Schlesinger: Time for another Q&A column!

By Jill Schlesinger Time for another Q A column If you have a question send an email to askjill jillonmoney com Q What is your opinion on saving apps like Acorns and Robinhood Are they a good way to save money Related Articles questions for s do-it-yourself economic forecast Jill On Money Is the business activity A-OK Consumers are spending more a month on average for streaming services Why do prices keep rising Michael and Susan Dell donate billion to encourage families to claim Trump Accounts Jill On Money Giving thanks to my readers A I m all in on anything that encourages you to save your money and get a jump start on retirement and that includes where you bank and saving-friendly apps That noted chosen lean into saving and investing with gamification and gambling which makes me a bit queasy Q My current advisor has informed me that he ll soon be increasing his fees After becoming much more informed and doing a lot of research I m at the point where I d like to move the account and manage it myself Is this doable If so what s my first step A Moving is definitely doable Your first step is to initiate a direct rollover from your current advisor s custodial firm to wherever you decide to open your new accounts Then determine if you want to maintain the same allocation that you had If so and the old account was populated with passive investments index funds you are ready to go If you owned funds or assets that you do not want to keep you will need to factor in taxes if it is a taxable account Keep an eye on the fees for the replacement funds and don t forget to rebalance on a periodic basis Q My wife and I have spoken to a financial advisor whose compensation would be one percent of the value of our portfolio That one percent comes to about this year He has looked at our investments and says he can do better for us Is one percent a customary fee A One percent is standard on accounts up to about But if this person isn t doing anything but managing your money then I would encourage you to keep looking for someone who offers comprehensive financial planning Also I am often dubious of advisors who promise doing better as part of their pitches Q I in recent times was notified that I m part of the highly compensated club and I m now only able to contribute a portion of my Roth k not the full max amount which is what I ve been doing for the last several years I m curious what tax advantage options I have at this point that would be best to utilize A One option is to consider a backdoor Roth IRA But there is a caveat to do so you can t have an existing traditional IRA account If that s the event you would make a non-deductible contribution into a traditional IRA and then forthwith convert it to a Roth Majority of major firms will help you execute a backdoor Roth Another idea is to utilize a robustness savings account if your employer offers it HSAs offer a triple tax advantage which in the world of financial planning is pretty much a grand slam Q When my nieces and nephews were born I opened up an UTMA account for them and made contributions on a monthly basis After years I have a new nephew coming and I was wondering with the new rules should I stick with the UTMA or use a A New rules or not I tend to favor a plan over the UTMA account But the new rules make the even more compelling For accounts that are open for at least years you can transfer up to of unused funds to a Roth IRA in the beneficiary s name The annual transfers have to comply with the IRA limits in that given year Jill Schlesinger CFP is a CBS News business analyst A former options trader and CIO of an commitment advisory firm she welcomes comments and questions at askjill jillonmoney com Check her website at www jillonmoney com