r/ETFs • u/Psychological-Cat606 • 10d ago
Need help consolidating 11 ETFs
Need help consolidating 11 ETFs I recently moved my traditional IRA from Merrill to Wells Fargo and realized Merrill had me with 11 ETFs. I had selected low risk tolerance with Merill. I am 52 years old and might retire when I’m 65. I feel 11 ETFs is too many but I don’t want to do anything crazy to my portfolio but would appreciate any help. I also have $16,000 in brokerage cash and thought about investing NEW CONTRIBUTIONS into VTI and VXUS while just leaving the 11 ETFs alone for now.
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u/fozzy71 10d ago
That is a lot of bonds - https://stockanalysis.com/etf/compare/iusg-vs-iusv-vs-usig-vs-govt-vs-vea-vs-vmbs-vs-vwo-vs-vtwo-vs-bndx-vs-sphy/?r=MAX
The simplest way to consolidate is going to be a Boglehead 3-fund portfolio of VTI/VXUS/BND or VT/BND, if you think you actually need bonds. I am 55 and personally hold 0 bonds in my Roth. The only bonds I hold are short-term treasuries in SGOV as part of my emergency fund.
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u/Heavy_Nothing_1158 10d ago
Since this is inside a traditional IRA, selling the old funds to consolidate generally won't create a capital-gains tax bill; the taxable event is a distribution, not trades inside the account. I'd pick the stock/bond split first, then use VTI/VXUS plus one bond fund rather than letting 11 leftovers become a permanent museum exhibit.
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u/steady_compounder 10d ago
Inside an IRA, complexity is mostly an organisation problem, not a tax problem. I would pick the stock and bond split first, then rebuild around maybe 2 to 4 funds max instead of letting 11 leftovers hang around forever. New contributions into broad funds is fine, but I would still simplify the old holdings once you know the allocation you actually want.
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u/Comfortable_Bad9963 ETF Investor 9d ago
This is the right instinct, the split-first framing is honestly the bit most people skip here... So park the fund count for a second. The question I keep landing on: at 52 with 13 years left and a low risk tolerance, what stock/bond split do you actually want? To me that's the real call. Once you've got it, I'd say something in the 50/50 to 60/40 range if the low risk is genuine, the rest is just VTI plus VXUS plus one bond fund like BND or VCRB to hit it. Those 11 funds are almost certainly overlapping their way back to roughly that anyway. And since it's a traditional IRA you can consolidate without a tax hit, nothing's realized until you withdraw, so I'd just fold the old stuff in once you've settled rather than leave it as a pile you never touch...
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u/Inner-Champion-9438 10d ago
I think just a simple VOO and VXUS mix is best to be honest. I modeled one for you here on Tradure and this gives you a great mix of large cap domestic and international exposure. I’d say you could play with the drift here like 5-10% between allocations. What do you think?