Changing Brokers and moving Securities In-Kind

[B2B_Investing]

Hi Mark,

I am changing brokers for some of our retirement accounts and am moving a mix of stocks and mutual funds in-kind. Is there a way to use the existing securities so that transaction history, notes, cost basis, etc can be utilized without creating duplicate securities?

Thanks again for a great product.

Jason

[Mark]

Hi Jason,

There are probably a few ways you could go about this, and it depends if you're moving the whole account, or just some securities/funds. If you're moving a whole account, the easiest thing to do is just rename the sub-portfolio, and change the properties, like account number, and what broker you're retrieving from.

If you're moving select investments, you can simply move the investment file to a new sub-portfolio. You could also use the "Transfer Between" wizard. Moving the whole investment has the benefit that you keep the whole history in a single investment (and it is easier).

[B2B_Investing]

Hi Mark,

It is a partial move at this point so I am glad to hear it is as simple as moving the security to a new subfolder. I presume one broker is going to transfer the security out and the receiving broker will transfer it in. Should I wait for the transfer out transaction before moving the security to the new folder?

Jason

[Mark]

Hi Jason,

It is up to you on when you move it. One thing to keep an eye out for is if you are retrieving transactions, and your old broker shows a "Transfer Out", and your new broker shows a "Transfer In" you would want to un-check those transactions in the Preview Importing Transactions dialog, so you don't import them.

[B2B_Investing]

Ok. My thinking was record the transfer out from the old broker (using retrieve transactions) and the transfer in from the new broker (using retrieve transactions.) What I am hearing is do not record either and just move the transaction since the security is moved in-kind.

As always I appreciate the great technical support and an amazing product.

Jason

[Mark]

Hi Jason,

Yes, if all the shares of your investment get moved, you can just move the whole investment (which includes all the transactions in that investment). You don't need to record any transfer transactions in this case, as you're moving the whole investment. The one down side to this approach is you don't have a transaction record of moving the investment between brokers. The up side is you have the full transaction history in a single investment. If you prefer, you can not move the investment, and record the transfer transactions, between 2 investments, one old and one new. You wouldn't do both, choose one method or the other. Either move the whole investment, or record the transfer transactions.

[B2B_Investing]

Thanks Mark. I tried including both the transfer out, moved the investment and the captured the transfer in but it mangled the cost basis. I wanted what you said, all of the transactions in one investment. I solved the no record of the transfer between brokers by adding a note. I wanted to keep the history of the portfolio which is more important to me that what broker holds the securities.

Jason

[Mark]

Hi Jason,

I probably confused the issue. If you moved the investment, you would not want to record any transfer transactions at all. Adding an investment note is a great way to remember the move, and still being able to keep all transactions in a single investment.