Best brokerage for solo 401k?

[High Income Parent]

I went with E*TRADE since they had the most flexibility on rollovers and loans. They have the worst commissions but at $6.95 a pop they aren't that bad.

I write a blog post too about rolling over a traditional IRA in E*TRADE, but I don't think you need that.

For you situation any that you listed should be fine.

[childay]

Sean wrote:

Anyone aware of which company offers a solo 401k with an after-tax non-Roth contribution option as well as an in-service distribution option?  Are such plans even available anymore for solo 401k plans?  Can one be tailor made?

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https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/improving-the-vanguard-individual-401k-with-a-customized-plan/

 

[sebBo13]

Hi all,

I am about to open a solo 401K and am not sure which way to go. I have my backdoor IRAs with Vanguard, my post tax investment account with Fidelity and most of my other retirement accounts with Prudential. I am planning to invest in index funds, but given that my other accounts are quite limited in fund selection would like to keep my options open. I was leaning towards Fidelity but read that checks have to be sent in by mail, which is a deal breaker for me. I also read that Vanguard now offers Admiral shares, which as I understand was the major downside to its i401K. Is there any good reason not to go with Vanguard?

[Peds]

sebBo13 wrote:

Is there any good reason not to go with Vanguard?

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did you read the blog post? or this entire thread?

 

[sebBo13]

Yes I did. This thread it 2 years old and Admiral funds were not available at that time. It is not totally unreasonable to assume that things may have changed at Fidelity as well, in particular if they are as archaic as a mail-in check. Sure I could just call Fidelity are ask them directly if they still require this. Forgive me for thinking someone who possibly recently went through this process may be willing to spend 30 seconds on responding.

[Peds]

sebBo13 wrote:

Forgive me for thinking someone who possibly recently went through this process may be willing to spend 30 seconds on responding.

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you are forgiven as you misread my tone. its the internet.

lucky for you, nothing has changed.

[jacoavlu]

Fidelity, no Roth contributions. Schwab same I believe.
Vanguard, won’t accept rollovers. Which isn’t a big deal until it is.
E*TRADE probably has the best.
I don’t know about TDA.

Why is sending a check a deal breaker? It’s not much more time than the 30 seconds I spent typing this. You need to keep records anyway.

[sebBo13]

Checks are one of my pet peeves, I have managed to avoid writing one for years (mostly by having my wife do it ;-) No other rational reason.

I am trying to imagine how much easier my financial life would be by having several accounts with the same brokerage rather than having 4 or 5 different ones. On the other hand I already have at least 3 to deal with, so what complexity could a 4th one add ... in that case I would go with eTrade.

You mention that the inability of rollovers isn't a big deal until it is. Can you give me a hypothetical situation in which this would really matter? Other than gradually shifting my W2 income towards the 1099 I don't plan on making any job changes if that matters.

 

 

 

[jacoavlu]

sebBo13 wrote:

Can you give me a hypothetical situation in which this would really matter?

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any situation where you end up with pretax funds in an IRA

[Dilaudidopenia]

I use fidelity as I had rollovers from 403b/401a from residency.  Super easy.  You don't need to write checks.  You can open a cash account and transfer money to it from whatever bank account you use and then call them and give them a verbal order to make the contribution to the i401k for you.  Easy Peasy.

Just make sure to keel filling out the remittance forms and keep them for your records.

[GasFIRE]

Does your bank or cash management account use BillPay? Fidelity Investments is already available as a standard payee. Add your account # and you a have one-click deposit without physically writing/mailing/dropping off a paper check.

[Marko-ER]

The White Coat Investor wrote:

I have Vanguard. It’s fine for my needs. It doesn’t take rollovers and you can’t get Admiral fund ERs. Here’s my post on it. Maybe I should update it:

Where to Open Your Solo 401K

If I were starting today, eTrade would be pretty attractive to me. But I do like having it all at Vanguard.

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I also use Vanguard.  And FYI, I think they do offer Admiral shares (based on a change in ER) as of last month.

[southerndoc]

Marko-ER wrote:

The White Coat Investor wrote:

I have Vanguard. It’s fine for my needs. It doesn’t take rollovers and you can’t get Admiral fund ERs. Here’s my post on it. Maybe I should update it:

Where to Open Your Solo 401K

If I were starting today, eTrade would be pretty attractive to me. But I do like having it all at Vanguard.

Click to expand…

I also use Vanguard.  And FYI, I think they do offer Admiral shares (based on a change in ER) as of last month.

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Correct, Admiral shares are now the default shares in their Individual 401(k) now.  The $3,000 minimum investment has been waved for Individual 401(k)'s, but Admiral shares with higher minimums require the minimum amount stated.

[The White Coat Investor]

Marko-ER wrote:

The White Coat Investor wrote:

I have Vanguard. It’s fine for my needs. It doesn’t take rollovers and you can’t get Admiral fund ERs. Here’s my post on it. Maybe I should update it:

Where to Open Your Solo 401K

If I were starting today, eTrade would be pretty attractive to me. But I do like having it all at Vanguard.

Click to expand…

I also use Vanguard.  And FYI, I think they do offer Admiral shares (based on a change in ER) as of last month.

Click to expand...

Yes, they do now.

[MPMD]

GasFIRE wrote:

Does your bank or cash management account use BillPay? Fidelity Investments is already available as a standard payee. Add your account # and you a have one-click deposit without physically writing/mailing/dropping off a paper check.

Click to expand...

I am not sure that's true for solo 401k. Last time I checked (2018) you have to send a check.

As others have said this should not be a barrier to entry. I do my solo 401k contribution once/year after making sure my tax stuff is right. It's one check, once a year.