Hi,

I read your early posts regarding purchasing bond fund for a short period, then swich it over to an equity fund for the purpose of paying less load. Can I do this by myself, in a third party brokeage account (Schwab, Fidelity, etc.), or do I need an advisor like Al to perform such a transaction? Can I do this for a Roth IRA account?

Thank you for your help.

Lee

Hi Lee,

I dont think I can answer your question.

My AF account was set up years ago through an advisor.  When I did the bond "trick", I simply mailed in a check myself selecting the bond fund on my remittance slip, and then exchanged online.

I did this myself, with no involvement from my advisor or brokerage.  Ofcourse, advisor still got his commission as being on record.

Yes, my account is a ROTH, so should make no difference.

Sorry, I could not be more helpful. 

Finally, Even a 2.5% load is a drag on a portfolio, so make sure you understand exactly why this investment is justified and not attainable elsewhere.  I dont beleive in excluding any fund from consideration simply because it is loaded, however, I dont currently invest NEW money with AF.  I do consider my AF's as the core of my portfolio, and try to build around that.

Good Luck

 

 

I know Lee they only use advisors although over the years some folks have mentioned firms that supposedly had AF for sale without advisors.  You might want to call around to see if there is a firm like Waterhouse or Fidelity that allows this.  You certainly can use Short Term Bond or Intermediate Bond Fund and then switch out.  Let us know what you find out.

Thank you hurleyhuckster and Al for the quick response. My intention is to DCA a couple hundred dollars into the Roth IRA account that we won't touch for 20+ yrs. In this case, is the Class A share my best choice? I know this has been discussed many times, please send me a link if you know of a good thread to go to.

Thanks again.

Lee

with I use "B" shares if they have less than $50,000 or so, thus if you are just beginning with small dollar amounts think about that share class.

[quote user="AL Lindquist"]with I use "B" shares if they have less than $50,000 or so, thus if you are just beginning with small dollar amounts think about that share class.[/quote]

Al...

When reinvesting B share dividends and capital gains, are they reinvested as B shares, and if so how long before the shares bought with reinvested dividends and capital gains convert to A shares?

helmut 

Very interesting question posed by Helmut.  I know A shares reinvest load free, so if B shares reinvest as B shares, almost seems like a penalty of sorts.  I am also interested in the answer to this question as a matter of curiousity.

A or B shares, Lee, but definately not C.  Al has made a decent case for the B shares in the past that I certainly agree with.  It should come out pretty close depending upon what the market does, which you have no control over, so I would not fret too much about it.  IMO, B shares were created as a "feel good" share, creating the illusion of being load free, but they get the commission in the end.

If only all the people who needed advisors could find a chap like Al, a real class act as far as I can tell.

Brian

Helmut,

I previously posed this question with an Advisor I worked with years ago and the sense I got was that conversion of B shares even with reinvested cap gains and divvys occurred at the same time.

Now this may be inaccurate since he promised a bridge in brooklyn that I am still waiting to buy :-))

Enjoy your posts btw.

Wayne.

occurs after year 8 although you can sell penalty free after year 6.  This includes dividends and cap gains.  Yes, they are "feel good" as folks don't like paying up front for anything if they can avoid it.  "B" shares cost about 75 to 80 basis points more which I "sell" as my cost to sit in your kitchen, answer all your e-mail ("this market makes me sick why don't we bail?"--said by a 25-year old who needs to hold steady at his young age), allocate your 401-K from work (client sent it over last night), or read the document outlining the worker compensation plan a client has at work--prepare questions he can ask HR person (like--"if I leave within 4 years what happens to my $ in this plan?"). 

"B" shares, in my opinion, work nicely when markets are goofy as who wants to pay a load and then watch the account value fall?.  Better to have every $ working for you in times of market distress.  In "bull" markets the load can be earned back in possibly a short time thus folks feel much better.  Why start off in the hole only to sink deeper?

Basically it is a choice somebody makes.  "C" shares are good for short term folks.  Will see someone on the 10th and her Dad is elderly and there is money that needs a home.  "C" shares, in this case, could work nicely as he is not well. 

Every share class has its place--best to know the person involved and what might work best for them.