Hello,
I just read about a “New Rule” from the IRS in my recent copy of the AAII Journal, regarding transferring funds from one fiduciary to another. It says if you transfer assets from one TIRA account to another you must now transfer the ENTIRE account. I’ve always understood you could transfer any portion of funds in the account. Is this change in rules real…?

If this is real, I find it very egregious, because it interferes with investment strategies, as well as ultimately leading the investor into having “all his eggs in one basket”…!

In my own case, I have several accounts with significantly different balances, but one broker does a significantly better job of trading Canadian stocks. If I expect the Loonie to appreciate, I may want to load up on Canadian stocks and so transfer more funds into that account from another. Later I may want to transfer back in the other direction. If I am forced to transfer an entire account, then I am consolidating the accounts and reducing the number of accounts. Eventually all accounts could wind up merged into just one.

IMO there is significant risk in holding all TIRA assets in one account at a single fiduciary, including an account getting hacked, a fiduciary failing, and in these days of HFT “Flash Boys” manipulating the exchange process, other possibilities one cannot even imagine.

The above refers to fiduciary-to-fiduciary transfers, where the account owner never touches the money. I would also like to confirm whether a similar rule is now in effect for Rollover transfers, which I’m aware has other limitations.

Thanks…!