The only reason that I originally opened a separate account at Vanguard was to have access to Vanguard funds. Switching to Schwab or any new institution doesn't add to the number of places I'm dealing with, so I'm more open to Schwab than I would be if I were simply adding them as another brokerage I'm using.
I've used Schwab off and on for decades. I consider it a solid competitor to Fidelity. A few years ago I moved my Schwab holdings to Fidelity simply to consolidate.
Schwab offers some funds that one can't get at Fidelity (and vice versa). I might not take advantage of this as I recently went through a second major portfolio overhaul to get down to fewer funds. But having easy access to some more potential replacements might help me prune further.
It really does come down to Schwab having made me an offer I couldn't refuse. In the past I've tried to negotiate any giveback from Fidelity with no success. And now, while Fidelity talked about how they have superior service, so much to offer, etc., they didn't put anything on the table. No harm in taking Schwab up on its offer; especially if I limit the holdings to Roths which entail no bookkeeping now or once I reach RMD age since Roths have no RMDs.
I've been using Fidelity's bill pay for years and it has good paying taxable MMFs. Like Schwab, it provides ATM access with rebates worldwide and without foreign transaction fees. I would not use Schwab for cash, ever. (Well, when it originally opened Schwab bank, its high yielding account really was high yielding, but that was eons ago.)

I was surprised to learn recently that regardless of “tread-wear” tires need to be replaced at a time interval set by the manufacturer - usually about 6 years - a year or so longer with some premium brands. The reason is that the sidewalls deteriorate over time and could cause a blowout. This was pointed out to me when I had my old 2005 pickup in for routine servicing a year or two ago. The mechanic pointed to extensive visible cracks in all of the sidewalls. The tire treads were lightly worn. I drive the old truck only about 1,000 miles a year, but often heavily loaded. The tires were probably 10 years old. Of course I replaced all 4.
Edmunds Commentary: How Old / Dangerous Are Your Tires?
Per @msf’s experience with an oil change - I encountered the same resistance a few years ago when I took the old pickup in for an annual oil change at a local “quick lube.” The guy claimed the oil looked “clean” on the dipstick and at first declined to change it. Eventually, I convinced him to do so. For us old-timers that seems indeed odd. We were taught (I believe correctly) that an oil’s “appearance” is not an accurate way to to access its condition or need to be replaced. And it seems especially peculiar a vehicle service center would voluntarily turn down a chance to make a dollar. I’m wondering if perhaps there’s been some pressure applied by the EPA to encourage or coerce oil change outfits to do this visual inspection with the goal of reducing the amount of waste oil, which presents environmental challenges (though I believe it can be recycled).
”Do I receive compensation for observing that the risk is water condensation?:-)”
As the old expression goes, ”a penny for your thoughts …” :)

It is the same with shoes. You should wear them at least once in a while; otherwise, the soles will just crumble. I stopped working soon after I bought a couple of pairs of formal, expensive shoes. When I took them out after a few years, the soles did not hold together.
After 7 years of buying my tires, once a year, I asked the Costco tire center person for his opinion if I need to change the tires. After 10 years of use, the Costco person said I should change because he noticed weak spots developing on the side of the tires.

That’s a nod to the fact that over time compensation (water) can form inside the engine and contaminate the oil.
Do I receive compensation for observing that the risk is water condensation? :-)
The first time I brought our car in for annual servicing, when I picked up my car they told me they didn't change the oil (even though I had requested it) because it was completely clean. They said they would have felt guilty charging me so much for an unneeded synthetic oil change.
The purity of the oil was no surprise - I drive around 1,000 miles/year. But since that first servicing I always tell them that I don't care how clean the oil is, change it.
An even more tangential question - how often do you replace tires? I used to drive 18,000 miles per year, so it was easy - buy tires when the old ones wear out. But now, there's no wear. I've read that the rubber is only supposed to last six years or so. If I replace tires every six years, at 1K miles/year I won't ever have to rotate them!

From Bloomberg this evening:
”How the US Mopped Up a Third of Global Capital Flows Since Covid “
(Excerpt) “In the face of calls around the world to diversify out of the dollar in recent years, the US has nabbed almost one-third of all the investment that flowed across borders since Covid struck. An International Monetary Fund analysis sent by request to Bloomberg News shows that the share of global flows has climbed — not fallen — since a shortage of dollars in 2020 spooked global investors and the 2022 freezing of Russian assets stoked questions about respect for free movement of capital. The pre-pandemic US average share was just 18%, according to the IMF. “
Article by Enda Curran and Saleha Mohsin - Bloomberg Media / June 16, 2024

Diversification means always having to say you're sorry about some investment in your portfolio!
Thanks @Observant1. I’m quite fond of Love Story with Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neil having first seen it around ‘71, a few years after graduating from college.
Agree @Old_Joe / I’d say Brexit played a big part. Humans worldwide appear equally adept at shooting themselves in the foot. (or is it feet?) We enjoy no monopoly in that regard.

"Britain’s per-capita GDP is lower than that of any of our 50 states"
@hank - No surprise there- their GDP has been subpar for many years, and Brexit certainly didn't help.

https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2024/06/16/fareeds-take-europe-america-pace-gps-digvid.cnn

Insightful, but does the current US/Euro gap indicate future trend or represent a possible turning point? One thing for sure, the US will not stay this far ahead forever. There is good growth in the US, but possibly better value may be found overseas.

Ya, I ventured overseas years ago. The "old saw" was that Europe was "old money." I was looking for a bargain. And I had some EM holdings, too. These days, Europe is even more complicated: Ukraine war, Right-wing election gains. One currency, but many different national budgets.... I did well investing in EM bonds through the GFC and for a while beyond, and then I got out, following some good advice from someone in here.
Politically, China is uninvestable these days. Authoritarian. Curtailed civil and human rights. They're putting the screws to "special territories" Hong Kong and Macau, too. After having visited there in early 2019, it makes me so sad and angry to see it happening. The Markets have no conscience. But this whole business in China is morally distressing. I'm sworn off of foreign investments in my mutual funds; funds are still the lion's share of what I own. My fund managers have me in UK and Europe, just a tiny bit. I own a Canadian stock with a great dividend; is that "foreign?" Also, a Luxembourg-based maker of oil drilling pipes. Two still very tiny single-stock holdings. In retirement, I like YIELD. My (junk) bond funds provide most of that. Keeping a close eye on them--- a "short leash." Currently, my portfolio provides a 4.05% yield, as calculated by the ever-reliable (LOL) Morningstar.

Crash, technology isn't perfect, but the old ways isn't either. Technology has presented us with a lot more choices. Choices = a lot more development and interactions between systems.
I used to pay $1.5 per minute calling abroad, I have used WhatsApp for years paying nothing. Sure, sometimes it's not clear but it's FREE.
Google Maps gives you driving, walking, and public transportation for FREE. Yes, I know Google also gets the info they need to make money, but you have a choice. 40 years ago, you had no choices.
I like choices. Maybe you prefer to drive downtown to city hall, use gas, pay for parking, and pay your bill with cash, and spend 1-2 hours. I prefer paying online in one minute.
Sure, I don't like state/gov bureaucracy, I would fire tomorrow at least 20% of them.
A city near us did just that. They hired private companies to do a lot of stuff and that saved them a lot of money.

Missed my point entirely. You must have tried very hard.

Suppose you have 1 million in Fidelity SP500 (FXAIX) and you want $4K monthly. You can create a sell monthly trade on a specific date to run for years to do it...and you are done.

Only if you have the stomach for it. If you had $1M on Jan 1, 2022, and set up that trade you would be down $283,000 come October with zero guarantee that things were about to improve, and most likely torturing yourself thinking about what a terrible mistake you made.

It's a very old argument that higher distributions are better than lower ones (or none)...and it's a bogus one.
Until the 70s blue chip big companies paid div to prove they are healthier. Then the technology revolution took off and these new companies have been paying nothing to lower distributions which did not hurt their stock TR...but this notion of higher distributions has not gone away and cost these investors a lot of performance and money.
Many retirees fall into it too thinking they must have these higher distributions to survive. No, they don't, the following is an easy example how you can generate monthly distribution.
Suppose you have 1 million in Fidelity SP500 (FXAIX) and you want $4K monthly. You can create a sell monthly trade on a specific date to run for years to do it...and you are done.

Crash, technology isn't perfect, but the old ways isn't either. Technology has presented us with a lot more choices. Choices = a lot more development and interactions between systems.
I used to pay $1.5 per minute calling abroad, I have used WhatsApp for years paying nothing. Sure, sometimes it's not clear but it's FREE.
Google Maps gives you driving, walking, and public transportation for FREE. Yes, I know Google also gets the info they need to make money, but you have a choice. 40 years ago, you had no choices.
I like choices. Maybe you prefer to drive downtown to city hall, use gas, pay for parking, and pay your bill with cash, and spend 1-2 hours. I prefer paying online in one minute.
Sure, I don't like state/gov bureaucracy, I would fire tomorrow at least 20% of them.
A city near us did just that. They hired private companies to do a lot of stuff and that saved them a lot of money.

”I'm not sure what benefit anyone could derive from that …”
Oh, every bit helps. :)
Thanks for commenting. When I switched from investing at just a few fund houses to a full service brokerage 4 or 5 years ago it was as if a dark curtain had been lifted, uncovering not only a more extensive field of traditional OEFs, but also the ability to own individual stocks, ETFs, CEFs - a whole new universe of investments. My initial reaction was to broaden out into ETFs and even buy a few stocks. But now, a few years later, I find myself largely invested in a handful of good timeworn OEFs. I guess I like the manager having some additional latitude and not having to match every buy or sale of his investors tit-for-tat. The OEFs also tend to have a longer more extensive track record to research, having been around longer. And I have a sense that those in OEFs tend to be a slightly more stable bunch, less likely to be spooked (and sell) during market downdrafts - although that will vary by fund. I do understand that OEFs are more expensive, So fees are a good reason to move to ETFs or to own equities outright. One additional thing I’ve learned is that I tend to monkey around less with OEFs. There may be a psychological advantage to once-a-day pricing. But, of course, that depends on one’s own psyche.
So I wanted to double-check my current heavy use of traditional mutual funds (80% of portfolio) against how different members of the community invest. The biggest surprise has been how diverse the approaches are, ranging from some managing extensive portfolios of individual stocks to others zeroing in on just 3-5 broader investments. And, some like @racqueteer, appear to be active traders. Also a surprise is the extent to which some are predominately invested in cash. But it’s hard to quarrel with them taking advantage of 5%+ short term rates. All good. Thanks for sharing.

Defined-benefit (DB) pensions have gone away except for some federal & state employees.
But many people have found defined-contribution (DC) plans to be problematic too.
Industry response is the new guaranteed-income or lifetime-income features within 401k. Such features have existed for 403b for years.
Old name for these is annuities but that tainted term is now avoided.
Let's see what Blackrock marketing can do that TIAA & others couldn't.

I'm a bit confused by all the complaints.
1) I never used debit cards, a few showed up many years ago and I just cut them up immediately. CC have better protection = end of story.
2) I got/replaced/opened several CC, including this week, none is made out of metal because I just cut one of the new ones I got. They sent me 2 by mistake.
I don't own frequent flyer/travel/foodie cards and never will.
3) I never signed any CC because no merchant ever denied them.
4) Sure, I get chip malfunction rarely, but after one try I swipe and it passes. Lately tapping works in more places. Wait, lately, I have used Wallet (replaced Google Pay).
5) In Europe, in several countries in the last 2-3 years, Google Pay works everywhere, I don't need to show my CC. Even when I couldn't use Google Pay, tapping can be used everywhere. I don't like to give my CC to anyone, as they do in the US. I prefer the merchant to use a small machine and bring it to me for tapping.
In 2022-3 we were in several countries in the UK and I never used my CC even once, even the public transportation in London accepted Google Pay, what a pleasure.
6) I have been using my CC everywhere, even to charge $1, I hate coins + I get cash back.
7) I use ATM, the worldwide Schwab one. Schwab pays me back all the fees by the end of each month, but I hardly take out cash anymore.
Yes, I know, that technology is a a challenge for some. I made mistakes too but try to learn quickly. It took me several times to get the tapping placement thing right because the placement wasn't the same.
OK, what bothers you next?...maybe your new TV setup?...mmm...technology again.
I play Bridge with people in their 80-90s. The ones that hate technology and refuse to learn, keep suffering and complaining. The ones that learn it are happier.
You can't run away from it. The old way is dying quickly, in most cases, you pay much more.

My own "beef" runs deeper than merely learning to deal with newfangled junk. My point is that systems don't work. Technology works until it doesn't. So many "time-saving" technological "improvements" are far from fail-safe and are in fact unreliable. Underneath it all is the fact that people don't care, just go with the flow; no one takes responsibility to make sure systems and procedures are responsive to people's needs. There is no accountability--- whether you talk about government or private enterprise. What happens to people doesn't matter. The only priority is to worship Mammon. Gov't is supposed to serve the public? Forget it. Government has divested itself of its own responsibilities. Few are to blame, but all are responsible. And no one will stop and say: "yes, it's my fault, and I'll get it fixed."
Call it The Human Condition? Original Sin? No matter; a rose by any other name... And no one in a position to get things back on track (CEOs, elected officials, etc.) will admit that things don't have to be this way, either. This ethical element is just never, ever spoken about.

I'm a bit confused by all the complaints.
1) I never used debit cards, a few showed up many years ago and I just cut them up immediately. CC have better protection = end of story.
2) I got/replaced/opened several CC, including this week, none is made out of metal because I just cut one of the new ones I got. They sent me 2 by mistake.
I don't own frequent flyer/travel/foodie cards and never will.
3) I never signed any CC because no merchant ever denied them.
4) Sure, I get chip malfunction rarely, but after one try I swipe and it passes. Lately tapping works in more places. Wait, lately, I have used Wallet (replaced Google Pay).
5) In Europe, in several countries in the last 2-3 years, Google Pay works everywhere, I don't need to show my CC. Even when I couldn't use Google Pay, tapping can be used everywhere. I don't like to give my CC to anyone, as they do in the US. I prefer the merchant to use a small machine and bring it to me for tapping.
In 2022-3 we were in several countries in the UK and I never used my CC even once, even the public transportation in London accepted Google Pay, what a pleasure.
6) I have been using my CC everywhere, even to charge $1, I hate coins + I get cash back.
7) I use ATM, the worldwide Schwab one. Schwab pays me back all the fees by the end of each month, but I hardly take out cash anymore.
Yes, I know, that technology is a a challenge for some. I made mistakes too but try to learn quickly. It took me several times to get the tapping placement thing right because the placement wasn't the same.
OK, what bothers you next?...maybe your new TV setup?...mmm...technology again.
I play Bridge with people in their 80-90s. The ones that hate technology and refuse to learn, keep suffering and complaining. The ones that learn it are happier.
You can't run away from it. The old way is dying quickly, in most cases, you pay much more.

About this allocation: 55% Moneymarket, 45% Fixed Income: 51% Treasury, 49% CDs
Note that while we have outrageously conservative investments at this time, I'm now 85. Our situation is almost identical to Tarwheel, and when we were at his point our investment spectrum was very much like his. It's only in the last couple of years that we've pulled in our horns. Why mess with a good situation?
There have been a number of threads/comments lately regarding investment simplification driven by a partner's lack of interest in financial affairs, and consequent inability to navigate within a brokerage website. My wife has always been interested in our financial situation, but has never really been comfortable with complex internet sites.
As a radio tech for SF 911 I was the "documenter" for our group. So I told myself that I needed to use that skill set to print a step-by-step for navigating the Schwab website.
I am both proud and happy to report that, armed with her new guide, my wife is now reasonably comfortable there and can now perform all of the basic operations. And she is eager to continue learning some of the more complex operations such as finding and purchasing CDs and Treasuries. That's next.

My wife and I have been retired about 8 years. We both have pensions and are receiving Social Security, so we are investing more aggressively than many people our age (70). We haven’t had to tap our IRAs since retiring, but required distributions will start in a couple of years.
Currently, we are invested as such:
- 45% in domestic stocks, virtually all in mutual funds
- 11% in foreign stock funds
- 32% in bond funds (including balanced and allocation)
- 10% cash in CDs, Treasuries and money markets
- 4% other options in mutual funds, such as REITs and convertibles
We own many funds, and I’m too embarrassed to count them up, generally at least 5% of total assets in each account. We have five separate accounts— two traditional IRAs, two Roth IRAs and a taxable brokerage account. I have no compulsion to simplify matters because I have no trouble keeping up with our accounts and I like each account to be well diversified. I don’t trust any fund or small collection of funds to invest most of our money in because I’ve seen many excellent funds falter or go through prolonged dry spells over the years.

Great contributions all. Thanks for the insights.
I didn’t state my allocation earlier. I’m currently at 40% equity, 30% bond, 20% short-term fixed income and 10% “other.” The equity stake usually fluctuates between 40% and 50%. Anywhere in that range is fine with me. Recently sold an equity heavy CEF and replaced it with a somewhat aggressive bond heavy CEF. So the percentages changed by 5% overnight.
All for simplifying / consolidating. A few years ago portfolio was at about 18 holdings. Down to 12 today plus cash.

There seems to be a lot of ink on this forum about short-term impressions of investing with Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard, etc. I could care less. Long term is what matters to me. I first started investing about 1990 (outside my 401k). I wanted to invest with Vanguard but their minimums were too high for small investors like myself, so I chose T Rowe Price instead, as well as several boutique funds touted by M*. A few years later, tired of getting bombarded by statements and other paperwork, I consolidated all of my investments except for TRP funds with Fidelity. The funds network provided me access to a range of fund companies with greatly simplified paperwork.
What I’ve found investing with Fidelity over three decades is that it’s a well-run company with excellent customer service. Over the years, I’ve sold many of the boutique funds from other companies and reinvested the proceeds in Fidelity funds. Here is why. Fidelity has a deep bench of managers and analysts. If a fund underperforms at Fidelity, they generally fix the problem and assign new management. If a skilled manager retires, they generally replace them with little change in performance. On the few occasions when I’ve experienced problems, I spoke with a Fidelity representative and the problem was fixed immediately.
I handle all of my investments on-line, and Fidelity’s website in my opinion is excellent. I used to rely on M* for investment research, but Fidelity’s website now surpasses M* substantially in my view. I have found M*’s recommendations and star ratings to be next to useless. Using Fidelity’s on-line tools, I feel that I can make better choices about fund options than I could using M*. Fidelity also posts many articles about investing that are excellent. I have been so satisfied with Fidelity that I moved all of my TRP funds to Fidelity once they became available on their funds network. In my view, TRP’s customer service had declined and their funds network and website couldn’t compare with Fidelity. I still hold some TRP funds in my Fidelity account, but exchanged the under-performers for Fidelity funds or other funds available through their network.
Fidelity also makes it very easy to invest in CDs and Treasuries, with no additional fees and a wide range of offerings. Their money markets are competitive, and all cash is automatically invested in the MM fund of your choice. Fidelity has assigned me an advisor, who we meet with once a year at no cost. If I die before my wife, she will have someone she trusts to turn to. I don’t know if Fidelity will waive fees or minimum investment amounts for institutional classes of funds because I don’t ask for or expect special treatment not available to others.
My post is not intended to slight Schwab, Vanguard or other fund companies— but merely to describe why I am a satisfied customer after using Fidelity for about 35 years. I have no intentions of switching.