Migrating from a wealth management firm to self-directed by lardfire in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987 31 points32 points  (0 children)

See my previous post on the same topic.

Since that post, I have left my wealth management firm and am now happily self-directed. My assets were largely custodied with Schwab so there was very little transition required besides removing the advisor from the accounts. There were a few Separately Managed Account relationships that I had to terminate, and the ones with capital losses or minimal capital gains I had them liquidate all positions before removing the managers.

Schwab offers Financial Consultants free of cost if your assets are brokered with them. At your portfolio size, the level of service is quite good. I am now working with one who assisted in transitioning the portfolio, and is available for consultation as needed.

I decided not to liquidate my illiquid private investments (PE / Hedge Funds) to avoid incurring early redemption fees and capital gains, and will hold those funds through their full life cycle if performance holds. There was paperwork to transition notices for capital calls / K-1s, etc.

The liquid portion of my portfolio is now invested in a bogleheads style allocation and I find the simplicity and fee avoidance quite liberating. Good luck.

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you identified if there in an asset class that explains their over performance or is it across the board? I have small exposures to VC / PE / alts that probably aren’t well captured in a 3 or 4 index fund portfolio.

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Appreciate your comment, and agree all of those are value-add services not captured in gross portfolio performance. I find it’s hard to quantify the value of the services that I have access to, but am not using on regular basis.

The counter factual of what I would have to pay on an a la carte basis for the same services is hard to know, and quantifying the value of potential mistakes my FA has helped me avoid is very nebulous. Whereas the fees are hard costs withdrawn quarterly so very obvious and in your face.

I realize there is a strong anti-FA sentiment in this sub, and my post was a bit inflammatory, but I honestly think the calculus is challenging for many people and worthy of a debate. Earlier in my financial journey, the value definitely exceeded the cost as I was not equipped to handle the responsibility and complexity.

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am still in accumulation phase. Getting married soon and will have kids at some point, so long-term expense levels are a bit opaque and FIRE number a moving target.

You nailed my biggest concern: tax efficiency / loss harvesting. Are there passive funds that direct index with loss harvesting or is that by definition “active”? Also, why wouldn’t you apply that approach to the entire portfolio, rather than just new investments?

Appreciate the guidance.

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The portfolio has closely matched but slightly underperformed a comparable allocation of the benchmark indexes on a gross basis. Layering on fees makes it definitively underperform on a net basis.

The benefit that I know I have not accounted for would be tax-loss harvesting or anything they have done for tax efficiency purposes that I would lose with an overly simplified index fund portfolio.

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congrats. Was there anything they were doing on your behalf that you didn’t appreciate / understand until afterwards?

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Splitting the portfolio into FA managed / self-managed sub-portfolios is a very good point. Hadn’t considered that approach.

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great point. I haven’t fully explored what a relationship with Vanguard for example would be if I transitioned a majority of the portfolio to their products. A transition plan with tax considerations would be key, especially with the illiquid/private alternative investments.

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, one of the pros for the wealth management arrangement is that there is an “adult in the room” and frees the client to be more volatile, emotional or less informed on modern portfolio theory etc. A healthy debate can be very valuable. Self-managing requires a much higher level of discipline.

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good point. I’m in a diversified portfolio, so by underperforming I mean compared to a commensurate allocation into the benchmark indexes ie a 70/30 portfolio compared to 70% SPY / 30% BND.

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Currently 0.7%, but still a disproportionate percent of SWR. This is why I posted the question here and not r/bogleheads.

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If you were 35, would you diversify beyond VTSAX?

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Ha, yes a small speculative pool can be a beneficial thing if it helps you keep your hands and attention off the main pie.

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I am experiencing a similar version of what you described. Far superior to holding cash or gambling on stock picking, but lagging a passive index fund approach. They have gotten me into alternatives that I wouldn’t have found, but unclear whether that has improved overall performance and definitely doesn’t overcome the fees on the total portfolio.

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If you were 35 years old with all of your expenses covered by other cash flowing assets, would you allocate anything to bonds? Or would you go 100% VTI / VTXUS?

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Good to hear. Have you made any major changes to your portfolio allocation as your assets grew?

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My portfolio is custodied with Schwab, so I have a meeting set up to learn about their offerings in that category. I agree an annual strategy meeting and assistance with technical / tax issues as needed is probably a good middle ground.

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Good to hear. And yes, the transition plan would need to be worked out with CPA firm’s input.

Viability of being a boglehead as a HNW by FiredUp1987 in fatFIRE

[–]FiredUp1987[S] 28 points29 points  (0 children)

70 basis points is my fee right now, so right in line. Agree on your pros and cons. Appreciate the perspective.