Move account from IRA back to normal Investment

IanH

I inadvertently moved an account from Investment to Retirement in Q Premier 2019. I would like to get is back where it belongs. However, unlike looking at an Investment account with its "Convert to 701k/IRA/529" button, a retirement account does not have a "Convert to Investment Account" button.

I have Changed "Tax Deferred" selection in the account details from Yes to No But I can't get the account type to change from IRA to Brokerage.

This account is 5 years old with lots of manually allocated sales transactions, so deleting and re-importing it is not an option.

Any advice?

Jim_Harman

How about creating a new, empty brokerage account in Quicken and using "Move Transactions" from the IRA's gear menu to move all the transactions to the brokerage account?

Disclaimer: I have used this approach successfully to retroactively handle a 401(k) to IRA rollover and other account housecleaning but I have not tried it for an IRA to a taxable account.

As always with a move like this, back up your data file first!

Ps56k2

just out of curiosity - HOW exactly did you move the acct -

IanH

In Account Details dialog box, checked Yes for "Tax deferred" and clicked "Convert to ..." button. Then selected IRA for specific account type.

Greg_the_Geek

How long ago did you "move" the account. Do you have a backup you could restore before the move?

IanH

I haven't opened the latest backup yet. Time stamp (last modified) is old enough that it would not have the move but would also represent a ton of work to catch up transactions entered since then.

If there is some other way to do this, it would be hugely preferable.

Ps56k2

WOW - never noticed that -

but then, I never clicked on random buttons after I had setup an account -

Ps56k2

What about a .... --> File --> Export QIF -->

for the account, then delete it, re-create it back in Investments,
and Import the QIF file you just created -
BUT - any interactions with other accounts - transfers - might be totally hosed & lost.

J_Mike

In QWin, converting a regular brokerage account to a retirement account is a one-way trip - there is no provision to easily reverse the conversion.
You have two options;
1) Restore a backup from prior to the conversion - as suggested by @Greg_the_Geek .
2) Create a new account and then Cut/Paste the transactions from the old account to the new account - one transaction at a time.

Bob_L

What about just transferring all securities to a new brokerage account?  I did a quick test and it was not blocked, etc.

@ps56k or J_mike know of any issues doing that?

IanH

Securities and transactions? That could work. How would you do that?

Bob_L

You do that via the enter transactions button, choosing the option to transfer shares between accounts.  First you create a new brokerage account using the advanced link at the bottom of the first dialog and then don’t add any securities to it.  After the transfer, you will  wind up with add shares transactions for each security transaction that retain the original cost basis.  It would be as if you had moved to a new broker.  You will of course need to retain the original account as it contains in and out transactions before the date of the transfer.

Wait to see if the others have thoughts and of course BACKUP FIRST.

Tom Young

If you just made this mistake in the last day or so you really should have a backup that's a lot more recent then the "most recent" backup that has a needs a ton of work to catch up.  "Out of the box" Quicken makes a backup each time you shut down and keeps "X" number of these backups.  (You supply the "X".)

You've looked in the Backup folder that's in the same folder as your Quicken file?

Of course if you just caught the mistake some months after moving the Account then most any backup would require a lot of catching up.

IanH

Thanks for the help and advice, all.

I'm going to take the restored backup approach.

I've got to say, this kind of irreversible action is only part of what makes me crazy about Quicken. If only the program were as good as the user community!

UKR

You haven't said exactly when your last Quicken data file backup was taken. There are two types of backup, Automatic and Manual, available in Quicken for Windows.

See below for more about these backup types and where these backup files can be found. You may have an Automatic Backup file that is more recent than the last Manual Backup you took ...

How to properly set up Quicken Backup
How to make Quicken create a backup for you automatically every time you close Quicken

For the sake of this discussion it is assumed that your Quicken data file is located in the Default (and recommended) place: C:\Users\username\Documents\Quicken

Review the backup settings available in Quicken (under Edit / Preferences / Backup).

In there you will find two types of backup: Automatic and Manual Backup.

Automatic Backup should be enabled and always goes to a \Backup folder that's part of the folder which contains your current Quicken data file, e.g. \Documents\Quicken\Backup. Set it to create a backup after running Quicken [1] times and to keep [5] (or more, your choice) backup copies.

To create a Manual Backup copy of your Quicken data file on an external device (USB-hard drive or USB memory stick recommended), put a checkmark at "Manual Backup Reminder" to enable the function and set "Remind me after running Quicken [xx] times" to [1].

Click OK to save the changes.

From now on, when you close Quicken using the red X button, you will get a popup window.

When you get this window for the first time, on some versions click the radio button for "Backup on my computer".
Change the Backup File name's drive letter and path to point to your external device so that it looks something like this: E:\Quicken Backup\QDATA-2017-04-01.QDF-backup
or use the Change button and work your way through the dialog.

Do not change the filename portion! Just overtype the drive letter and choose a backup folder name. If the folder does not exist, it will be created.

Also choose the option to "Add date to backup file name".

Every day when you run Backup or close Quicken, an additional backup file is created. Without the Add Date option you only have 1 backup copy which is overwritten every day ... and that may prove bad in a problem recovery situation.

Allow this backup to run to save the changes made on the screen.

Of course, once in a while you will have to go in and delete some of the oldest backup files, at your discretion, to avoid filling up your USB device.

One can never have enough backups of your Quicken data file. BTDTGTS!

Jim_Harman

How about creating a new, empty brokerage account in Quicken and using "Move Transactions" from the IRA's gear menu to move all the transactions to the brokerage account?

Disclaimer: I have used this approach successfully to retroactively handle a 401(k) to IRA rollover and other account housecleaning but I have not tried it for an IRA to a taxable account.

As always with a move like this, back up your data file first!

Jim_Harman

I just tested this approach and it appears to have worked.

Your Mileage May Vary.

IanH

Jim_Harman, thanks for the idea. I had already started to restore a backup and re-enter missing transactions before I saw your post. Since most transactions are downloaded and only assigned after the fact, it wasn't too awful.

It would have been a lot easier if Quicken would let you automate rules for lot assignments in investment accounts instead of making you accept each sale individually!