Q. In 2012, I began an affiliation with an Edward Jones agent who immediately whipped out the form to transfer my sizable TSP account to an Edward Jones investment account. Last year, I transferred all that account to Fisher Investments, which uses Merrill Lynch as my fund’s custodian.
I spoke with a Fisher representative about transferring the IRA portion of my Fisher account back to the TSP. I told the rep that I liked the low investment fee of TSP, but he gave me every reason that TSP was not as good as a full-time manager of my account. He also said that the fees were all worth it, being that my funds can be moved around when a stock is no longer performing or other issues. I have the contributions since 2012 in the TSP.
Is TSP a desirable place to keep my funds? Can an employee move IRA funds to TSP after retirement?
A. You can and should move pre-tax IRA money to your TSP account. Why would you take advice from a salesperson whose income is dependent upon your decisions?
Also: Ask any of these “advisors” to give you a signed, written guarantee that you’ll be better off with them, paying their commissions and fees, than you will be with your money in the TSP.
