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"...I agreed and will see what I hear from them soon." Please do tell us. I can't get any communicationat all from the Honolulu office by phone, period.
A Schwab rep called on Monday. We talked about Schwab acquiring a lot of former Vanguard customers and what Schwab can do for them, like waiving Vanguard fund fees. A very open conversation, where I asked for fee waivers and Schwab was amenable within limits (still get charged on most families). I asked about a transfer bonus and he responded without hesitancy - though for one promotion he said he'd have to double check that it was still available. In short, an offer I couldn't refuse.
(The call was from an office 20 miles away. He offered to have someone call from my local office, but I declined since I would use the local office at most quite infrequently.)
I got follow up calls from Schwab on Tues (to confirm offer) and today (to ask if I wanted to open an account now or wait until I'd positioned assets for the transfer). No pressure, but then again I'm going to transfer most of my Vanguard assets there, so what's to press?
FWIW, I'm also looking at Merrill for its current transfer offer (see below) and as a replacement for Vanguard Cash Plus, where I have VUSXX and a bank sweep paying 4.6% (was 4.7%). I like to keep a modest amount in a bank just in case the world collapses or the credit markets freeze up again. Merrill offers institutional class shares of third party MMFs with a $1 min.
I also spoke with Fidelity, who pitched their services as being superior, and specifically highlighted Schwab's poor MMF rates. My response was that at Merrill I can do better than at either Fidelity or Schwab. Mostly we went over ground that's been covered ad nauseum here already.
Merrill transfer bonuses ($1K for $250K transferred, $400 for $100K, $200 for $50K, $100 for $20K).
The Merrill cash bonus offer looks better than anything I have seen elsewhere. I did not see the program end date if there is one.
I would be interested in an ACAT transfer from Fidelity IRA to Merrill IRA. I checked a few Fidelity funds I own and they all show as unavailable at Merrill. E.g., FSEAX. T. Rowe Price mutual funds are available at Merrill.
Also, if I want to transfer a MM (but not actual cash) from Fidelity IRA (e.g., FZDXX), is my option first buy a cash equivalent ETF at Fidelity, transfer the ETF, and then buy the MM available at Merrill?
The Merrill cash bonus offer looks better than anything I have seen elsewhere. I did not see the program end date if there is one.
I would be interested in an ACAT transfer from Fidelity IRA to Merrill IRA. I checked a few Fidelity funds I own and they all show as unavailable at Merrill. E.g., FSEAX. T. Rowe Price mutual funds are available at Merrill.
Also, if I want to transfer a MM (but not actual cash) from Fidelity IRA (e.g., FZDXX), is my option first buy a cash equivalent ETF at Fidelity, transfer the ETF, and then buy the MM available at Merrill?
Thanks.
When I moved to Schwab from Fidelity, Schwab was matching "cash incentives" offers, from competing brokerages. They matched an E-trade offer for me.
Often a brokerage will allow an investor to transfer in shares of a fund that cannot be opened at the brokerage. In the past I've transferred to Merrill Vanguard Admiral shares and institutional shares of a fund in another family. Neither of these could be opened at Merrill directly. Call Merrill and ask.
With respect to FSEAX, my Merrill account shows that it is available for subsequent purchases (only). So Merrill can hold these shares and once you transfer them in you would be able to add to your position. (But why, since you'd pay a transaction fee to do that?)
I suppose what you're suggesting would work. Though you risk market loss. You could eliminate that risk by picking up Treasuries on the secondary market that mature in a few days (or a couple of weeks to be safe with the transfer speed). If you have enough cash ($1M) to buy institutional shares of a Fidelity MMF, you might be able to transfer that in kind (just speculating here - check with Merrill).
FYI: it costs $29.95 at Merrill to buy Treasuries at auction.
You could also simply transfer the cash via EFT (takes about a day) or a wire (same day).
ACAT transfers from Fidelity to Merrill usually go extremely quickly. The one I initiated yesterday has already been processed by Fidelity. The actual security transfer should take a couple of days. However, the one I initiated Monday is in limbo. Merrill rep says that it is proceeding normally even though their website says that it has been cancelled.
When I moved to Schwab from Fidelity, Schwab was matching "cash incentives" offers, from competing brokerages. They matched an E-trade offer for me.
Did they match the terms of the offer or just the amount? Merrill requires one to maintain the balance for 90 days; Schwab promotions typically require assets to remain for a year. Not surprisingly, it was the Fidelity rep who pointed out Schwab's one year holding requirement.
Thanks @msf and Dt. Somethings for me to consider. I am unlikely to transfer more assets to Schwab for a while.
Just curious why does Merrill still keep the Merrill Edge platform which was useful when there was commission on stocks and ETFs. Is there any difference between the two platforms for retail customers anymore? I shall call them to check.
When I moved to Schwab from Fidelity, Schwab was matching "cash incentives" offers, from competing brokerages. They matched an E-trade offer for me.
Did they match the terms of the offer or just the amount? Merrill requires one to maintain the balance for 90 days; Schwab promotions typically require assets to remain for a year. Not surprisingly, it was the Fidelity rep who pointed out Schwab's one year holding requirement.
I had to "negotiate" the amount of the transfer, which for me was over $1mil combined, had to maintain that balance for 90 days before they deposited the money into my accounts, and I negotiated an additional component of the transfer, which was a transaction fee reduction, for institutional share class purchases.
Thanks. Sounds like you did a great job of negotiating, bargaining up from a competitor's offer.
Schwab seems especially amenable to negotiating. It's as though AUM is paramount to them, regardless of how little or how much they make on those assets. Bragging rights? Impact on SCHW stock price?
Fidelity's reps have compensation adjusted according to the size of the accounts they are responsible for and also for the types of assets in those accounts. MMFs aren't worth much to them, while VAs are prized. Which could explain why my newly appointed Fidelity account rep pushed so hard on the idea of growing AUM, of consolidating accounts. I assume Schwab is similar.
Schwab website seems to breakdown more often these days. In my accounts the cumulative Day's change today, at the top of the positions page, is more than +50%. But the actual change is correctly negative.
Yesterday, they had log in issues. I could not log in and when I called their telephone number to get help, there was a recording about log in issues.
Getting AUM is fine but the organization has to be built for it. When eyes are bigger than the stomach, there can be health consequences.
Yes, I also think that the Schwab website is feeling stress on some days. Probably still a lot of detail work on patching in the TD Ameritrade still under way in the background. Merging data platforms is not for the faint of heart.
They took nearly 1.5 yrs to move client assets in stages. The final May 13 move involved only 10% of accounts. (After my account moved, the Schwab Rep put me on hold and accessed my TD account.)
I never paid attention to MM before 2022 and after that because I'm invested at 99+%, but I was in MM from 01/2022 to the beginning of 11/2022. To get the best Schwab MM you need one million. I bought all/most of the options(SNAXX,SUTXX,SCOXX) in our Trad IRA and transferred one share to Roth and Joint accounts. I reduced it to just one share so I can get back in when I need to. In 2022 I felt more comfortable using Gov MM, when the risk went down, I used SNAXX.
I never paid attention to MM before 2022 and after that because I'm invested at 99+%, but I was in MM from 01/2022 to the beginning of 11/2022.
Of course you were LOL, Not bad but I moved everything into MM on 1/3/2022 and back into the market on 10/11/2022... SMH You're slipping... you missed the exact top and bottom by a few days.... SMH FD you're laughable... LOL
ADD: so you moved all your money into a MM fund paying ~0.05% at the time-- good move.
Trying to figure out if this is the thread where we discussed Schwab platform being behind Fidelity for Treasury and Agency purchases, I noticed that we completely destroyed this thread with off (thread) topics. With apologies, I go one more time.
My Treasury positions at Schwab and Fidelity matured on June 15 (Saturday). Friday evening, Fidelity positions page showed pending credit and first thing Monday AM, Fidelity moved the money to sweep account. Schwab did not show anything last night and added to cash this AM.
I had forgotten about the Schwab position until this AM when I received this email from Schwab "Your fixed income security will be maturing soon." [bold added] I looked into the email details and noticed the maturity date "June 15." Fidelity sent me the reminder a few weeks ago.
Also, I looked at the interest credit. Treasury did not pay me for the extra two days they had my money, and then there was that extra day of interest loss at Schwab (lost interest on $500K made me notice.)
So, on my next Treasury or Agency purchase, I not only have to look at the coupon (buying at par) but also whether the maturity date falls on a weekend / holiday. Also, unlikely to buy at Schwab; the one matured at Schwab was moved from Fidelity.
P.S.: (1) My memory could be faulty but I thought corporate bonds added extra interest upon maturity if the maturity date fell on a weekend / holiday. (Treasury certainly did not do that.) Is my expectation misplaced?
(2) Do I earn interest in my Schwab MM fund from the date when the trade to buy is executed (today) or when the trade settles (Thursday)?
Do I earn interest in my Schwab MM fund from the date when the trade to buy is executed (today) or when the trade settles (Thursday)?
The prospectus for SWVXX / SNAXX, SNVXX / SGUXX, SNOXX / SCOXX, SNRXX, and SNSXX / SUTXX reads:
Orders to buy shares that are accepted no later than the close of a fund (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time) generally will receive the next business day’s dividend. Orders to sell or exchange shares that are accepted and executed no later than the close of a fund on a given day generally will receive that day’s dividend.
That's precisely what one would expect. As with any security, you get a dividend if and only if you are shareholder of record on the record date.
MMFs declare divs daily. You are not shareholder of record on the trade date (unless the MMF settles T+0). So you do not receive the div declared that day. Similarly, when you sell you do not give up ownership until the day after the sale. So you get the div declared on the day of sale.
Makes sense. So, Schwab not giving my Treasury maturity proceeds until today and tomorrow being a holiday, I lose interest on those proceeds for two extra days relative to the same maturity at Fidelity. I guess Schwab found ways to earn back quickly that account transfer bonus they gave me!
"Schwab found ways to earn back quickly that account transfer bonus they gave me"
But of course. Every business needs to make a profit somehow. You can bet that Fidelity or any other brokerage is also shaving a few dollars here and there. Just go down a couple of threads and see Vanguard charging to get out.
My Treasury positions at Schwab and Fidelity matured on June 15 (Saturday). ... Schwab did not show anything last night and added to cash this [Tuesday] AM.
Unlike Fidelity (at least from what other posters here have written), you can trade online at Schwab without having sufficient cash in your account at the time a trade is executed. You just need to get that cash into the account by settlement day (or you are set up to trade on margin).
In hindsight (putting on those 20/20 goggles), you could have placed your MMF order on Monday. It would have settled on Tuesday (today) and the Treasury proceeds would have covered it. The MMF would then have started accruing divs today.
My Treasury positions at Schwab and Fidelity matured on June 15 Fidelity moved the money to sweep account
You're using the term 'sweep account', so this transaction is within a Fido Cash Management Account?? I ask, as a standard Fido brokerage has 'core positions' for cash consisting of a MMKT of one form or another. Thank you. Catch
My Treasury positions at Schwab and Fidelity matured on June 15 (Saturday). ... Schwab did not show anything last night and added to cash this [Tuesday] AM.
Unlike Fidelity (at least from what other posters here have written), you can trade online at Schwab without having sufficient cash in your account at the time a trade is executed. You just need to get that cash into the account by settlement day (or you are set up to trade on margin).
In hindsight (putting on those 20/20 goggles), you could have placed your MMF order on Monday. It would have settled on Tuesday (today) and the Treasury proceeds would have covered it. The MMF would then have started accruing divs today.
This was in an IRA. I already tried unsuccessfully that idea in that account at the end of May when I had a smaller Treasury mature. Unless there is cash in the account, Schwab does not allow me (or broker assisted) to place a buy order in the IRA. We already had a lengthy discussion about this in this forum, may be with @Catch22 (you can search).
My Schwab taxable account is 100% equity, with a mutual fund (happens to be MM) balance of $37.79.
I have another small Treasury maturing on July 15 (thankfully, a Monday). At that time, I will be done with Treasuries (or Agencies) at Schwab. I will just sell some longer term positions at Fidelity and buy the same at Schwab, that way I minimize the cash frictions at Schwab. I will continue to buy Treasuries (and Agencies) only at Fidelity.
My Treasury positions at Schwab and Fidelity matured on June 15 Fidelity moved the money to sweep account
You're using the term 'sweep account', so this transaction is within a Fido Cash Management Account?? I ask, as a standard Fido brokerage has 'core positions' for cash consisting of a MMKT of one form or another. Thank you. Catch
It is the sweep (money market) fund, as you say.
Not every brokerage offers money market funds to act as a sweep bucket. So, I use the general term sweep account rather than the specific sweep fund. If you guys collectively agree to use Sweep Fund rather than Sweep Account, I am happy to sync up. (Whatever makes it easy for you all - I have a high sense of mortality.)
@BaluBalu : Are you using T's instead of CD's to catch the tax break given by states ? Added : Or for protect against Bank failure ?
My investing actions are not always rational. I do a lot of things out of laziness. I am still learning about myself and investing. I do not execute even 95% of knowledge (like most alcoholics!). I would say, do as I tell you not as I do.
If you remember there was a discussion where I spent a lot of time supporting CDs. Search @old_Joe's posts where he was exploring how to weed out bad banks. There are plenty of good banks to buy CDs from.
Comments
Please do tell us. I can't get any communicationat all from the Honolulu office by phone, period.
(The call was from an office 20 miles away. He offered to have someone call from my local office, but I declined since I would use the local office at most quite infrequently.)
I got follow up calls from Schwab on Tues (to confirm offer) and today (to ask if I wanted to open an account now or wait until I'd positioned assets for the transfer). No pressure, but then again I'm going to transfer most of my Vanguard assets there, so what's to press?
FWIW, I'm also looking at Merrill for its current transfer offer (see below) and as a replacement for Vanguard Cash Plus, where I have VUSXX and a bank sweep paying 4.6% (was 4.7%). I like to keep a modest amount in a bank just in case the world collapses or the credit markets freeze up again. Merrill offers institutional class shares of third party MMFs with a $1 min.
I also spoke with Fidelity, who pitched their services as being superior, and specifically highlighted Schwab's poor MMF rates. My response was that at Merrill I can do better than at either Fidelity or Schwab. Mostly we went over ground that's been covered ad nauseum here already.
Merrill transfer bonuses ($1K for $250K transferred, $400 for $100K, $200 for $50K, $100 for $20K).
The Merrill cash bonus offer looks better than anything I have seen elsewhere. I did not see the program end date if there is one.
I would be interested in an ACAT transfer from Fidelity IRA to Merrill IRA. I checked a few Fidelity funds I own and they all show as unavailable at Merrill. E.g., FSEAX. T. Rowe Price mutual funds are available at Merrill.
Also, if I want to transfer a MM (but not actual cash) from Fidelity IRA (e.g., FZDXX), is my option first buy a cash equivalent ETF at Fidelity, transfer the ETF, and then buy the MM available at Merrill?
Thanks.
When I moved to Schwab from Fidelity, Schwab was matching "cash incentives" offers, from competing brokerages. They matched an E-trade offer for me.
With respect to FSEAX, my Merrill account shows that it is available for subsequent purchases (only). So Merrill can hold these shares and once you transfer them in you would be able to add to your position. (But why, since you'd pay a transaction fee to do that?)
As far as cash transfers go, I assume you are thinking of short term bond ETFs (e.g. ICSH) as "cash equivalents". There are no MMF ETFs yet. See
https://mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/62359/money-market-etf
I suppose what you're suggesting would work. Though you risk market loss. You could eliminate that risk by picking up Treasuries on the secondary market that mature in a few days (or a couple of weeks to be safe with the transfer speed). If you have enough cash ($1M) to buy institutional shares of a Fidelity MMF, you might be able to transfer that in kind (just speculating here - check with Merrill).
FYI: it costs $29.95 at Merrill to buy Treasuries at auction.
You could also simply transfer the cash via EFT (takes about a day) or a wire (same day).
ACAT transfers from Fidelity to Merrill usually go extremely quickly. The one I initiated yesterday has already been processed by Fidelity. The actual security transfer should take a couple of days. However, the one I initiated Monday is in limbo. Merrill rep says that it is proceeding normally even though their website says that it has been cancelled.
Just curious why does Merrill still keep the Merrill Edge platform which was useful when there was commission on stocks and ETFs. Is there any difference between the two platforms for retail customers anymore? I shall call them to check.
Schwab seems especially amenable to negotiating. It's as though AUM is paramount to them, regardless of how little or how much they make on those assets. Bragging rights? Impact on SCHW stock price?
Fidelity's reps have compensation adjusted according to the size of the accounts they are responsible for and also for the types of assets in those accounts. MMFs aren't worth much to them, while VAs are prized. Which could explain why my newly appointed Fidelity account rep pushed so hard on the idea of growing AUM, of consolidating accounts. I assume Schwab is similar.
Yesterday, they had log in issues. I could not log in and when I called their telephone number to get help, there was a recording about log in issues.
Getting AUM is fine but the organization has to be built for it. When eyes are bigger than the stomach, there can be health consequences.
P.S.: Think or Swim login probably was fine.
To get the best Schwab MM you need one million. I bought all/most of the options(SNAXX,SUTXX,SCOXX) in our Trad IRA and transferred one share to Roth and Joint accounts. I reduced it to just one share so I can get back in when I need to.
In 2022 I felt more comfortable using Gov MM, when the risk went down, I used SNAXX.
ADD: so you moved all your money into a MM fund paying ~0.05% at the time-- good move.
My Treasury positions at Schwab and Fidelity matured on June 15 (Saturday). Friday evening, Fidelity positions page showed pending credit and first thing Monday AM, Fidelity moved the money to sweep account. Schwab did not show anything last night and added to cash this AM.
I had forgotten about the Schwab position until this AM when I received this email from Schwab "Your fixed income security will be maturing soon." [bold added] I looked into the email details and noticed the maturity date "June 15." Fidelity sent me the reminder a few weeks ago.
Also, I looked at the interest credit. Treasury did not pay me for the extra two days they had my money, and then there was that extra day of interest loss at Schwab (lost interest on $500K made me notice.)
So, on my next Treasury or Agency purchase, I not only have to look at the coupon (buying at par) but also whether the maturity date falls on a weekend / holiday. Also, unlikely to buy at Schwab; the one matured at Schwab was moved from Fidelity.
P.S.: (1) My memory could be faulty but I thought corporate bonds added extra interest upon maturity if the maturity date fell on a weekend / holiday. (Treasury certainly did not do that.) Is my expectation misplaced?
(2) Do I earn interest in my Schwab MM fund from the date when the trade to buy is executed (today) or when the trade settles (Thursday)?
The prospectus for SWVXX / SNAXX, SNVXX / SGUXX, SNOXX / SCOXX, SNRXX, and SNSXX / SUTXX reads: https://connect.rightprospectus.com/Schwab/TADF/808515605/SP?site=Funds
That's precisely what one would expect. As with any security, you get a dividend if and only if you are shareholder of record on the record date.
MMFs declare divs daily. You are not shareholder of record on the trade date (unless the MMF settles T+0). So you do not receive the div declared that day. Similarly, when you sell you do not give up ownership until the day after the sale. So you get the div declared on the day of sale.
Added : Or for protect against Bank failure ?
But of course. Every business needs to make a profit somehow. You can bet that Fidelity or any other brokerage is also shaving a few dollars here and there. Just go down a couple of threads and see Vanguard charging to get out.
Unlike Fidelity (at least from what other posters here have written), you can trade online at Schwab without having sufficient cash in your account at the time a trade is executed. You just need to get that cash into the account by settlement day (or you are set up to trade on margin).
In hindsight (putting on those 20/20 goggles), you could have placed your MMF order on Monday. It would have settled on Tuesday (today) and the Treasury proceeds would have covered it. The MMF would then have started accruing divs today.
Thank you.
Catch
My Schwab taxable account is 100% equity, with a mutual fund (happens to be MM) balance of $37.79.
I have another small Treasury maturing on July 15 (thankfully, a Monday). At that time, I will be done with Treasuries (or Agencies) at Schwab. I will just sell some longer term positions at Fidelity and buy the same at Schwab, that way I minimize the cash frictions at Schwab. I will continue to buy Treasuries (and Agencies) only at Fidelity.
Not every brokerage offers money market funds to act as a sweep bucket. So, I use the general term sweep account rather than the specific sweep fund. If you guys collectively agree to use Sweep Fund rather than Sweep Account, I am happy to sync up. (Whatever makes it easy for you all - I have a high sense of mortality.)
If you remember there was a discussion where I spent a lot of time supporting CDs. Search @old_Joe's posts where he was exploring how to weed out bad banks. There are plenty of good banks to buy CDs from.