(MONEY Magazine) – Q. On May 1, I requested that Ameritrade sell 200 shares of American Express at $158. A few weeks later, I was notified that since the stock split three for one on May 12, my order had been adjusted to 600 shares and executed at a price of $52 11/16, without my approval. Is this legal? RENO GUPITEO STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.

A. Frankly, your concern is a mystery to us, since you actually got what you asked for. Yours was a limit order, which is a request to buy (or sell) a specific number of shares at a certain price (in this case, $158). Such a request remains an open order until it is completed or canceled. The adjustment (from 200 shares to 600 shares) was an appropriate reflection of the three-for-one split, and the sale reaped an equitable sum. Unless you designate "DNR" (do not reduce) when you place an order, most discount and online brokers will automatically adjust open-buy-limit, sell-stop and sell-stop-limit orders for a split/dividend to the nearest 1/16.

Wall Street jargon can seem disarmingly simple--stop, limit, buy, bid, offer, sell and teenie are just a few terms you should know--so make sure you're absolutely clear about the type of order you place to get the price you want. Find out more about the rules for placing orders on the National Association of Securities Dealers website at www.nasdr.com.

Q. I converted my traditional IRA to a Roth and I make annual contributions. One C.P.A. says that I must wait five years to take tax-free distributions. Another claims that a five-year clock starts ticking each time I make an annual contribution. Which C.P.A. should I fire? STEVE HILLEBRAND LOCATION WITHHELD

A. Give the second one his walking papers. You must wait five years after your conversion to avoid taxes on withdrawals of earnings. You must also be 59 1/2 years old, or the distribution must be due to disability or death, or for a first-time home purchase. Subsequent annual contributions do not trigger additional five-year clocks.

Q. My broker is encouraging me to transfer my mutual funds from the fund companies to my brokerage account. Do you think this is wise? O.R. WHITAKER III LOCATION WITHHELD

A. Convenience is probably the most compelling reason to consolidate, but that may not be enough to justify this move. For little or no cost, a brokerage will aggregate your capital-gains and income distributions for tax purposes and, perhaps, keep track of the cost basis of your funds. But MONEY editor-at-large Michael Sivy says he would never consolidate all his assets at one brokerage. His reasoning: Diversification is a primary principle of smart portfolio management. "I wouldn't invest all my money in one stock, one bond or one mutual fund," says Sivy, "so why would I keep all my investments at one brokerage?"

Q. Someone earning half my salary can max out on his 401(k) and put away more than I can. Does this make sense? PAUL CANNON MADISON, MAINE

A. Maddening perhaps, but here's why: To try to level the playing field, Congress passed laws so that "highly paid" workers do not get better tax breaks just because they can afford to sock away more tax-deferred money than "non-highly paid" staffers. So 401(k) plan sponsors must follow a complicated formula to set maximum contributions for each group, which sometimes yields wacky results. This year, the defining line for "highly paid" starts at $85,000.

REPORTER ASSOCIATE: Judy Feldman