Anyone move a Solo 401K from Ascensus to elsewhere?

[oldtoyota]

My solo 401K moved from Vanguard to Ascensus without my input or permission. Vanguard sold that part of their business.

Ascensus will charge fees to move in the future, so I figure I may as well move my account now. I've heard it's not easy to do and they are telling business owners to terminate themselves to get the money distributed, which will set off a tax event.

Has anyone successfully moved away from Ascensus?

If so, what companies do you recommend? I'm thinking about Fidelity.

[Archipelago]

I have a solo 401(k) with Fidelity and have been happy with it. My only complaint is that all contributions need to be done by mailing in a form and a check. So if you have payroll, you'll need to configure those contributions with your payroll provider since it's not done with direct deposit from paychecks.

Other than that, Fidelity is right up there with Vanguard when it comes to financial custodians.

I would recommend getting in touch with Fidelity for help making the transfer. It needs to be done trustee to trustee, so it doesn't incur a taxable event.

https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/customer-service/self-employed-401k-contribution-remittance.pdf

[MrGreen]

I have a solo 401(k) with Fidelity and have been happy with it. My only complaint is that all contributions need to be done by mailing in a form and a check. So if you have payroll, you'll need to configure those contributions with your payroll provider since it's not done with direct deposit from paychecks.

Other than that, Fidelity is right up there with Vanguard when it comes to financial custodians.

I would recommend getting in touch with Fidelity for help making the transfer. It needs to be done trustee to trustee, so it doesn't incur a taxable event.

https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/customer-service/self-employed-401k-contribution-remittance.pdf

I just opened a Self-employed 401k with Fidelity a month ago and there does appear to be a mechanism for doing an electronic transfer from my bank account. I haven't done the first one yet but the transfer page has selections for type of deposit (employer/employee), contribution year (2023/2024), and shows the contribution limits and what I've deposited to date.

[marbar]

Updating to say that I was able to move to Fidelity. The process took about six weeks and required a lot of paperwork and 4-5 lengthy phone calls.

Can you comment on the process? A few sentences, if it could save a couple of those lengthy phone calls, would be much appreciated!  :)

[joenorm]

Why move from Ascensus?

[green2bend]

Why move from Ascensus?

The Solo 401K at Vanguard had no fees as long as you had enough assets at Vanguard (I think it was $50k). The only thing you had to pay for was the normal expense ratio on the funds you purchased.

Ascensus has multiple fees:

There is a $20 annual fee per Vanguard fund per account holder in this Individual(k) plan and a $20 annual fee per participant for custodial services.

[oldtoyota]

Updating to say that I was able to move to Fidelity. The process took about six weeks and required a lot of paperwork and 4-5 lengthy phone calls.

Can you comment on the process? A few sentences, if it could save a couple of those lengthy phone calls, would be much appreciated!  :)

Sure!

I used Fidelity. By the time they helped me, they had pretty much worked out the problems with Ascensus. My instructions will mention Fidelity for that reason, and I can't speak to the process for other institutions.

1. Open your account at Fidelity. You can do this online.
2. Ask Ascensus for their transfer form. I forget the exact name for it. DO NOT SUBMIT THIS FORM TO ASCENSUS.
3. Call Fidelity to confirm your account, and ask to speak to the Solo 401k or self-employed 401k group. You don't want to waste time with the 401K group that serves large corporations.
4. Download your statement from Ascensus.
6. Submit the filled out Ascensus form and the Ascensus statement to Fidelity. The way to do this is rather hidden on the website. You have to scroll way to the bottom of a random page and click tiny links to eventually find out how to submit the form. Or call them to ask. 

I had very good service from Fidelity.

If you have any trouble with Ascensus, I can give you the name of a higher up there. He posted his name and number on a different forum where people were complaining, and he seemed like he really did want to help. Although I emailed him and he put me in touch with someone who could help me, I'd finally reached another Ascensus person who knew what they were doing.

Initially, my form did not go through and I had to make a 5th or 6th phone call and got in touch with a woman who really knew her stuff.

You do NOT want to withdraw the money and set off a tax event. Some people at Ascensus might tell you that's the way to do it. They were saying that at one point. By going through Fidelity, they will make sure the money is transferred in a way that will not set off a tax event.

The last step is to figure out how to invest your money because it'll be transferred into cash at Fidelity.

[WorkingToUnwind]

Why move from Ascensus?

The Solo 401K at Vanguard had no fees as long as you had enough assets at Vanguard (I think it was $50k). The only thing you had to pay for was the normal expense ratio on the funds you purchased.

Ascensus has multiple fees:

There is a $20 annual fee per Vanguard fund per account holder in this Individual(k) plan and a $20 annual fee per participant for custodial services.

Are the fees listed above the only fees?