We did an IRA transfer from Fidelity to Vanguard a year ago that went via ACAT, just as Observant1 described. When I spoke with Vanguard I was told that the medallion guarantee requirement originates with the sending brokerage. If they don't require the guarantee everything can be done electronically. Vanguard specifically commented that they have a good working relationship with Fidelity.
Regarding the hoops Level5 jumped through, the rules are different for employer-sponsored plans. With those plans, the withdrawal must be initiated on the 401k/403(b)/457 side. The assets usually have to be converted to cash. The only exception I have seen, and this is with multiple financial institutions, is that if you're transferring assets between an employer plan and an IRA run by the same institution, e.g. TRP, Fidelity, etc., then the transfer can be in-kind.
Many if not most of these plans today still send the cash only via paper check. The only way I've found around this problem is to use the exception above: transfer assets electronically from plan to a temporary IRA managed by the same institution if possible. Then have your target IRA do a customary electronic pull from the temporary IRA.

Here are notes related to my 2019 account transfer to Vanguard.
Changes may have been implemented since then...
Will I pay any fees for my transfer?
Vanguard doesn't charge any transfer fees. However, you'll need to contact your current financial firm to see if it charges transfer fees for closing an account.
If you want to move money from a CD (certificate of deposit) that's held in a bank account and the CD hasn't yet reached its maturity date, check with your firm to see if you'll be charged any withdrawal fees or penalties. Bank CDs will be liquidated at the time of the transfer to a Vanguard account.
Is there any paperwork I need to fill out?
Many large financial firms are enrolled in the Automated Customer Account Transfer Service known as ACAT (or a similar service). The majority of ACAT transfers can be completed entirely online, with assets sent to Vanguard electronically. Some cases, such as partial transfers and changes of ownership (e.g., a joint account to an individual account) may require paperwork. If forms are required, we can prefill some of the information for you.
Some asset transfers require a Medallion signature guarantee from a bank or another financial institution. A bank officer, trust company, or member firm of the U.S. stock exchange can grant this service. (Notary publics can't provide it.) If the firm you're transferring from requires a signature guarantee, check with your bank or a financial institution near you to see if they'll provide this service.
How long will the transfer take?
The fastest transfers take approximately 7 business days. They occur when firms are enrolled in the Automated Customer Account Transfer Service known as ACAT (or a similar service), when assets are moved "in kind" (or "as is"), and when the owner's name is identical on the "to" and "from" accounts. When assets are moved "in kind," it means there's no selling or buying involved, and no gain or loss is recognized as a tax consequence.
A firm that doesn't provide automated transfers may have you fill out paperwork and will send us a check once it receives your documents in good order. This may take 4 to 6 weeks.
Assets held in a money market fund are cashed out before they're moved to the money market settlement fund in your Vanguard account, so they may arrive after your other assets.
Many brokerage CDs (certificates of deposit), limited partnerships, hedge funds, and low-priced securities can't be transferred in kind. If you hold any of these investment in your account, we may contact you to discuss your options.

RPHYX of course now closed.
Here's the August 24, 2021 supplement to the fund prospectus:

August 27, 2021 (the "Revised Closing Date") ...
After the Revised Closing Date, the following eligible investors may also open new accounts:
· New shareholders may open Fund accounts and purchase shares directly from the Fund (i.e. not through a financial intermediary).
· Any trustee of RiverPark Funds Trust, or employee of RiverPark Advisors, LLC or Cohanzick Management, LLC, or an investor who is an immediate family member of any of these individuals.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1494928/000139834421016711/fp0068207_497.htm

Rono’s take much appreciated. I won’t defend or criticize the practice in itself. Most of us pick our own poisons.
Gambling is highly addictive. Some will “double-down” until destitute. Those who can least afford it will suffer the most. It’s the addictive nature (and popularity) of gambling that make the potential profitability so appealing to investors. Following up on Rono’s analogy, this isn’t quite the same as going to a casino. Folks generally go home from a casino. Wiith the online gambling they’re in a virtual casino 24/7 - provided they choose to participate.
The “winners” among the online operators will prosper - at least until tighter controls are in place or they are taxed out of existence. As an investor it’s similar to decisions we make about investing in tobacco, alcohol, gun manufacturers, fossil fuels - or perhaps a fund run by somebody whose political views and affiliations we detest - but who’s a financial genius.

This 21 year old fund’s a former board favorite. John Hussman’s writings were often displayed and discussed. Real looser of a fund however. You’d have made less than a half-percent annually had you bought the fund when it opened 21 years ago.
I owned the fund for a year or so and sold it probably 15 years ago. But can’t stop from tracking it and hoping this seemingly gifted financial analyst and writer could somehow turn his floundering fund around. HSGFX got off to a good start this year and everything looked promising. But the fund’s been in a nose-dive now for several weeks. Today’s negative 0.49% return puts the fund into negative territory YTD.
I can sympathize with him if he thinks the markets are overvalued and has pulled back./ gotten defensive. I happen to agree with that prognosis. But, managing a fund like this is “big league” stuff. More is expected.
HSGFX
ER 1.23%
Early Redemption Fee 1.50%
Lipper Link
Chart

Well, there is that Starbucks inside a Wells Fargo at 19th Ave. Talk about a disaster inside a financial disaster.

Hah! Charbucks will probably burn the beans on a drink that Wells Fargo ordered for you without your knowledge.

Well, there is that Starbucks inside a Wells Fargo at 19th Ave. Talk about a disaster inside a financial disaster.

Firstrade was founded in 1985 by John Liu under the name First Flushing Securities. ... It has been overseen by founder and CEO John Liu since its beginnings as a financial services provider for a diverse customer base in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, New York.

https://topratedfirms.com/articles/bankrupt/firstrade-goes-out-of-business.aspx
Flushing is in a sense a second Chinatown in New York, somewhat analogous to the Richmond in San Francisco.

NEW YORK, Aug. 15, 2014– Firstrade welcomed more than 100 guests at the grand opening of its branch and new headquarter location. The ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the new branch on Friday, August 15, 2014. US Congresswoman Grace Meng and NYC Councilman Peter Koo were present.
...
To further enhance customer service and make space for a growing call center, Firstrade has also established a new state of the art headquarter at 30-50 Whitestone Expressway, Flushing, NY. This location also has a small branch in its headquarter to service brokerage clients. The call center employs one of the largest Asian bilingual customer service teams in the industry.

https://www.firstrade.com/content/en-us/aboutus/press?&page=pr140815
From day one, the brokerage has sought to serve the Chinese and more broadly the Asian community. In that it has always been highly regarded. It would not surprise me if many of the Flushing call center reps speak English as a second language.
(It also caters to overseas Asian investors.)

Thanks for the information as I have been waiting for RPMGX to re-open. I will wait until distributions are paid mid-December.
You are correct as here is the SEC filing:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/887147/000174177321003638/c497.htm
497 1 c497.htm
T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Fund
T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Portfolio
T. Rowe Price Institutional Mid-Cap Equity Growth Fund
Supplement to Prospectuses and Summary Prospectuses dated May 1, 2021, as supplemented
Effective December 1, 2021, the T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Fund, T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Portfolio, and T. Rowe Price Institutional Mid-Cap Equity Growth Fund (Funds), each of which was closed to new investors on May 28, 2010, will resume accepting new accounts and purchases from most investors.
Accordingly, effective December 1, 2021, the first two sentences under “Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares” in each Fund’s summary prospectus and Section 1 of each Fund’s prospectus are deleted in their entirety. In addition, in Section 2 of each Fund’s prospectus, the sub-section entitled “Closed to New Investors” is deleted in its entirety.
Financial intermediaries and other institutional clients should contact T. Rowe Price or their relationship manager to determine eligibility to open new accounts and purchase shares of each Fund.
The date of this supplement is October 27, 2021.
G31-041 10/27/21

As I understand the IRS instructions, you have to use the total amount of all your IRAs to calculate the RMD.

Do not calculate in your Roth IRAs, but do include your Roth 401Ks as part of your RMD (though that portion would be tax free). Once the Roth 401K portion is distributed it loses it Roth status. All this can be avoided.

There are presently no RMD on Roth IRAs as it stand right now.
If I owned any Roth 401Ks I would roll them over into Roth IRA status and enjoy the benefits afford Roth IRAs.

You can avoid having to take future RMDs from a Roth 401(k) by rolling the money over to a Roth IRA. Roth IRAs are not subject to required minimum distributions. If some of your money is in a Roth 401(k) and some is in a traditional 401(k), roll the traditional 401(k) money into a traditional IRA and the Roth 401K money into a Roth IRA to avoid any tax complications. “That will make record keeping a whole lot easier,” says Stuart Ritter, a certified financial planner with T. Rowe Price.

Avoiding Required Minimum Distributions from Roth 401(k)s

@Anna, Where is IBM I wonder (article below asked this question 10 years ago...Article date is 2011)?
where-the-heck-is-ibm
They are somewhere still:
ibm-will-reskill-30-million-people-by-2030-for-future-technology-jobs/
Sept 30th 2021 ibm-kyndryl-spin-off/
Even the IBM Employee Credit Union has morphed into "Intelligent - Thinking" (iThink):
ibm-southeast-employees-credit-union-is-moving-to-ithink-financial-credit-union

The following excerpts are from a current column by Paul Krugman, in The New York Times: "Is China in Big Trouble?"
(That link will only work for NYT subscribers.)

China’s economic growth has been gradually slowing. Here’s a five-year moving average of the country’s growth rate:

Basically, China has masked underlying imbalances by creating an immense housing bubble. And it’s hard to see how this ends well.

Now that’s a housing bubble. Kenneth Rogoff and Yuanchen Yang

Rogoff and Yang also show both that housing prices in China are extremely high relative to incomes and that the real estate sector has become an incredibly large share of China’s economy.
None of this looks sustainable, which is why many observers worry that the debt problems of the giant property developer Evergrande are just the leading edge of a broader economic crisis.
China, which maintains controls on the flow of capital into and out of the country, isn’t deeply integrated with world financial markets. So the fall of Evergrande isn’t likely to provoke a global financial crisis in the same way that the fall of Lehman Brothers did in 2008. A Chinese slowdown would have some economic spillover via reduced Chinese demand, especially for raw materials. But in purely economic terms, the global economic risks from China’s problems don’t look all that large.

Sold a little on the pip today. Across the board. Hurts a bit to sell some favorites. Unlike many here, I maintain no separate cash reserve - although a very small amount resides within the invested total. So, couldn’t resist parking a bit for my 2022 distribution. I tend to pull from the traditional IRA for the year’s budgeted needs early in the year - more than the required amount. Prefer to pay taxes and let the Roth continue to grow in proportion - now over 75%. of portfolio. Not a market call. Just socking away some sun while the hay shines!
Good retort @Old_Joe. Depends on type of advice. General financial principles and sound planning = appropriate advice. But buying, selling, allocating - Hell No

"thx Old_Joe advise"
For the record, Old Joe did no such thing, and never would attempt to "advise" anyone on financial matters. At 82 with very decent pension & SS income we are much more concerned with financial stability rather than increase. Our accumulation days are well over.
I did use some "Vegas money" during the dip to buy a little ASML, which has done very well so far. That's going to be a keeper, because ASML really has a very wide technical moat, no significant competition in equipment of it's class, and a future world needing ever more, smaller and better chips. It's also already very highly priced, so no more buying unless the overall market again retreats so as to provide another decent entry point.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/915802/000139834421020090/fp0069682_497.htm
497 1 fp0069682_497.htm
FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST: GRANDEUR PEAK FUNDS
Grandeur Peak Global Contrarian Fund
Grandeur Peak Global Micro Cap Fund
Grandeur Peak Global Opportunities Fund
Grandeur Peak Global Stalwarts Fund
(the “Funds”)
SUPPLEMENT DATED OCTOBER 19, 2021 TO THE SUMMARY PROSPECTUS AND
PROSPECTUS DATED AUGUST 31, 2021, AS SUBSEQUENTLY AMENDED
On October 19, 2021, Robert T. Gardiner announced future plans to change his role at Grandeur Peak Global Advisors, LLC (the “Adviser”) in connection with an extended sabbatical commencing on approximately July 1, 2022 (the “Effective Date”).
During the sabbatical, Mr. Gardiner intends to continue to serve as Chairman and member of the Board of Managers of the Adviser but, for a period of approximately three years following the Effective Date, he will no longer serve in a guardian portfolio management role for these Funds. Therefore, all references to Mr. Gardiner in the Summary Prospectuses and Prospectus will be deleted as of that date.
INVESTORS SHOULD RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

I use to be a fan of MWTRX, but stopped owning it a couple of years ago--glad I did after seeing its abysmal 2021 performance. I am not a fan of Intermediate Core/Core Plus funds which have struggled overall in 2021. If I was only interested in a well known and established Intermediate Core/Core Plus fund, to replace MWTRX, I would tend to lean toward DODIX. If you are looking for a lower risk and safer fund, then PTRIX, is a logical choice. Overall, sticking in this category, I personally like ANBEX. I will just add that I don't like PIMIX as a possible replacement for MWTRX--I consider PIMIX as a previously great fund, built on its performance shortly after the 2007/2008 financial crash, but it has ballooned into an AUM bloated fund, that now has to dabble in more risky assets to try and produce its income. Just recently PIMCO introduced PEGIX, a cousin of PIMIX in the multisector category, run by some of the same good PIMIX managers, and PEGIX is a very attractive newcomer, with great promise. I personally am focusing on shorter duration funds, that should do better in an inflationary market, and it is hard to find those in the Intermediate Core/Core Plus category.

Thank you a lot for your thoughts, guys. With my limited Spanish, I had just lately sent an inquiry to their Investor Relations office. I actually received a rather prompt reply from them, from Santiago. I actually was able to make sense of it. She even offered to arrange a phone call between us. I don't think I'll be needing that, even in English. By the way, some financial news sources have not updated, and still refer to ENIC as "Enersis Chile."

Although Pimco Income is a decent multisector bond fund, I don't expect the fund's excellent past performance to be repeated. The fund's managers made astute investments in legacy non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) after the global financial crisis. The availability of legacy non-agency RMBS has declined while Pimco Income's AUM have increased considerably.

Howdy folks,
It's going on as we watch. How can we play it?
All around us, not only in the US, but overseas as well, we're witnessing (and participating in) a General Strike by workers everywhere. 'Take this job and shove it. I ain't working here no more'.
Workers have more power than they've had in decades and they're using it. Deere and Kellogg are out and on the west coast, the TV and Movie peeps narrowly avoided a strike because management caved in on every issue. At Deere, they were offered 5-6% and the workers are saying, Stuff It. I seriously believe the west coast hospital workers will walk and think of their leverage. And folks, this is only the beginning. Pilots can't strike, but they sure can get sick. Oh, and think how easy it is right now to supplement your strike pay. McDonald's is hiring at $21 per hour. This seems to me that the workers are going to win. Tough to bet against them.
The pandemic has created a perfect storm for workers and employment in general.
1. Not safe to go to work because of the virus.
2. Kids at home.
3. Tired of receiving shit wages for shit work.
4. Additional unemployment benefits [although the bs the republicans spread about exacerbating the problem has proven to be just that - BS. Indeed, the states that cut benefits early not only didn't see any reduction in help wanted signs, but it actually hurt their overall economies more than the states that maintained them due to a reduced aggregate demand.]
5. Lack of some spending - travel, dining out, concerts, movies, etc. - has allowed many households to become cash flush.
6. Perfect opportunity to change careers.
7. Virtual options for financial gain - Ebay, Market Place, OnlyFans, etc. My barber has a friend, who is buying Amazon 2nds for peanuts and reselling them.
Sokay, how to play?
Watch for the companies that figure it out and take the 'high road' vs. the ones that don't. A very easy tell, is whether there are Help Wanted signs or not. The businesses with pervasive help wanted signs are having a very tough time even staying open. How many restaurants do you know with reduced hours and menus? Which are simply raising wages and benefits and not bitching.
New industries that get it (e.g. pot. I was talking with a budista and he said, they were receiving great pay and benefits and it was the best job he'd had in years).
Short? Anyone that relies on truck drivers. Again, POT. To drive a semi, you have to have a CDL. With a CDL, you are subject to random drug testing and pot has a half life of 30 days. Hell, they're pushing to allow teenagers to drive. Feh, in my state, you've got to be 21 to buy pot.
Just a start of a discussion.
and so it goes,
peace and wear the damn mask,
rono

Re IRS penalties etc. vs a gogo bull market.
I have just been informed that an older relative, not out of it but trending, hasn't taken RMDs (large sums, meaning v large accounts) for the last 5y, nor filed returns ... and therefore looks to owe over a half-mil in penalties, taxes, and late fees. Maybe well over.
(This is a 403b, so hey, I wonder if you can sue TIAA for not automatically moving the RMD each year into some nonretirement cash account ... assuming they did not.)
Everything in SP500 ETF, I am told.
Anyway, to slightly soften the grievous sting of this supreme idiocy, I was going to rough-crunch how much extra they made in this almost-doubling bull market over that timespan. Close to a half-mil?
I ask about this only because their heirs will be, rightly, wailing about how many college educations etc. the forfeited moneys could have gone toward. And so on.
(What a dumbass mess, yes.)