Sometimes it is not clear to a casual financial blog reader what financial services that blogger actually uses. It is entirely reasonable to recommend a company that I have never personally been a client of, but it's also nice to know what I actually use. The White Coat Investor has literally hundreds of current and past advertisers and I couldn't possibly use all of their services personally. Some of those advertisers pay flat fees to advertise while others have an “affiliate” relationship with me where I am only paid based on “conversions”, i.e. when you sign-up or buy something from them.
Long-term readers know I'm big on disclosures, but only the most hard-core reader has likely picked up on every company I have mentioned over the years that I personally use. So today, I thought it might be enlightening to list the companies I actually use, those I have used in the past, and in some categories, a few additional recommendations and perhaps a few comments. Those currently advertising with me will have links. I wish every firm on this list would advertise with me (how easy would it be for me to push Vanguard or Fidelity for instance?), but alas, such is life. At the end, I will remind readers of my current investment portfolio.
Companies I Use
Brokerages
- Currently use: Vanguard, Fidelity, Charles Schwab
- Previously used: TD Ameritrade
- Other recommended: eTrade
I prefer the big companies in this category.
Mutual Funds/Exchange Traded Funds
- Currently use: Vanguard, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, Thrift Savings Plan G Fund, DFA
- Previously used: iShares, Bridgeway, a few other advisor-sold funds I would not recommend
I'm sure there are some other good funds out there, but I haven't had a need for them especially given my preference for low-cost index funds.
Private Real Estate Investing Companies
- Currently use: RealtyMogul, Origin, Equity Multiple, 37th Parallel, AlphaFlow, Arixa, CityVest, DLP
- Previously used: Broadmark (now publicly traded), Realtyshares, Peerstreet, Fundrise, Fund That Flip
- Other companies I work with: Mortar Capital Management, Alpha Investing, Realcrowd, Crowdstreet, RoofStock,
It's impossible to know every company in this category. I'm sure there are lots of great companies here that I just haven't met.
Peer to Peer Lenders (as an investment)
- Currently use: None
- Previously used: Lending Club, Prosper
I don't even really recommend this asset class anymore. Although my experience was quite good, I don't think it can be reproduced now and similar returns can be obtained from less risky loans.
Banks
- Currently use: USAA, University of Utah Credit Union, Zions Bank, Ally Bank, SoFi Money (a neobank I would use more if they offered a business account or an easier way to move large amounts of money), First Republic, Pentagon Federal (to get a credit card), Alliant Credit Union (to get a credit card)
- Previously used: Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, University of Arizona Credit Union
IRA/Roth IRA Providers
- Currently use: Vanguard
- Previously used: None
- Other recommended: Fidelity, Charles Schwab, eTrade
Self-directed IRA/Roth IRA Providers
- Currently use: None
- Previously used: Strata Trust Services
- Other recommended: Rocketdollar
401(k) Providers
- Currently use: Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), Charles Schwab, Northwest Plan Services
- Previously used: MedAmerica
Individual 401(k) Providers
- Currently use: None
- Previously used: Vanguard
- Other recommended: eTrade, Fidelity, Charles Schwab
Self-directed Individual 401(k) Providers
- Currently use: My Solo 401K Financial
- Previously used: None
- Other recommended: Rocketdollar
Health Savings Account (HSA)
- Currently use: Fidelity
- Previously used: HSA Bank/TD Ameritrade
- Other recommended: Lively
A very competitive market with minimal differences between the top providers. I chose Fidelity only because it helped me to consolidate accounts.
529
- Currently use: My529 (Utah)
- Previously used: None
- Other recommended: Your state if you get a state tax deduction or credit, Nevada, New York, California, Ohio. Probably many others that are fine as well.
Education Savings Account (ESA)
- Currently use: None
- Previously used: Vanguard
Donor-Advised Fund
- Currently use: Vanguard Charitable
- Previously used: None
- Other recommended: Fidelity
Student Loan Refinancing Companies
- Currently use: None
- Previously used: None
- Other recommended: See recommended lender list
Mortgage Companies
- Currently use: None
- Previously used: The Mettle Group, USAA, US Bank
- Other recommended: See physician mortgage list
Financial Advisors
- Currently use: None
- Previously used: Seems rude to name names here
- Other recommended: See recommended advisor list
Life Insurance
- Currently use: USAA, Metlife (purchased through agent found on term4sale.com)
- Previously used: Minnesota Life (not recommended)
- Other recommended: See recommended agent page
Disability Insurance
- Currently use: None
- Previously used: The Standard
- Other recommended: See recommended agent page
Homeowners/Auto/Umbrella Insurance
- Currently use: USAA
- Previously used: None
- Other recommended: See recommended agent page
Malpractice Insurance
- Currently use: COPIC
- Previously used: UMIA, The Doctor's Company, Medical Protective
Contract Negotiation
- Currently use: None
- Previously used: An attorney friend (probably not the best move)
- Other recommended: Resolve, Contract Diagnostics, Physician Agreements Health Law
As you read this I am once more off exploring canyon country and rappelling off bags of water and tarps full of sand.
Credit Cards
- Currently use: Pentagon Federal (gas only), Alliant (everything else), US Bank (only at REI), Capital One (Business)
- Previously used: Fidelity, Bank of America, Delta, several others I can't recall
Tax Prep Companies
- Currently use: None
- Previously used: None
- Other recommended: See recommended company list
Practice Loans
- Currently use: None
- Previously used: None
- Other recommended: Bankers Healthcare Group
Personal Loans
- Currently use: None
- Previously used: None
- Other recommended: Not sure I recommend this product at all, but if you really need one, try SoFi
Tax Prep Software
- Currently use: Turbotax
- Previously used: None
Bookkeeping Software
- Currently use: Quickbooks
- Previously used: Microsoft Excel
Blog/Podcast/Website Software
- Currently use: WordPress, Vbulletin, Be.live, Skype, Zoom, Zencastr, Slack, Trello, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, Nina Interactive, Google Drive/Docs/Sheets, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google Adsense, Amazon, Kindle Direct Publishing
- Previously used: Many I can't remember
Web Hosting
- Currently use: Siteground
- Previously used: GoDaddy
Domain Services
- Currently use: GoDaddy
- Previously used: None
Phone and Computer Services
- Currently use: Verizon, Apple, Dell/PC
- Previously used: AT&T
My Investments
My overall asset allocation is 60% stocks, 20% bonds, and 20% real estate.
Stocks:
- 25% Total Stock Market – Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund
- 15% Small Value – Vanguard Small Value Index Fund
- 15% Total International Stock Market – Vanguard Total International Stock Market Fund
- 5% Small International – Vanguard FTSE Small International Fund
Bonds
- 10% Nominal – TSP G Fund, Vanguard Intermediate Muni Bond Fund
- 10% Inflation Indexed – Schwab TIPS ETF
Real Estate
- 5% publicly-traded REITs- Vanguard REIT Index Fund,
- 5% Debt- CityVest/DLP Access Fund, Arixa Lending Fund, AlphaFlow
- 10% Equity- Origin Fund III, 37th Parallel, Alpha Investing, our partnership office building, Equity Multiple, RealtyMogul
What do you think? Surprised to see any names on that list? Surprised that one isn't on the list? Comment below!
Hey Jim when you made your original financial plan if I remember you didn’t have small cap value in there, correct? When did you choose to add small cap value and what was your thought process such as need to change your asset allocation, how it helps achieve goals, etc? Was there a particular book or person that made you add that asset class like Paul Merriman? I myself am thinking of adding this specific asset class to my portfolio.
Did you see his post from last week? https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/small-cap-value-strategy/
It’s been a long time, but the bottom line is I was convinced by the Fama/French data across multiple time periods and countries. I’m sure Bernstein, Ferri, and Swedroe were big influences. It was added pretty early on, probably within a year of my original written plan
Surprised you don’t carry any disability insurance. Is it because you have sufficient alternative sources of income (WCI, rental properties) that should you become unable to practice medicine you would transition to those full time?
To piggy-back on this comment, how long are you planning to keep your term-life policies and why? I would have thought with FI you’d have dropped them the same time as the disability. I guess it’s relatively inexpensive.
Whats the minimum net worth to have to get rid of disability insurance? Thank you
Tamika: This has a lot more to do with your personal Financial Freedom Number (FFN) or your Financial Independence Number than a specific net worth that is generalizable to everyone. https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/figure-out-your-financial-freedom-number/
J-Rod: As far as I can tell from reading Jim’s commentary, your assertions are correction. He keeps the term life because it is extremely cheap for the potential return, not to mention Jim involves himself in some fairly high risk activities. As I understand, disability insurance really isn’t a necessity once you become financially independent.
Financial independence. So approximately 25X your annual living expenses. As they go up, you need more.
They’re much cheaper than the disability policies so for now we’re playing it by ear each year. It’s actually a better deal each year as I’m more likely to die but the price is the same. Lately I’m thinking about having the business own them as it would be hurt far more by my premature death than my family would be.
He talked about no longer needing a disability policy in a post a couple of years ago.
https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/dumping-disability-insurance/
What’s the point of disability insurance when you’re financially independent? I couldn’t think of one so I dropped it.
Very thorough and amazing list!
2 quick questions:
a. How do you track your investments to manage your allocations and performance? on a spreadsheet and auto-updated?
b. How about estate planning/asset protection?
Thanks for all that you are doing!
A. Excel. I used to autoupdate but it was unreliable at the time so I’ve done it manually since. Maybe I should try again. Or try Mint or something.
B. What about it? Are you looking for the name of a law firm that did a will for me or something?
Thanks for the excellent material in every corner of your website, Jim.
Regarding your recommendations for 529 plans, I live in CA, but I have grown very wary of recommending the CA ScholarShare 529 to others. The reason? Residents receive no state income tax deduction for contributions. Despite that, when it comes to non-qualified withdrawals from the plan, the state of CA may assess a “2.5% CA tax on earnings.” This 2.5% is in addition to the 10% penalty and the federal and state income tax on earnings for non-qualified withdrawals. The state of CA also assesses the 2.5% tax if you elect to roll over the 529 funds to a CalABLE account. No thanks, CA.
I disagree with this. In the vast majority of cases you should be able to use the funds without incurring tax penalties by not excessively overfunding and having adequate financial planning so as not to require non-qualified withdrawals. If you do find too much has been allocated to a 529 plan you can give the funds to another child or even a grandchild eventually. California’s ScholarShare has the single best fund in the entire country in the passively managed well diversified total stock market fund through TIAA-CREF at an expense ratio of just 0.08%. I have 100% of the 529 allocated to this fund as it often pays to take on the aggressive risk of 100% stock in a 529 plan (My child can take out loans for school. This is apposed to my capacity to take out loans for retirement.)
Interesting. First I’d heard of that 2.5% tax. What does the “may” depend on?
Thanks for the huge list as I found it very informative. For now, I only use Vanguard and Fidelity.
I’m looking to get into REITs. Why do go with Vanguard REIT instead of Fundrise?
There is no Vanguard REIT. There is a Vanguard REIT index fund which buys all the publicly traded equity REITs. These REITS hold MUCH bigger properties than the Fundrise REIT. The fund is low cost, very liquid, very diversified. But it doesn’t hold anything like what the Fundrise REIT holds last I looked at it. My recollection is it holds a few small properties.
Out of curiosity, why do you not recommend Minnesota Life for life insurance? I currently have a policy with them but am in the process of switching to Lincoln due to lower rates currently available and to extend my coverage term.
I also have term with Minnesota life. I’d like to know why you don’t recommend it.
If it meets your needs great, but I doubt it was the right purchase when you bought it. Doesn’t mean you should change it, but it might be worth shopping it around.
I had a Minnesota life agent masquerading as a financial advisor sell me an inappropriate, overpriced Minnesota Life term policy. Sounds like you had the same experience as you’re now doing what I had to do…get the policy I actually needed to replace it. Not to mention they gouged me on a climbing rider.
What did you do with your old i401K? I have one through vanguard that’s just kinda sitting there that I would love to roll into another fund.
Do you good choices in your current 401(k)? As long as your plan allows it (most do), your best bet would be to roll it in there. Also easier to manage one account than two, when it comes to rebalancing, etc.
My current 401K is decidedly not as good as my Vanguard i401K.
I think I’ll just keep it in case I do some 1099 work in the future.
Mine was simply transferred into my new i401(k). We’ll see what happens next year when we get a real 401(k) for WCI.
Although I’m technically FI, I have kept disability insurance. Temping to ditch it, but I worry disability may be accompanied by increased medical expenses. FWIW, my portfolio has, for 6 years now, also included bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. These holdings have markedly increased my overall returns, far outperforming all my other holdings.
At age 50, I dropped my COLA and increased benefit rider to save $800 on premium. Already FI, but plan to continue DI until kids finish college. Only 13-15 years left on my policy, COLA is not going to make a difference, and I never purchased an increase benefit as I found premium costly even for $10,000 monthly benefit
Disability would probably also be accompanied by fewer travel expenses or hobby expenses, no? Maybe that would offset the medical expenses.
Congratulations on your success speculating on cryptocurrencies. Glad it has paid off for you.
It is a mistake to recommend the i401K at E*TRADE at this time. Currently E*TRADE is not allowing contributions, through its web site specifically, above $19,500 from either the employee or employer. Because of their poor platform many folks were contributing over the maximum allotted 401K contribution because their were unaware of the 401K limits and the website didn’t stop them from over-contributing. In response E*TRADE maxed ALL contributions into any 401K type at $19,500 though their web site. You are allowed to mail in a check, which takes 10 to 20 days to process in the current COVID-19 environment or you can use their ap on your smartphone, which take 4 days to process AND you have to call in to specify if the designation is intended to be from the employer or employee. E*TRADE “hoping” to resolve this problem by the end of the year but don’t expect anything in the near future.
Vanguard’s platform for the i401K is FAR superior to what is currently occurring at E*TRADE. I would actually go so far as to call for a removal of E*TRADE from your i401K recommendation list. It simply isn’t appropriate at this time nor will it be until they fix their platform.
Those are relatively small issues compared to the inability to roll an IRA into the i401(k) for some people looking for an i401(k) primarily for that purpose. But I agree Vanguard’s cookie cutter option isn’t a bad option. I had it for years.
I had Vanguard’s i401(k) for a while too until I ran into the rollover issue with the SEP IRA once I wonted to utilize a back door Roth option without incurring the Pro Rata problem. That’s why I ended up at E*TRADE. I implemented the ap option on my iPhone yesterday. Contrary to what I had been told, the funds were fronted and available today. The transaction won’t complete for 3-4 days as I understand. I had to add funds to the “Rollover” option because the “2020” option wasn’t available (The ap, like the web site, also thinks I’ve maxed out my employer contribution at $19,500.). Once I added funds to the “Rollover” option I had to call E*TRADE to make the “correction” as a 2020 employer contribution. It was a PITA but I was able to purchase my mutual funds the next day. I still have to check up to make sure they made the “correction” appropriately. I suppose they are relatively small issue that will eventually get fixed. However, I wouldn’t feel comfortable giving my recommendation to others until the site works properly.
So you say “I don’t recommend anyone” when someone asks you where they should open an i401(k)? I’m not sure that’s super helpful. Why not just tell them what the issues are with each provider?
I don’t think “anyone” is fair. However, for the vast majority of your followers who are capable of putting in more than $19,500 into an i401(k), this head ache isn’t worth it. If they have the IRA rollover / Pro Rata issue for a back door Roth, they would be better off waiting until E*TRADE fixes the problems even if that means postponing a backdoor Roth until next year. I’m at 5 phone calls with E*TRADE and counting over this issue. Perhaps calling for a removal of E*TRADE as an i401(k) option was excessive, being reflective of my current frustrations, but these factors are definitely worthy of consideration. With regard to telling others what the issues are, I feel like I just did.
I found this post in your facebook forum:
“E*TRADE- I have a solo 401k and would like to transfer money into my account for 2019. The APP has a glitch that does not allow for deposit of the employer contribution. I have tried to wire transfer money, but this is not working either. I have been on hold for more than an hour each day for several days this week without an answer. The chat feature is now disabled as well. I woke up yesterday at 445am to try and get a hold of someone and gave up after an hour. This has been going on for months, and normally I’m patient but I need to get these funds deposited. I plan to close my E*TRADE account as soon as possible, but I do not think I can open a new solo 401k at another institution and deposit funds for 2019. Correct?”
I’m going to reiterate that recommending E*TRADE’s Solo 401K at this time is a colossal mistake. People are confused and they are at risk of not getting their full 401K contributions in because of the confusion. At the very least they are going to waste a ton of time trying to figure this out.
Thanks for the update. Which is your preferred solo 401(k) provider?
My personal preference is Vanguard. Don’t get me wrong though. E*TRADE will be fine as a i401(k) provider in the future. This is only a problem until they get their platform fixed, which they hope to accomplish before the end of 2020 according to a supervisor I spoke with on the tax and retirement team at E*TRADE.
My response to her inquiry was as follows:
You have to use an electronic check using the ap to put in anything above 19K. You won’t be able to put in more than 19K into 2019. Instead of selecting 2019 you can choose 2020 as your contribution date. You then have to call the etrade tax retirement team to make a “correction” to 2019 and you have to specify that this is an “employer” contribution. The tax and retirement team number is 1-877-921-2434. It is much faster to get through using this number than the regular E*TRADE number.
The E*TRADE site is pretty screwed up right now with the Solo 401K. They are hoping to fix the problem by the end of the year.
I’m not really sure why the wire transfer didn’t work for you. I was told that this is also a viable option. I can verify the method I mentioned above does work, however.
I figured I should update this:
E*TRADE has since gotten their stuff together on this matter and it is much easier to allocate employER and employEE designations. I do have to contact E*TRADE to designate employEE funds. The default is an employER designation so you don’t have to contact them if that is your intended allocation. This is MUCH easier than what they had going on before.
How do you have a banking relationship with First Republic? I thought you need to be in close geographic proximiy to their branches.
It’s complicated.
But if you have 300,000 doctor types coming by your website every month you may be surprised what kind of exceptions can be approved! It’s basically to facilitate their payments to me for student loan refinancing referrals.
I’m surprised WCI is not in the credit card game for points and miles like his friends such as PoF is.
Who knows what we’ll do in the future, but FIRE, slow travel, and credit card hacking often go hand in hand. It’s a much better fit with the POF message than the WCI one. Likewise, I do a lot better with partners like disability insurance agents and student loan refinancing companies. My readers seem to really need those things.
I had a terrible experience with Lending Club P2P lending. 33% default rate during the longest bull market. Curious what’s going to happen with the current COVID environment. Thankfully I didn’t put much money into it and stopped a few years ago. Still have to way for the 5 year loans remaining to finish. Avoid at all cost.
Thanks for sharing your experience. More on mine here:
https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/why-i-decided-to-liquidate-my-lending-club-account/
Ally Bank is mentioned above. Just wondering how you came about this decision over some other banks (First Foundation, Synchrony – they seem okay with high APY, but I may be missing something)
Ally Bank is mentioned above. Just wondering how you came about this decision over some other online saving account banks (First Foundation, Synchrony – they seem okay with high APY, but I may be missing something)
I’m not sure either of those existed when I opened the account. I’ve never heard of either of them. But they may be fine. I don’t reevaluate every single decision I make every month for the rest of my life.
Does it make sense to have taxable accounts at several brokerages so I can limit the amount in each to $250,000 which is what FDIC insures? Is that the main reason people have accounts with different brokerages?
The FDIC doesn’t insure money at brokerages. So $100K is just as at risk as $1 Million.
But other than additional complexity, it doesn’t hurt to spread things around a bit to reduce the risk of fraud etc. But most brokerages have pretty strong protections and remember the money isn’t invested in the brokerage, there are securities backing it up.
Brokerages do have SIPC insurance, however, in case of a broker-dealer failure.
https://www.schwabmoneywise.com/public/moneywise/essentials/understanding_fdic_and_sipc_insurance
Thanks for the guidance.
Saw a ton of Vanguard funds
any list of comparable fidelity funds? cant seem to find comparable funds
thanks
I don’t routinely go through and make a list of funds for every fund company comparable to what I use. But most commonly used Vanguard funds have an equivalent Fidelity. Fidelity makes it hard to find their cheap index funds, maybe in hopes that you choose their expensive actively managed ones instead.
Start here: https://www.fidelity.com/mutual-funds/fidelity-funds/overview