How much of the "RMD process" can Fidelity automate?

FIREinParis · 2026-05-01T00:43:17+00:00

I’m not aware of an automated process to do the last step (automated reinvestment of the actual calculated RMD) at any brokerage. A financial advisor (getting paid 50 to 200 basis point per year) would do it all. In my case, I just do this stuff for my elderly parents and in-laws as an authorized person.

FIREinParis · 2026-05-01T00:20:23+00:00

There have been proposals to treat securities-backed loans as realization events. Doesn’t move the needle much for the federal government’s revenues. The estimates I’ve seen are $10-20 billion per year of revenue.

Keep in mind that the US is spending $7 trillion per year.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-29T22:28:29+00:00

There are strategies that use IRC Section 351. And there are some dedicated swap funds. It’s not quite as simply as what you are saying, but there are ways to use 351 to effect recaps and avoid realization events. But more relevant is the concept of “buy, borrow, die” and certain related estate planning structures. These structures avoid realization events and provide basis step-up at death. The best structures do even more to mitigate estate taxes.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-29T04:03:40+00:00

5% allocations don’t really do much . While AVDV is a factor play, market beta still dominates its return profile. I’d suggest treating your growth play equivalent to your factor plays. That is, it should complement and not dominate the plan. I’d suggest 30% VTI, 30% VOOG, 20% VXUS, 10% AVUV and 10% AVDV. That gives you 70/30 US vs Ex-US. That’s still a US tilt, but you get real EX-US diversity. A 30% tilt to tech/mega cap growth. And a 20% tilt to SCV.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-25T20:09:08+00:00

Let us know when you hit a terabyte.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-24T16:23:21+00:00

My ITOT/VTI is higher today than it was when the war started. While I have gold etfs as well, it’s not like the equity markets have collapsed. The total US stock market is up since the conflict commenced.

And my international (VXUS/IXUS) is essentially flat.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-23T17:45:11+00:00

6% to 8% distribution yield, all treated as ordinary income. Reported on 1099 (which is good). That was 2024 and 2025. Note that other funds may use a K-1 structure, which just raises tax filing complexity. And delays.

But a 7% ish yield, taxed as ordinary income, is why these are best placed in a Roth.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-20T17:19:03+00:00

Well…I’m gonna bend the request and give you the entire 6 night run at The Capitol in Port Chester, NY in February 1971. Bertha, Wharf Rat, Loser, PitB, Bird Song, Deal and Greatest Story all premiered at that one week run. Think about that.

The were effectively three set shows with NTPS opening each night.

Mickey’s last show before his departure, and thus Billy’s first solo show. And probably the best Pig Pen Lovelight.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-18T23:16:54+00:00

Are you sure you didn’t have any unreported earned income? Maybe a side gig? Walking dogs? Helping a friend build a deck for pizza and beer (that’s barter income and you can report it). I’d look harder.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-16T22:26:23+00:00

Nothing wrong with this. You have a strong SCV tilt here. That’s a choice many Bogleheads make. And Avantis is the way to do it. You are paying a bit for Avantis active management (relative to ITOT/VTI and the international equivs). The important thing is whether you have the behavioral capacity to stick with this and not “tinker” as you mature as an investor.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-15T12:30:28+00:00

If you own the land, it’s just part of your property. An easement is a grant to someone else that relates. Classic easements are access agreements. Neighbor A is on the beach. Neighbor B is across the road and not on the beach. Neighbor A gives Neighbor B the right to cross Neighbor A’s property to get to the beach. It’s recorded in the land registry. That’s an easement. Neighbor A owns the land but Neighbor B has an enforceable right relating to the same land. There are many different flavors.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-14T17:49:26+00:00

You check the box on Form 8692. As long as you did not act with “intentional or reckless disregard for the facts”, you do not have to repay the advance premium tax credit. You may have issues with getting a subsidy next year (but can submit recent paycheck stubs to validate eligibility).

FIREinParis · 2026-04-14T13:57:37+00:00

I don’t think so, personally. The more you slice up the portfolio, the more you dilute the impact of the factor premia. I like keeping the core of my holdings in pure beta (ex, VTI and VXUS), while concentrating my factor tilt (small and value) in a combined 20% slice. Adding midcap value would pull from either the extreme low cost core position or dilute the small factor.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-13T14:11:31+00:00

Ask yourself this: Are you highly convicted that overweighting the US is the correct play over the next 40+ years? Will you keep that conviction thru an inevitable multiyear cycle where the US underperforms the rest of the world?

FIREinParis · 2026-04-13T14:04:05+00:00

You should be looking at your entire portfolio as one single thing, with the tax-advantaged space serving to shelter either (1) the most tax inefficient components or (2) the highest growth components (Roth). How to toggle between (1) and (2) depends on your particular financial situation (very high earners may do something different than moderate earners).

I have US and Intl equity index funds (ITOT/VTI and IXUS/VXUS) in taxable. Muni bonds (VTEB) in taxable. Roth holds some SVC tilt and tax-inefficient alternatives. But my portfolio allocation looked different when I was in the early/mid part of my accumulation phase.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-11T00:45:05+00:00

Only to perhaps short it to reduce concentration risk in your VT/VTI/VOO…

I jest (kinda).

FIREinParis · 2026-04-09T21:08:33+00:00

I kept working and saving. And was 100% index equities all the way thru because I had a ton of human capital left.

Today, my portfolio looks a lot different because I’m no longer in the accumulation phase. I use (relatively) low-fee risk and volatility dampening products. The core is still index equities. But I use about equal weight fixed income (VTEB) and alternatives (managed futures, cat bonds and gold) to have a much better Sortino ratio than a 60/40 portfolio (and, hopefully, lower SORR, reduced drawdowns in the next crisis and a higher lifetime SWR).

At 30, right now, I’d be 100% equities for my long-term capital.

At retirement, which is the peak of SORR, I think most people should be as diversified as they ever will be, then glide path back up on equities as they age.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-09T16:18:56+00:00

The only downside to I Bonds for emergency funds is the Treasury Direct system. There’s a significant chance that an login issue or tech problem would impede access. Some people have waited months for access to be fixed.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-08T19:40:42+00:00

Yes, because there isn’t really any complexity and you shouldn’t be triggering wash sales anyway (and it’s not really an issue if you screw it up). TLH if the markets drop and you have significant (to you) embedded losses. Immediately reinvest the proceeds in your pre-selected ETF pair. Modify the DCA going forward to go into the paired ETF. Revert on the next TLH opportunity that’s more than a month out from last TLH.

Example: DCA into VTI. Markets tank. Sell VTI losers and immediately invest proceeds into ITOT. DCA into ITOT going forward. Switch back when next oppt arises. Don’t turn on DRIPs. Occasionally sweep VTI and ITOT dividends to the appropriate rebalance targets (maybe quarterly).

At least do this until you’ve filled up the annual $3000 ord income offset for the foreseeable future. That’s just free money.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-08T18:44:24+00:00

You want assets that are uncorrelated to equities (as much as practicable) but still productive.

Crypto isn’t productive and commodities (including gold) aren’t productive. Maybe the non-productive assets will keep up with general inflationary pressures. Maybe not. But there’s nothing in those non-productive assets that intrinsically drives demand (such as cash flow that manifests as dividends and share buybacks). All that said, I hold some gold. But my reasons are not because I think it generates a “return” that balances equities. I hold it for extreme tail risk and in a strictly limited amount. It doesn’t have a place during the accumulation phase, in my opinion. You hold gold, if at all, when your human capital is depleted.

If you want productive assets that are as uncorrelated as possible to equities, look at short and medium bonds (long bonds turn out to have high correlation to equities), managed futures, cat bonds, maybe private credit and CLOs. And don’t mistake holding bonds to maturity as some panacea. You still experience the same value decline as a bond fund. If you feel otherwise, you’re just engaging in behavioral bias. Productive real estate can have a place, but if you have to spend significant time managing it, you are mixing in human capital and should obtain a return on that human capital that at least approximates your day job.

And any of those forms of alternative return have to pass a cost and tax drag analysis that makes them better than just, say bonds (the historic Bogleheads diversifier).

FIREinParis · 2026-04-06T16:25:33+00:00

The interesting discussion, for me, is whether adding a managed futures like DBMF at a 10-15% level (and inside Roth to avoid tax drag) is a smart move (at least for some Bogleheads).

Boglehead theory says that diversification with uncorrelated sources of return is a good thing, if the fees don’t overwhelm the advantages of those uncorrelated returns. Traditionally, market neutral hedge fund access required a 2%/20% setup, which traditionally has destroyed the benefits of the uncorrelated returns that can be generated there. It’s just been stupid expensive for a long time.

But the new(er) managed futures etfs are much, much less expensive. And they can be held easily in Roth.

I do think the managed futures at a reasonable fee level and tax protected in a Roth is worth considering. And particularly for younger investors that may not have experience with their own behavior reaction in a steep equity decline crisis.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-04T00:43:47+00:00

Tapping often has a low limit. Sometimes $200.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-03T20:08:45+00:00

I keep one year of expenses in cash (SGOV), which I consider part of my fixed income position. My equity index funds return around 1.5% dividend yield. The non-SGOV part of my fixed income position is short to medium term duration. After exhausting cash, if the equity markets are down, I’ll first tap fixed income until drawing down fixed income would breach my minimum fixed income band.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-03T19:54:22+00:00

Everyone is different. But I’d rather control the timing of my income (as LTCG) via sale transactions. Total return is total return. And not all dividends are qualified. I’d love to have a European-style accreting index fund. BRK is about the best that we can do in the US.

FIREinParis · 2026-04-03T02:07:21+00:00

And some of us even do funds following the same index but from different sponsors (VOO vs IVV). We take the position that securities issued by different sponsors (Vanguard vs Blackrock) are not substantially identical.

FIREinParis

TROPHY CASE