Fidelity balances in Quicken for Mac are not recorded properly

Sean Franklin
Sean Franklin Quicken Mac Subscription Member ✭✭
edited January 18 in Download, Add/Update Accounts (Mac)

I've had an ongoing issue with my Fidelity NetBenefits 401(k) for a while now. I've read this announcement which states that after entering an adjustment, "you will be good to go." That doesn't seem to be the case.

I've deleted & re-downloaded the entire account several times, most recently this morning. Every two weeks, I have contributions from my paycheck and my employer match, and those result in "Buys" of the various funds. The problem is, the "funds" for the purchase seem to come from the account balance of this account - meaning the longer I let it go, the "Negative" cash balance continues accruing. If I enter an "Adjustment" as suggested by the announcement, that does bring my net cash balance to zero - but after the next contribution it starts working its way down again.

Deleting & recreating the account does result in a "Zero" cash balance, but it does so via a "Live Opening Balance" adjustment from a couple of years prior - not due to any sort of correct accounting. Yes, my cash balance is now zero - on the assumption that I started with $132,591.40 via some hand-waving in January 2024! ALL of the purchases since then, "come out" of that balance - the contributions I and my employer have made since then, are ignored.

Is anyone else seeing this? Is there some feature that I'm missing, or is this just an artifact of how the data is downloaded that needs to be fixed between Fidelity and Quicken?

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Comments

  • Quicken Kristina
    Quicken Kristina Quicken Windows Subscription Moderator mod

    Hello @Sean Franklin,

    Thank you for reaching out! Since the steps in the annoucement are only a temporary fix, I recommend that you contact Quicken Support directly for further assistance, as they have access to tools we can't access on the Community and they're able to escalate the issue as needed. The Quicken Support phone number can be found through this link here. Phone support is available from 5:00 am PT to 5:00 pm PT, Monday through Friday. Note - Support will be closed tomorrow, 19 Jan 26, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

    I apologize that I could not be of more assistance! 

    Quicken Kristina

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  • John_in_NC
    John_in_NC Quicken Mac Subscription SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta

    Hi, @Sean Franklin

    I am not seeing any issues with my Fidelity NetBenefits account, and perhaps this is a part user interpretation/confusion or how you have things setup.

    Yes, the 401k balance should be $0 after all your recent paycheck fund "buys". If you simply download transactions from Fidelity, there should be an initial placeholder for cash (and for MFs share balances as well if this 401k predates 1/2024) that "adjusts" everything so your final cash and share balances are correct at the time of each download. And that initial cash balance adjustment should keep growing each pay period as you make more mutual fund purchases each pay period. The balance should return to $0 after each pay periods buys. Are you not seeing that?

    Now, you didn't make it clear if you have your paycheck setup (usually as a split transaction) showing transfers in of your/employer contributions into the 401k account. While optional, that is what I do: I show what I and my employer contribute, and this raises the cash balance above $0. Then, when the subsequent buys occur, the balance returns to $0.

    You shouldn't have to be making manual balance adjustments.

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