Emergency funds:six months of expenses in HYSA
Debt:LCOL state with $200K mortgage balance@ 3.785% rate.
Tax Filing Status:Our CPA prepares our taxes and files married filed jointly most years.
Tax Rate:35% Federal, 3.75% State, Effective Tax Rate can be provided if needed.
State of Residence:Ohio
Age:Him 47, Wife 44
Desired Asset allocation: 65-70% stocks / 30-35% bonds
Desired International allocation: 10 to 20% of stocks
Portfolio:
Total Portfolio is $1.85MM not including home equity and not including GST exempt trust.
Her GST exempt trust - $550K
Taxable -Vanguard
6.8% VTSAX Total Stock Market
0.5% VTIAX Total International
His Roth IRA at Vanguard
3.0% Total Stock Market(VTSAX) (ER .04%)
Her Roth IRA at Vanguard
3.0% Total Stock Market(VTSAX) (ER .04%)
His 401k
21% State Street US Bond Index NL Class M(expense ratio .0250%)
7.7% SSgA S&P 500 Index Class K (Expense ratio .0130%)- $143K
Company match- 7% match on the first 6% contributed
Her 401a
18% Fidelity 500 Index (FXAIX) (expense ratio .015%)
Her Government 457B
3.3% Fidelity 500 Index (FXAIX) (expense ratio .015%)
8.6% Vanguard Total Bond Market Admiral (expense ratio .05%)
Her 403b
14.7% Fidelity 500 Index (FXAIX) (expense ratio .015%)
7.1% Vanguard Total International(VTSNX) (expense ratio .09%)
6.3% Vanguard Small Cap Index Institutional (VSCIX)(expense ratio .04%)
Her GST Exempt Trust - $550K (HYSA)
New annual Contributions:
$12K pre-tax her 401a (employer contributions)
$23K pre-tax his 401k (7% match on 6% contributions) $23K pre-tax her 403b
$42K Mega Backdoor Roth her 403b
$23K pre-tax Her 457B
$7K His backdoor Roth
$7K Her backdoor Roth
$3K Joint Taxable
Funds available in his 401K:
INVESTMENT OPTIONASSET CLASS"GROSS/NET RATIO1"TICKER
Vanguard Federal Money Market InvMoney Market0.11 / 0.11VMFXX
AB Small Cap Growth ZSmall Cap Funds0.78 / 0.78QUAZX
AB US Large Cap Growth W Sers CL GLarge Cap Funds0.31 / 0.31N/A
American Century US Mid Cap Value Eq TrMid Cap Funds0.58 / 0.58N/A
American Century Inflation Adj Bond R6Bond0.29 / 0.29AIADX
Empower T. Rowe Price Mid Cap Gr InstMid Cap Funds0.66 / 0.66MXYKX
State Street S&P Mid Cap Index NL Cl MMid Cap Funds0.03 / 0.03N/A
JPMCB Core Bond Fund-CFBond0.30 / 0.30N/A
JPMorgan Short Duration Bond R6Bond0.32 / 0.28JSDUX
State Street Russell Sm Cap Indx NL Cl KSmall Cap Funds0.04 / 0.04N/A
Victory Small Cap Value Collective 75Small Cap Funds0.75 / 0.75N/A
Large Cap Value Equity FundLarge Cap Funds0.39 / 0.39N/A
SSgA Global All Cap Equity ex-US Index KInternational Funds0.08 / 0.07N/A
State St US Bnd Indx NL Cl MBond0.03 / 0.03N/A
SSgA Russell Large Cap Gr Idx NL Ser CLarge Cap Funds0.04 / 0.04N/A
SSgA Russell Large Cap Val Idx NL Ser CLarge Cap Funds0.04 / 0.04N/A
SSgA S&P 500 Index Fund Class KLarge Cap Funds0.01 / 0.01N/A
Vanguard International Growth AdmInternational Funds0.31 / 0.31VWILX
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2020 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2025 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2030 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2035 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2040 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2045 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2050 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2055 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE Inc Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2060 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.40 / 0.39N/A
Empower SDB Sweep ProgramBrokeragenull / nullN/A
Empower SDB Sweep Program RothBrokeragenull / nullN/A
Funds available in her 403b,401a,457b:
Name/Inception DateAsset ClassGross Expense Ratio**
AF AMERICAN MUTAL R5 (RMFFX)02/21/1950Stock Investments0.32%
 FID 500 INDEX (FXAIX)02/17/1988Stock Investments0.015%
FID CONTRAFUND K6 (FLCNX)05/25/2017Stock Investments0.45%
J H ENTERPRISE N (JDMNX)09/01/1992Stock Investments0.66%
JPM MIDCAP VALUE L (FLMVX)11/13/1997Stock Investments0.84%
VANG MIDCAP IDX ADM (VIMAX)05/21/1998Stock Investments0.05%
FID SMALL CAP GR K6 (FOCSX)05/25/2017Stock Investments0.61%
PIM RAE US SM I (PMJIX)06/05/2015Stock Investments0.51%
VANG SM CAP IDX INST (VSCIX)10/03/1960Stock Investments0.04%
AF EUROPAC GROWTH R6 (RERGX)04/16/1984Stock Investments0.47%
FID INTL CAP APPR K6 (FAPCX)05/25/2017Stock Investments0.65%
VANG TOT INTL STK IS (VTSNX)04/29/1996Stock Investments0.09%
VAN REAL EST IDX ADM (VGSLX)05/13/1996Stock Investments0.13%
1919 SOC RESP BAL I (LMRNX)11/06/1992Blended Investments*0.73%
FID FREEDOM 2010 K (FSNKX)10/17/1996Blended Investments*0.43%
FID FREEDOM 2015 K (FSNLX)11/06/2003Blended Investments*0.46%
FID FREEDOM 2020 K (FSNOX)10/17/1996Blended Investments*0.49%
FID FREEDOM 2025 K (FSNPX)11/06/2003Blended Investments*0.53%
FID FREEDOM 2030 K (FSNQX)10/17/1996Blended Investments*0.56%
FID FREEDOM 2035 K (FSNUX)11/06/2003Blended Investments*0.6%
FID FREEDOM 2040 K (FSNVX)09/06/2000Blended Investments*0.63%
FID FREEDOM 2045 K (FSNZX)06/01/2006Blended Investments*0.65%
FID FREEDOM 2050 K (FNSBX)06/01/2006Blended Investments*0.65%
FID FREEDOM 2055 K (FNSDX)06/01/2011Blended Investments*0.65%
FID FREEDOM 2060 K (FNSFX)08/05/2014Blended Investments*0.65%
FID FREEDOM 2065 K (FFSDX)06/28/2019Blended Investments*0.65%
FID FREEDOM INC K (FNSHX)10/17/1996Blended Investments*0.42%
VANG WELLINGTON ADM (VWENX)07/01/1929Blended Investments*0.18%
DODGE & COX INCOME X (DOXIX)01/03/1989Bond Investments0.36%
EV INC FND BOSTON R6 (EIBRX)06/15/1972Bond Investments0.68%
VANG INFL PROT ADM (VAIPX)06/29/2000Bond Investments0.1%
VANG TOT BD MKT ADM (VBTLX)12/11/1986Bond Investments0.05%
FID GOVT MMKT K6 (FNBXX)02/05/1990 7 day yield as of09/30/2024 4.77%Short-Term Investments0.27%
BROKERAGELINKClick to expand upon your savings plan's investment options with Fidelity BrokerageLink®.Other Investments
Questions:
1. Bonds are a concern/question mark. His 401K bond fund seems suboptimal. There are no dividends for either enrolled funds (bond or S&P 500). I rebalanced our holistic portfolio a few years ago using his 401K as the sole bond holding as we don’t mirror accounts. The bond fund is currently down $32K from when we rebalanced so it’s not even keeping up with inflation and there are no dividends, just NAV increases. I don’t fully understand bonds but this seems like a suboptimal core bond fund holding.
2.We’ve since bought Vanguard total bond in her 457b to expand our % of bond holdings. Is VBTLX a higher quality bond holding than his 401K? Years ago a fee-only advisor had us in the Dodge and Cox bond fund but I swapped it out for a lower expense rate. Should we cut our losses with his 401K bond holdings and purchase bonds in different accounts? We are open to suggestions. Our goal is to provide ballast, reduce risk, and keep up with inflation.
3. Should we purchase any Vanguard TIPS bond fund holdings in her 457b/403b/401a? His SS will be indexed to inflation and her 401a is her benefit in lieu of SS (I think).
4. The small cap fund was purchased to keep some diversity with the S&P 500 fund in her 403B. Is the S&P500 properly diversified by itself? We’ve thought about just exchanging the small cap fund for the S&P500 fund for simplicity. Or should we keep small cap and add some mid-cap exposure?
5. Her GST exempt trust is sitting in a HYSA. This is a separate source of funds from the main portfolio with the following goals: Funds two kids college educations Starting in 8 years. Both kids will be in college starting in 9 years (they are one grade apart). It’s hard to forecast how much we’ll need because my wife’s employer offers free tuition at a local university. In addition, other goals for this money is emergency funds, home maintenance, vacations, and bridging early retirement years from ages 55 to 60 would be desirable. How should we invest this money within the trust so we can pull money out for these types of goals? We originally were going to mirror our asset allocation from the main portfolio as these are not co-mingled assets from marriage, otherwise, we would have simply allocated funds as part of the entire portfolio asset allocation (not mirrored). Should we do a target date fund? Open to recommendations.
6. We have a desire to reduce risk because when our portfolio doubles again, we’d consider retiring or taking our foot off the gas. That would put us at roughly $4MM.
7. We have a very simple IPS with an asset allocation following the 3 fund model and 5% rebalancing bands. Nothing more, nothing less. I know this is not ideal and open to suggestions on other things we should do to safeguard our portfolio from mistakes.
8. His 401K doesn’t track cost basis so it’s challenging to see if we’re selling for a loss when we rebalance. I called to ask about the bond holding and the agent said they didn’t track the cost basis. It makes it challenging to rebalance funds using those accounts due to this limited visibility. Just more of a comment as this seems odd.
9. Not sure if international is needed or if we should just put more in total stock or S&P 500 funds.
10. I’ve learned a lot from this forum and by reading the 3 fund book by Taylor. Thanks for reading this far and appreciate any feedback on things we can do to improve our portfolio.
-Cow
Debt:LCOL state with $200K mortgage balance@ 3.785% rate.
Tax Filing Status:Our CPA prepares our taxes and files married filed jointly most years.
Tax Rate:35% Federal, 3.75% State, Effective Tax Rate can be provided if needed.
State of Residence:Ohio
Age:Him 47, Wife 44
Desired Asset allocation: 65-70% stocks / 30-35% bonds
Desired International allocation: 10 to 20% of stocks
Portfolio:
Total Portfolio is $1.85MM not including home equity and not including GST exempt trust.
Her GST exempt trust - $550K
Taxable -Vanguard
6.8% VTSAX Total Stock Market
0.5% VTIAX Total International
His Roth IRA at Vanguard
3.0% Total Stock Market(VTSAX) (ER .04%)
Her Roth IRA at Vanguard
3.0% Total Stock Market(VTSAX) (ER .04%)
His 401k
21% State Street US Bond Index NL Class M(expense ratio .0250%)
7.7% SSgA S&P 500 Index Class K (Expense ratio .0130%)- $143K
Company match- 7% match on the first 6% contributed
Her 401a
18% Fidelity 500 Index (FXAIX) (expense ratio .015%)
Her Government 457B
3.3% Fidelity 500 Index (FXAIX) (expense ratio .015%)
8.6% Vanguard Total Bond Market Admiral (expense ratio .05%)
Her 403b
14.7% Fidelity 500 Index (FXAIX) (expense ratio .015%)
7.1% Vanguard Total International(VTSNX) (expense ratio .09%)
6.3% Vanguard Small Cap Index Institutional (VSCIX)(expense ratio .04%)
Her GST Exempt Trust - $550K (HYSA)
New annual Contributions:
$12K pre-tax her 401a (employer contributions)
$23K pre-tax his 401k (7% match on 6% contributions) $23K pre-tax her 403b
$42K Mega Backdoor Roth her 403b
$23K pre-tax Her 457B
$7K His backdoor Roth
$7K Her backdoor Roth
$3K Joint Taxable
Funds available in his 401K:
INVESTMENT OPTIONASSET CLASS"GROSS/NET RATIO1"TICKER
Vanguard Federal Money Market InvMoney Market0.11 / 0.11VMFXX
AB Small Cap Growth ZSmall Cap Funds0.78 / 0.78QUAZX
AB US Large Cap Growth W Sers CL GLarge Cap Funds0.31 / 0.31N/A
American Century US Mid Cap Value Eq TrMid Cap Funds0.58 / 0.58N/A
American Century Inflation Adj Bond R6Bond0.29 / 0.29AIADX
Empower T. Rowe Price Mid Cap Gr InstMid Cap Funds0.66 / 0.66MXYKX
State Street S&P Mid Cap Index NL Cl MMid Cap Funds0.03 / 0.03N/A
JPMCB Core Bond Fund-CFBond0.30 / 0.30N/A
JPMorgan Short Duration Bond R6Bond0.32 / 0.28JSDUX
State Street Russell Sm Cap Indx NL Cl KSmall Cap Funds0.04 / 0.04N/A
Victory Small Cap Value Collective 75Small Cap Funds0.75 / 0.75N/A
Large Cap Value Equity FundLarge Cap Funds0.39 / 0.39N/A
SSgA Global All Cap Equity ex-US Index KInternational Funds0.08 / 0.07N/A
State St US Bnd Indx NL Cl MBond0.03 / 0.03N/A
SSgA Russell Large Cap Gr Idx NL Ser CLarge Cap Funds0.04 / 0.04N/A
SSgA Russell Large Cap Val Idx NL Ser CLarge Cap Funds0.04 / 0.04N/A
SSgA S&P 500 Index Fund Class KLarge Cap Funds0.01 / 0.01N/A
Vanguard International Growth AdmInternational Funds0.31 / 0.31VWILX
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2020 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2025 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2030 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2035 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2040 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2045 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2050 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2055 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE Inc Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.39 / 0.39N/A
JPMCB SmartRetirement DRE 2060 Fund-CF-AAsset Allocation0.40 / 0.39N/A
Empower SDB Sweep ProgramBrokeragenull / nullN/A
Empower SDB Sweep Program RothBrokeragenull / nullN/A
Funds available in her 403b,401a,457b:
Name/Inception DateAsset ClassGross Expense Ratio**
AF AMERICAN MUTAL R5 (RMFFX)02/21/1950Stock Investments0.32%
 FID 500 INDEX (FXAIX)02/17/1988Stock Investments0.015%
FID CONTRAFUND K6 (FLCNX)05/25/2017Stock Investments0.45%
J H ENTERPRISE N (JDMNX)09/01/1992Stock Investments0.66%
JPM MIDCAP VALUE L (FLMVX)11/13/1997Stock Investments0.84%
VANG MIDCAP IDX ADM (VIMAX)05/21/1998Stock Investments0.05%
FID SMALL CAP GR K6 (FOCSX)05/25/2017Stock Investments0.61%
PIM RAE US SM I (PMJIX)06/05/2015Stock Investments0.51%
VANG SM CAP IDX INST (VSCIX)10/03/1960Stock Investments0.04%
AF EUROPAC GROWTH R6 (RERGX)04/16/1984Stock Investments0.47%
FID INTL CAP APPR K6 (FAPCX)05/25/2017Stock Investments0.65%
VANG TOT INTL STK IS (VTSNX)04/29/1996Stock Investments0.09%
VAN REAL EST IDX ADM (VGSLX)05/13/1996Stock Investments0.13%
1919 SOC RESP BAL I (LMRNX)11/06/1992Blended Investments*0.73%
FID FREEDOM 2010 K (FSNKX)10/17/1996Blended Investments*0.43%
FID FREEDOM 2015 K (FSNLX)11/06/2003Blended Investments*0.46%
FID FREEDOM 2020 K (FSNOX)10/17/1996Blended Investments*0.49%
FID FREEDOM 2025 K (FSNPX)11/06/2003Blended Investments*0.53%
FID FREEDOM 2030 K (FSNQX)10/17/1996Blended Investments*0.56%
FID FREEDOM 2035 K (FSNUX)11/06/2003Blended Investments*0.6%
FID FREEDOM 2040 K (FSNVX)09/06/2000Blended Investments*0.63%
FID FREEDOM 2045 K (FSNZX)06/01/2006Blended Investments*0.65%
FID FREEDOM 2050 K (FNSBX)06/01/2006Blended Investments*0.65%
FID FREEDOM 2055 K (FNSDX)06/01/2011Blended Investments*0.65%
FID FREEDOM 2060 K (FNSFX)08/05/2014Blended Investments*0.65%
FID FREEDOM 2065 K (FFSDX)06/28/2019Blended Investments*0.65%
FID FREEDOM INC K (FNSHX)10/17/1996Blended Investments*0.42%
VANG WELLINGTON ADM (VWENX)07/01/1929Blended Investments*0.18%
DODGE & COX INCOME X (DOXIX)01/03/1989Bond Investments0.36%
EV INC FND BOSTON R6 (EIBRX)06/15/1972Bond Investments0.68%
VANG INFL PROT ADM (VAIPX)06/29/2000Bond Investments0.1%
VANG TOT BD MKT ADM (VBTLX)12/11/1986Bond Investments0.05%
FID GOVT MMKT K6 (FNBXX)02/05/1990 7 day yield as of09/30/2024 4.77%Short-Term Investments0.27%
BROKERAGELINKClick to expand upon your savings plan's investment options with Fidelity BrokerageLink®.Other Investments
Questions:
1. Bonds are a concern/question mark. His 401K bond fund seems suboptimal. There are no dividends for either enrolled funds (bond or S&P 500). I rebalanced our holistic portfolio a few years ago using his 401K as the sole bond holding as we don’t mirror accounts. The bond fund is currently down $32K from when we rebalanced so it’s not even keeping up with inflation and there are no dividends, just NAV increases. I don’t fully understand bonds but this seems like a suboptimal core bond fund holding.
2.We’ve since bought Vanguard total bond in her 457b to expand our % of bond holdings. Is VBTLX a higher quality bond holding than his 401K? Years ago a fee-only advisor had us in the Dodge and Cox bond fund but I swapped it out for a lower expense rate. Should we cut our losses with his 401K bond holdings and purchase bonds in different accounts? We are open to suggestions. Our goal is to provide ballast, reduce risk, and keep up with inflation.
3. Should we purchase any Vanguard TIPS bond fund holdings in her 457b/403b/401a? His SS will be indexed to inflation and her 401a is her benefit in lieu of SS (I think).
4. The small cap fund was purchased to keep some diversity with the S&P 500 fund in her 403B. Is the S&P500 properly diversified by itself? We’ve thought about just exchanging the small cap fund for the S&P500 fund for simplicity. Or should we keep small cap and add some mid-cap exposure?
5. Her GST exempt trust is sitting in a HYSA. This is a separate source of funds from the main portfolio with the following goals: Funds two kids college educations Starting in 8 years. Both kids will be in college starting in 9 years (they are one grade apart). It’s hard to forecast how much we’ll need because my wife’s employer offers free tuition at a local university. In addition, other goals for this money is emergency funds, home maintenance, vacations, and bridging early retirement years from ages 55 to 60 would be desirable. How should we invest this money within the trust so we can pull money out for these types of goals? We originally were going to mirror our asset allocation from the main portfolio as these are not co-mingled assets from marriage, otherwise, we would have simply allocated funds as part of the entire portfolio asset allocation (not mirrored). Should we do a target date fund? Open to recommendations.
6. We have a desire to reduce risk because when our portfolio doubles again, we’d consider retiring or taking our foot off the gas. That would put us at roughly $4MM.
7. We have a very simple IPS with an asset allocation following the 3 fund model and 5% rebalancing bands. Nothing more, nothing less. I know this is not ideal and open to suggestions on other things we should do to safeguard our portfolio from mistakes.
8. His 401K doesn’t track cost basis so it’s challenging to see if we’re selling for a loss when we rebalance. I called to ask about the bond holding and the agent said they didn’t track the cost basis. It makes it challenging to rebalance funds using those accounts due to this limited visibility. Just more of a comment as this seems odd.
9. Not sure if international is needed or if we should just put more in total stock or S&P 500 funds.
10. I’ve learned a lot from this forum and by reading the 3 fund book by Taylor. Thanks for reading this far and appreciate any feedback on things we can do to improve our portfolio.
-Cow
Statistics: Posted by c_is_for_cow — Sun Oct 13, 2024 8:35 pm — Replies 0 — Views 141