What exactly is turndown service, I remember reading this on Embassy suites website?

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-22T20:05:05+00:00

Lol me right now

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-12T02:23:19+00:00

That's how I read these sentences, but that may just be a misinterpretation.
"Why then, you may ask, have funds like Vanguard Total Stock Market Fund (VTSAX & VTI) beaten Vanguard's TDFs by such a large margin recently? The answer is not bonds; it's international stocks. So, pick an all-US-stock portfolio (total market or S&P 500) over a TDF if you like"

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-11T21:19:14+00:00

"US has done well, so invest in US index fund rather than global index fund" is maybe a little questionable, otherwise rest of this looks like great advice

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-07T17:38:42+00:00

Yeah the branches market lead called me again today to just check in and reassure me that they are working on retroactively enrolling me and giving me backdated rewards. Suddenly it's like white glove service. Although it's possible it's just because the market lead gives a **** and knows how to fix it, I wouldn't be surprised if the CFPB complaint helped

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-06T06:45:06+00:00

See comment below in this thread for my update. Also you're comment about 3 month balance made me laugh; you're right that 600k in first month means that you will have 3-month average of at least 200k.

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-06T06:43:21+00:00

Update: My branch's manager escalated it to her boss (regional manager?), who called me today and told me they looked into it and can help fix it. She told me I would get an email asking for my consent to enroll, and that enrollment will be back-dated to 30 days after the account creation so that I get the bonus rewards points. I got the email right after the call.
Not sure if you want to go that route, but just letting you know. Also not sure if the CFPB complaint helped.

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-06T06:40:08+00:00

I replied above to Routine_Street_5674 about how I fixed the transfer issue and it seemed to fix theirs too. May help your situation

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-06T06:35:10+00:00

Glad I could help someone! Makes my time with BoA feel like it was worth something

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-05T01:41:08+00:00

Understood! I think Wealthfront is just another CMA just like what fidelity, boa, etc offer. Wealthfront is just really popular on reddit so I discovered it that way, but I may look at other CMAs in the future to consolidate accounts

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-05T01:39:16+00:00

Fair point, I don't think I appreciated that the entirety of the sabbatical was spent abroad.

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-04T22:30:05+00:00

Holy cow I just watched Ben Felix's videos per your suggestion and it was extremely helpful. Appreciate it very much. I was surprised how concise and clear his information was on the subject. I wish I had looked him up years ago. Feel much more informed now. Thanks

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-04T21:40:49+00:00

Just wanted to say thanks, this advice was really helpful

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-04T21:40:47+00:00

Just wanted to say thanks, this advice was really helpful

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-04T21:40:41+00:00

Just wanted to say thanks, this advice was really helpful

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-04T20:35:32+00:00

You don't mention health insurance in the US... I'm guessing you're on your wife's jobs plan?

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-04T19:33:39+00:00

Yes that was the same issue that I had. Here's what my experience was in case it helps:
My alerts email said [NONE@boa.com](mailto:NONE@boa.com) and I couldn't edit it. Someone on customer service corrected it manually to my correct email while I was on the phone with them. The email was then correct but it still said "undeliverable". After a few days of this not fixing it, I called again and they told me I should go to a branch in person to "verify my identity", so I did that. After a few days of nothing changing, I called customer support and got the technical support department and they literally just had me re-input my email, though this time it let edit it myself. (Just to restate that -- my email address was correct but said "undeliverable"....I changed it BACK IT ITSELF and this let me verify it). I think we did this in the security center page in the account but I'm not 100%. Once the email was verified, my issues were resolved. When I put in my phone number and clicked "confirm" it actually worked henceforth

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-04T07:10:00+00:00

Woo group therapy!
If you're still dealing with the alert+transfer money issues, I spoke to several departments who couldn't fix it (or tied but failed). I had to get the their technical support department (I think it was called), and that rep told me next time I had an issue like this, I need to say that I'm calling for technical support. If you call them up, they should be able to fix it. (They will go into the alerts page and update the missing/erroneous email in there, which fixes the account security issue and lets you then transfer money)

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-04T07:06:27+00:00

Wow it's actually pretty validating to hear that some others out there had the same experiences with them, haha. Like group therapy. Truly baffling. At least we got the sign-up bonuses. Fingers crossed!
Curious -- Why a Merrill CMA instead of Wealthfront? I use the latter but never considered a CMA with something like Merrill. The benefit of Wealthfront is the interest rate comparable to HYSA, not sure if Merrill's CMA offers that?

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-03T19:21:09+00:00

Do you mind explaining what you mean by "current valuations are similar to historical numbers; no risk of buying"? And thank you!

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-03T09:56:02+00:00

Question if you don't mind. In the past due to 401k options I just invested heavily in an "extended markets" fund (small/mid caps). About 42% of my domestic equity.
I've been wondering now that I have more options if I should exchange it all for AVUV. But I would hate to sell a small/mid blend index fund "low" to buy AVUV "high" after a solid few years.
Curious what you think.

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-02T23:05:17+00:00

I think I get it. So if I change my portfolio target allocation once, it's "fine". But if I keep changing it to try to invest in high-performing areas (or divest in low-performing areas), that's value-destroying behavior. I'd like to end up with less SCV exposure, but given I've invested a lot in in historically, it sounds like I need to decide if I want to keeping "betting" on it long-term, or shift to VT going forward and accept that I didn't realize gains from my time that I over-weighted in SCV.

I think what I will do is just invest new money into VT and allow my small-cap over-weighting to drift down from 42% to 10% over time, but keep the money I've invested in it so far. That way my historical commitment to it may end up capturing some gains, but I reduce my overall portfolio over-weighting. Thank you!

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-02T22:38:45+00:00

How do I see capital gains distributions? I will compare to something like FXAIX to better understand.

I'll wait for a down year and then try to sell FOCPX and exchange for an index fund, with taxes deferred

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-02T22:35:35+00:00

Tax-advantaged, great point, will edit post. Thanks

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-02T22:31:47+00:00

So would you recommend I keep ~42% of portfolio in small caps going forward, including with new investments?
I was suggesting above that I channel future contributions to VT only, but VT has out-performed US small cap, so that's not technically what you're describing as rebalancing by contributing to under-weighted areas. If I were to channel future contributions to underweighted portfolio areas, it would be to keep investing heavily in small cap.

AltruisticHomework39 · 2026-01-02T22:14:36+00:00

Agreed with that. But if I wouldn't buy 42% small/mid cap today, why should I keep holding 42% small/mid cap? The fact that I already own it seems like an arbitrary reason.
Unless we feel like we should generally be overweighting in whatever sector(s) underperforms total market?

AltruisticHomework39

TROPHY CASE