, what you want to accomplish and they'll explain what your options are, how to do it, time frames, etc. . .

It is simple, but easier when you do it all day long. Let them help you so that what you -think- is happening is actually going to be happening.

Thanks for the feedback. I will give them a call in the morning.

I guess where I'm at right now is that I am going to have my IRA at Fidelity and they are able to rollover a small one I had somewhere else into this one too.

With that settled, I have a 401k from a previous employer. It's $3100 and since I am self employed, I am just contributing to an IRA. So I just have this $3100 at Wells Fargo. I was just looking for an easy way to keep everything at one company so that I don't just have a rogue $3100 somewhere else. Would rather just login to Fidelity and see everything at one place. I wasn't sure if I could move the old 401k into the IRA I currently have setup or if they have to be kept separate.

[damnMikeBrown]

Depending on how you are set up as being self-employed and how much you are able to put away, there are possiblities outside of a Roth/Traditional IRA.

I do not know your financial situation (clearly) however depending on how much you are putting away, and how you are set up (small bus./self-employed), you may be able to sock a whole lot more away in addition to your IRA. SEP or a SIMPLE may be an option for you as well as your IRA.

[RainMaker]

My accountant told me I don't meet the requirements for a Roth IRA so I had to do the traditional. Apparently in 2010 though I'm able to transfer my traditional to a Roth if I pay the back taxes.

He's also setting up some stuff for next year to use the company in som way for tax benefits. Had something to do with profit sharing and stuff that was beyond my knowledge.

[DaddyTorgo]

who do you work for dMB? or do you not want to share?

[RainMaker]

I've moved my money into the Freedom Fund 2045 for now. Have to do some more research and figure out some better options. Definitely open to suggestions.