[quote=gad12]EDJ4now, thanks for the good info.  Since I would much rather use Franklin than American is this DSTVision enough of a pain to not use Franklin?  Or if I try to go exclusively Franklin would that work out ok?  I'm not planning on having more than a dozen or so of these type of accounts.  [/quote]

Franklin's website will work adequately for client account access.  It functions similarly to Vision.  Vision's big appeal for me at least is that I can get most of my direct fund families and all of my VA business on one site.

Yes, DST Vision is pretty smooth and it would be wonderful if they added

Franklin Temp to the platform. But as long as you pick a strategy/fund

family(ies) and don’t make it too complicated, all the idea mentioned would

work OK.



RIA–pay attention: the question was about IRAs (so your tax efficiency

point on ETFs is irrelevant).

"RIA–pay attention: the question was about IRAs (so your tax efficiency


point on ETFs is irrelevant)."



But the lower fee’s and lack of management risk will shine through. Pity that dividend reinvestment for ETF’s is so spotty.



If I had to do this, (and I was working on commision) I’d look at
Amcen’s TIPS fund and Livestrong funds. I’d put 10% in the TIPS fund,
and 90% in the target date fund.



If I was not wroking on commision I’d tell people to go to vanguard and do the same thing.

I agree with what Indyone said.  There is nothing wrong with Franklin's site and accessing account information there.  The reason I don't like using Franklin is because I have to go to a 2nd website, most of the rest of my direct business is on Vision.  There is another site I don't remember the name of that consolidates some other funds, Franklin & Fidelity are both there, but otherwise there isn't much (at least that I use) that won't show up on Vision, I know Franklin is the only "Jones Preferred" family that doesn't use vision.

The only problem I have with Franklin's site is that they show my holdings with them that are direct and that are in brokerage accounts, so I use that other site I can't name (advisorcentral?) when calculating my AUM.