Account inventory
Owner, type, balance, custodian, beneficiary and purpose for every account.
ALREADY INVESTING
Turn scattered accounts into one portfolio with one job.
More accounts and funds do not create diversification automatically. Inventory ownership, tax treatment, holdings, fees and purpose before changing anything.
MEASURE THE DRAGSee what fees can remove before opening another account or product.
MEASURE FEE DRAG →START WITH THE FACTS
Gather what determines the answer.
Holding inventory
Fund/ticker, asset class, expense ratio, tax cost basis and embedded gains.
Contribution map
Employee, employer and personal deposits by account and tax treatment.
Risk map
Stock/bond/cash mix, employer concentration, geographic exposure and money needed within five years.
DECISION MAP
Use the branch that matches the evidence.
| Situation | How to recognize it | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate funds | Multiple funds own substantially the same securities. | Evaluate the total underlying allocation; consolidate only when tax and plan consequences are acceptable. |
| Taxable gains are large | Selling creates meaningful current tax. | Compare ongoing fee/risk cost with phased, donated or future-sale options before trading. |
| Employer stock is material | Income and investments depend on one company. | Set a written diversification threshold and vest/sale rule. |
| Near-term money is invested aggressively | Funds are needed on a known short horizon. | Separate the goal from long-term risk assets and match liquidity to the deadline. |
ORDER OF OPERATIONS
Build the plan in sequence.
Create the one-page portfolio
List every account and holding, then calculate the household allocation across all accounts.
Assign each account a job
Emergency, near-term goal, retirement income, growth or legacy. An account without a job invites random decisions.
Fix the highest-impact problem first
Address concentration, inappropriate risk, missing beneficiaries and high fees before cosmetic fund cleanup.
Write the maintenance rule
Set contribution targets, rebalance thresholds and a review date; do not redesign from headlines.
Get qualified help here.
Use a tax professional before realizing large gains or changing cross-border/complex assets, the plan administrator for employer-plan constraints, and a fiduciary adviser when concentration or withdrawal decisions can materially alter the plan.
PRIMARY REFERENCES
Verify current rules at the source.
NEXT DECISION