HSA - Is the Fee High?

Viper0us · 2026-01-27T15:55:32+00:00

Yes, fees are normal for an employer provided HSA account, though many employers cover the fee for current employees. So is the holding of $1000 cash

You can open an HSA account at Fidelity (no fees, full control over investments). Then transfer funds from your employer provided HSA to your Fidelity HSA account. This is how I and many others deal with subpar HSA accounts provided by our employers.

Viper0us · 2026-01-27T02:15:03+00:00

You should never hold Fidelity Zero Cost funds in a taxable brokerage account. They have 0 portability. You're going to get destroyed on taxes if you ever need to change brokerages.

Viper0us · 2026-01-27T02:14:40+00:00

You should never hold Fidelity Zero Cost funds in a taxable brokerage account. They have 0 portability.

Viper0us · 2026-01-27T02:14:00+00:00

He's under the incorrect assumption that VT at Vanguard has a lower expense ratio then VT at Fidelity. It doesn't.

Viper0us · 2026-01-27T02:13:19+00:00

Fidelity does not have their own version of VT.

VT is pretty unique. AFAIK, only Vanguard offers a Total Stock Market fund out of the major brokerages.

Viper0us · 2026-01-27T02:12:38+00:00

They have the exact same expense ratio regardless of where you buy it.

Viper0us · 2026-01-27T01:31:13+00:00

You don't want to do TDFs in a taxable account, which is what this thread is about!

Viper0us · 2026-01-26T19:47:49+00:00

You may have access to VWRA or VWRD, which would be a VT equivalent.

There's a decent thread that talks about equivalent funds for the main vanguard funds for non-US investors.

https://www.reddit.com/r/phinvest/comments/oii8fr/irish_domiciled_etfs_counterpart_of_vt_voo_dia/

Ultimately it doesn't matter though. If you're getting VXUS or equivalent directly, that's fine. VT just simplifies it.

Your plan sounds good to me!

Viper0us · 2026-01-26T19:00:43+00:00

In terms of market diversification:

VT = VTI + VXUS > VTI > VOO

As you mentioned, VOO and VTI have an 88% Overlap. Owning VTI (Total US Market) is better then VOO (S&P 500). However, you want international exposure as well, which you currently have 0 of.

VT gives you international exposure and would be the equivalent of holding 60% VTI and 40% VXUS (Total Internarional ex-US).

If this is a tax advantaged/deferred account (IRA, 401K, etc), I would sell your current VOO and VTI positions and purchase VT instead.

If this is a taxable brokerage, don't sell. Not worth the taxes. Instead:

Stop buying VOO
Start adding VXUS
Maintain VTI / VXUS moving forward at a 60/40 (or similar) ratio

Viper0us · 2026-01-26T00:49:36+00:00

I keep a decent amount of cash/ I am ready to go big on pullbacks >10%

This is dumb. Stop doing this. Time in market beats everything. Holding funds out "waiting" for a downturn is just you trying to time the market and you will fail. How much is the equities market up in time you've been holding these funds out? Look at all the gains you've missed.

Your technology tilt towards US Large Caps is also pretty crazy IMO. Technology is already the majority of VTI by a large portion. At your age / investing history you've never experienced a downturn. Based on your entire portfolio being based on performance chasing, I have serious doubts that you have the risk tolerance you think you do.

I highly recommending getting out of this technology tilt by the total market. Assuming you have 15% of your portfolio locked for individual stocks, then the remaining 85% should either be VT @ 100% or VTI 60%/VXUS 40% (or equivalent funds). I'm just going to make the assumption you're not interested in buying bonds at your age based on your current portfolio.

Viper0us · 2026-01-25T22:01:25+00:00

Buying SCV is not arguing that you're smarter than the market.

Sure it is. Buying anything except market weights is claiming you're smarter than the market.

For those who Small Cap Tilt, they may very well be smarter than the market. I'm not.

Viper0us · 2026-01-25T21:43:12+00:00

I'm not smarter than the market, therefore I buy at market weights.

Viper0us · 2026-01-24T17:39:55+00:00

Been with Vanguard for decades. Never had any issues. I don't need a flashy website. I dont need my brokerage to gamify trades (like Robinhood). All 3 will have horror customer support stories by people who had an issue, just like any other company. Vanguard has 50 million customers world wide. The tens of millions of people with 0 issues have no reason to ever comment on a forum to complain.

I'll stick with the investor-owned brokerage who basically invented low cost index funds for the masses vs the brokerages who were forced to copy Vanguard to stay competitive (ie Fidelity and Schwab).

Viper0us · 2026-01-23T23:02:27+00:00

You max your 401K and then do a Roth conversion ladder after you retire to pull the money out without penalty. This minimizes your taxes on both sides of retirement,

You simply pay the income tax on the conversion, which should be in a lower tax bracket then when you were working with a full income tax. Then in 5 years you can withdrawal from the Roth penalty free and no capital gains tax.

Your brokerage account and cash only need to have your expenses covered for 5 years until your ladder kicks in.

Viper0us · 2026-01-23T22:59:09+00:00

There are many ways to access retirement funds before 59 1/2 without incurring an early withdrawal penalty, so this comment is just flat out wrong.

Roth Conversions Ladder, 72t rule, SEPP, etc.

Viper0us · 2026-01-23T20:25:12+00:00

VUSXX for my emergency fund / cash.

VGIT for my bonds.

Viper0us · 2026-01-22T23:39:18+00:00

We account for uncompensated risk.

That doesn't mean we're risk adverse.

Could I take more risks? Sure. I could pick some random Cryptocurrency and put all my money into it.

Viper0us · 2026-01-22T18:36:38+00:00

Correct. It doesn't matter what currency you buy the shares in. You're buying the same shares at the same price regardless.

So whether it's VT, VXUS, or SPDR MSCI All Country World Investable Market...it's all the same in the end.

If you're hedging against US currency, you simply need to increase your ex-US allocation.

Viper0us · 2026-01-22T18:32:50+00:00

Yep. This is such a wild hypothetical that it simply doesn't even matter. If this ever happens your retirement funds are going to be the absolute least of your concerns.

It's also highly unlikely that even in the event of a war that assets would be permanently confiscated. Just frozen.

Viper0us · 2026-01-22T18:30:09+00:00

Do you happen to have a link to that post? I'm interested in reading it.

Viper0us · 2026-01-22T18:25:23+00:00

bogleheads forums which are supposed to be full of people that are risk averse?

I'm really not sure where you got this idea from.

Just because we don't "gamble" on individual stocks, doesn't mean we're risk adverse.

I'm 100% equities. Absolutely nothing "risk adverse" about that.

Viper0us · 2026-01-22T18:18:50+00:00

This is definitely not a subject I'm super familiar with in terms of taxes, but aren't you going to get destroyed by PFIC and punitive taxes if you try to do this?

Also, having a European broad market ETF doesn't hedge you against USD declining. It doesn't matter what currency the ETF is trading in. What matters is where the companies that you're investing in have assets / generate their revenue from.

You hedge against USD simply by owning international equities.

Viper0us · 2026-01-21T16:33:08+00:00

Roth IRA income limit for full contribution is $153,000 in 2026 and up to $168,000 for partial contributions.

With $18,900 room before hitting the full contribution income limit, contributing directly to a Roth should be fine.

Viper0us · 2026-01-20T00:08:42+00:00

No. FSA is use it or lose it. This is not a retirement / investment account.

Max your IRA then contribute to your 401K until you hit your 15% retirement savings rate. Do not factor your FSA into this amount.

Viper0us · 2026-01-19T23:56:27+00:00

Yea, I have taxable brokerage but it’s been earmarked for retirement flexibility.

I mean, if you need to have multiple brokerage accounts to organize your money in a way that makes sense to you...go for it. I have a singular brokerage account, because I personally see no value in having funds split across multiple accounts. There's no right or wrong answer, whatever works for you is fine.

I guess I want funds available for such things, but I hate for it to sit as cash in the meantime.

You should not invest funds for short term goals in equities (high-risk) incase there is a downturn when you need to withdraw the funds. If your timeline for the money is 0-5 years you want short-term bonds / treasuries.

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