Consolidate various IRAs?

[elessar78]

I've changed jobs several times over the past 7 years and I have several retirement accounts with various companies (Vanguard-trad IRA, TIAA-CREF-403B) and one with my current employer which was a 401K. I was contributing to only two of them up until last week. Plus I'm starting a ROTH with a new one in a few days, should I consolidate these under one company?

Are there any pros or cons to keeping them separate?

[disneysteve]

As long as they each represent the same type of assets, it certainly simplifies record keeping to consolidate them. It can also reduce expenses and fees associated with smaller accounts.

Just make sure you are combining apples and apples, so you can't combine, for example, a non-deductible IRA with a tax-deferred 403b.

[Junebaby]

I would consolidate accounts if they are with the same company, or take money from a non-performer and put it into a better one. But I would not have all my money in just one company. I have two with Merrill Lynch, one Roth IRA, one IRA, and two with Wachovia I am going to combine soon.

[elessar78]

Yeah, they tend to be smaller accounts since I only spent a year or two at any particular job. That's my main concern is that I'm losing small increments of money to fees/expenses having multiple accounts.

Does having them under multiple companies offer diversification in a sense?

[creditcardfree]

Yeah, they tend to be smaller accounts since I only spent a year or two at any particular job. That's my main concern is that I'm losing small increments of money to fees/expenses having multiple accounts.

I think the fee savings is a good reason to consolidate them with one company. At some point, you will have more money invested, and it may make sense to consider other investments.

[disneysteve]

Does having them under multiple companies offer diversification in a sense?

No. Diversification comes from selection of investments, not the company with which you invest. There is nothing at all wrong with having all of your money with one company as long as it is appropriately diversified with that company.

[GREENBACK]

I would put all the previous funds into a self directed IRA. You have many more choices than if you put it in a employers plan. Don't know how much you have but this is a way to consolidate without penalties or taxes involved.

[atomicrc11]

The best way to do this would be to pick the vendor you want to go with, ie. Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, etc., call them and they will be more than happy to provide you with the correct forms to get your money to their firm. They will also help in the process to make sure things go smoothly. I've deal with all the firms I've listed in moving assets in and out from old 401ks to Rollover IRAs. Currently I'm with two firms, Schwab for pretty much everything and Fidelity for my 401k since that is who my employer uses.

[TBH]

I was in a similar situation, and I did consolidate everything I could so that almost everything is at Fidelity. (I still have one TIAA-CREF 403b that I can't move to Fidelity because my former employer's plan rules forbid it.)

For me, it helped to have everything at one place so I can more accurately look at my asset allocation and make sure I'm balanced. I use Morningstar's free xray tool a couple times a year, plug in all my different mutual funds, and see whether I'm too heavily invested in large companies, domestic stocks, bonds, etc. That helps me make decisions about what investments to buy with recently deposited money.

At Fidelity, I now have:
1. A rollover IRA from a former job. During years when I have a low tax burden I sometimes convert a little bit of money from this account to my Roth IRA.
2. A Roth
3. A SEP IRA for self-employed income
4. An active 403b account with my current employer
5. A 529 college savings account
6. A very small taxable account where I can park money before I move it into one of my retirement accounts