Best Online Brokerage?

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sterjs
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Best Online Brokerage?

Post by sterjs »

I want to switch from E*Trade--bad customer service, 10 day holding periods on new deposits, terrible sweep rates, $10 commissions, etc... I didn't do my due diligence and I don't want to make the same mistake twice.

I want to open a SEP IRA as well as taxable account.

Is WellsTrade the best choice? They have zero commissions for ETFs and mutual funds. They also have reasonable money market rates. I don't need all the bells and whistles market research, etc.
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United
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Post by United »

WellsTrade and Zecco are the cheapest. I've heard some rare but bad stories about Zecco's customer service. SogoInvest seems like it could be a promising discount brokerage. It still doesn't have IRAs though. Scottrade is one of the cheapest brokerages that has branches all over. Another nice thing about Scottrade is that it had indicated it does not want to be bought like many other discount brokerages have been. In the past, it's been a problem when a brokerage gets bought and then suddenly has all new rules and fees. (PM me if you want a Scottrade referral; it will net us each 3 free trades).
Last edited by United on Fri May 18, 2007 9:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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jeff mc
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Re: Best Online Brokerage?

Post by jeff mc »

sterjs wrote:I want to switch from E*Trade--bad customer service, 10 day holding periods on new deposits, terrible sweep rates, $10 commissions, etc... I didn't do my due diligence and I don't want to make the same mistake twice.
i'm at etrade, but not by choice... i was w/ DLJ direct, sold to CSFB, sold to harris, sold to etrade. not to be an etrade apologist, but i find their website and trade execution excellent, their email customer service average (but phone customer service atrocious). i auto deposit and use 'quick transfers', and i've never had a 10 day hold put on any funds. i get $8 trades (for market or limit orders... beware other companies 'low trade costs'... that may be only for market trades, or only for high-money market fund balances or teaser rates). i'm totally paperless w/ them, they have great online reports, i have a connected HELOC loan on same account, have checkwriting and visa debit card privileges on our margined brokerage account. they're a huge, stable company that's growing and swallowing up smaller brokerage houses. their tax forms have always been available on time and have never reissued corrected 1099s. there's no annual fees. they also have partnered w/ morningstar to deliver free x-ray analysis and other in depth portfolio reviewing. if you don't like their sweep rates, i believe you can sign up for a free 'complete etrade savings' account (or something similar) and get ~5% interest, w/ instantaneous swapping between that account and your brokerage account. what exactly are you looking for that's better?

also, i believe they'll get ya for $60 per account close on the way out if you leave (which stinks, but is pretty common 'in the biz')
grok87
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I like Fidelity's brokerage

Post by grok87 »

Not the cheapest but $11 per trade is not that bad.
The $75 transaction fee for non NTF mutual funds is high but there is no charge on the way out.
Service has been excellent.
cheers
grok
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tetractys
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firstrade

Post by tetractys »

Firstrade has a deal right now for free trades and to cover your transfer fees. Check it out at Firstrade.com
livesoft
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Post by livesoft »

Did more free transactions in my WellsFargo brokerage account today. No problems, superb executions since opening the account March 2006. Also the checking account is simply outstanding.

As I have written before, the web site is a bit clunky for the brokerage, but with only a few trades a year, I can live with that.

I am miffed at TDAmeritrade. They finally switched ex-TDWaterhouse customers to their Ameritrade platform. They said they would put you in a good MMFund to replace the WTOXX, but lied. They went from a 4.5% fund to a 0.1% fund. I had to manually buy NPLXX a 4.77% MMFund
joppy
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Re: Best Online Brokerage?

Post by joppy »

chuck D wrote: also, i believe they'll get ya for $60 per account close on the way out if you leave (which stinks, but is pretty common 'in the biz')
They charge for an account transfer out, but not for an account close. Also, they charge less for a partial transfer out. One way to reduce the amount you pay is to do a "partial" transfer out of *all* of your stocks, but leave some cash in the account. You get charged the lower "partial" transfer fee.

You can then close the account at no charge, and have a check sent to you for the cash balance.

Of course, you can also ask the broker you are transferring to whether they will reimburse you the account closing fees. Often, they will reimburse you the "transfer out" fees of the other broker.

- Joppy
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orthros
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Post by orthros »

Anyone here have Zecco experience personally? I just opened a Zecco account but haven't funded it yet. I like the cost though. :D
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Blackhawkzone
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Post by Blackhawkzone »

it is really hard to beat tradeking. I have had zero problems with them and their customer service is top notch. the 4.95 trade commissions and instant access to trading ach funds are awesome.
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springwater
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Post by springwater »

I've found Fidelity to be the best value for large accounts.

Commissions are $8 if you have over a million in assets and $10.95 if you have over $50,000.

They offer a checking account based on municipal money market funds that offer over 5% interest on an after tax basis if you are in the upper tax brackets.

Market research may not be important for you but Fidelity offers tons of it. Customer service has always been great. They have over 1400 NTF funds and the cheapest index funds anywhere.

I also feel more comfortable putting my serious money with them. They have a fraud guarantee to reimburse you if hackers clean out your account. They are also privately held and the largest broker in the united states by assets.

They are at no risk of getting bought out.
Guzzo
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Zecco personal experience

Post by Guzzo »

Anyone here have Zecco experience personally? I just opened a Zecco account but haven't funded it yet. I like the cost though.

Jonathan at My Money Blog posted a good review of his experience.

http://www.mymoneyblog.com/archives/200 ... ences.html

Mike
Gregory
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my choice

Post by Gregory »

I do all of my trading at Foliofn. Depending upon how much you trade, the annual subscription may or may not be worth it.

Good luck.
Greg
Pecuniae imperare oportet, non servire. | Fortuna vitrea est; tum cum splendit frangitur. -Syrus
sofla100
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Suggest TradeKing

Post by sofla100 »

I've used Scottrade in the past and have switched now to TradeKing. I also looked at Zecco and strongly considered it. However, I found Zecco to be confusing in how they want to set up your account and they seem to want to take quite a long time to credit your account and transfer accounts in. Also, in looking at fees, you've got Scottrade at $7 and margin at 10.5%, and TradeKing at $4.95 and margin at 8%. Plus Tradeking's sweep is now about 4.2 and Scottrade was only 2.2. Lastly, TradeKing recently installed Recognia Stock Analysis Software into their technical analysis section. I have found it useful to compare the Recognia analysis with other Fundamental Analysis tools. Recognia is only available via brokers and the only other one I know of making it available is Fidelity, and for me, Fidelity is too expensive for trades.
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pointyhairedboss
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I like Firstrade and Wells Trade

Post by pointyhairedboss »

The word trade is an ambiguous term. It doesn't specify whether its a fund trade or stock trade. In brokerage world, there is a big difference in fees between a stock trade and a fund trade. For example, Scottrade charges $7 for stock trades and $17 for fund trades. Fidelity charges anywhere from $8 to $20 for stock trades, depending on balance, and $75 per fund purchase ($0 per fund redemption).

The fund trade charges listed above assume the fund is not part of the broker's ntf lineup. Fund trades of ntf funds are free. If you a cost conscious fund consumer, its a fairly decent bet that your fund won't be available ntf, unless your broker owns the funds (Vanguard funds at Vangaurd brokerage, Fidelity funds at Fidelity brokerage).

For investors who are primarily looking to invest in mutual funds, I recommend Firstrade for small accounts and Wells Trade for large accounts. Firstrade charges $10 per fund trade, and they may even have a better deal if you establish an automatic investment plan. I heard about it once and haven't been able to confirm it since. Wells Trade offers 100 free annual trades, stock or fund, but there is a whole lot of strings attached. I find the attached strings rather reasonable, but your tolerance for attached strings may vary.

I don't know much about the new brokerages tradeking, thinkorswim, zecco and flybynightandgonebyday.
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Kenster1
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Post by Kenster1 »

I'm thinking about partnering with Hugh Hefner in developing the next exquisite stock trading platform...

Playstocks

Every month we will feature a Stock of the Month based on our 'fundamental' analysis -- using both bottom-up & top-down analysis.

You heard it here first!
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DayTrader
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Post by DayTrader »

Fidelity: Their customer service is THE BEST. They charge $10.95, if you have more than $50K combined. Very good sweep rates and I use this account as my checking account too. Several account options - SEP, ROTH IRA, solo 401(k) etc. The website is very user friendly. You can buy Tbills free of charge. They might have some promotions going on. Check out this thread.
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/message ... did=529326

Note that the trading fees for several funds (including Vanguard) will cost $75.
ndchamp
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TradeKing promotions

Post by ndchamp »

:?:
Are there any open TradeKing promotions at this time? The ACCESS100 seems to have expired.

Nelson
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jeff mc
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Re: TradeKing promotions

Post by jeff mc »

ndchamp wrote::?:
Are there any open TradeKing promotions at this time? The ACCESS100 seems to have expired.

Nelson
personally, i wouldn't pick my brokerage account company based on who has the best coupons available.

instead, find out what's important to you (cheap trades, or customer support, or website, or margin / MM rates, etc) and run w/ it for the long term, instead of short term thinking of getting 10 free trades or some teaser rate on MM funds for a few months.
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springwater
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Post by springwater »

I have Fidelity. I had once made a purchase with their Fidelity debit card on an intenet site and for some reason the purchase was declined. Then I went to another site and to buy what I wanted and the purchase went through.

The next morning I received an automated call from Fidelity asking me to confirm the two purchases. The declined purchase and the next purchase in a short timespan must have altered them to possible fraud.

I thought this was very cool how advanced their fraud detection system was. If your purchases deviate from a pattern, they will give you a courtesy phone call to confirm that the card isn't stolen.
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jeff mc
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Post by jeff mc »

springwater wrote:I thought this was very cool how advanced their fraud detection system was. If your purchases deviate from a pattern, they will give you a courtesy phone call to confirm that the card isn't stolen.
agreed, it's cool, but not altruistic... that's money out of their pocket, not yours...
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watchnerd
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Post by watchnerd »

Consumer reports recently had a comparison review of several different online brokerages:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/pers ... ker_ov.htm

In a nutshell, the rankings (using their criteria) were:

#1: Firstrade
#2: E*Trade
#3: Tradeking
#4: Schwab
#5: Scottrade

BTW, as an E*Trade customer, my experiences parrallel those of Chuck D: good email support, decent phone support (better in US daytime), decent trade costs ($9.99 if you have over $50k), and good savings account rates (5% right now). I haven't had any 10 day holds on funds.
Global stocks, IG/HY bonds, gold & digital assets at market weights 75% / 19% / 6% || LMP: TIPS ladder
DOA2035
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Wells Fargo's strings

Post by DOA2035 »

Anyone know what kinds of strings Wells Fargo attaches to their 100 free trades a year with a $25k balance? I've got an account at Schwab, where trades are $12.95 for share lots under 1000.

Thanks,
Greg
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tetractys
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Post by tetractys »

#1: Firstrade
#2: E*Trade
#3: Tradeking
#4: Schwab
#5: Scottrade
I left Scottrade because they had no DRIPS. I chose Firstrade because they had DRIPS on all my securities, and have no fees for IRA's. Had thought about E*Trade, but skipped because of the slightly higher trade costs. Also skipped TradeKing because they only have DRIPS on certain securities, and not on all of mine, and they have an exit fee. Schwab, no comment.

Tet

PS Kenster, what type of trading platform will there be for the new up and coming derivatives called "foldouts?"
Last edited by tetractys on Sat May 26, 2007 3:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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MossySF
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Re: Wells Fargo's strings

Post by MossySF »

DOA2035 wrote:Anyone know what kinds of strings Wells Fargo attaches to their 100 free trades a year with a $25k balance? I've got an account at Schwab, where trades are $12.95 for share lots under 1000.
I have not encountered any strings yet. I keep trading and they keep charging me $0.
livesoft
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Post by livesoft »

A big plus for me with WellsFargo are the FREE trades for mutual funds even if NOT in their NTF network. For example, buy/sell DODFX without any commission. To my knowledge, no other discount broker let's you do that.
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pointyhairedboss
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Post by pointyhairedboss »

Consumer reports recently had a comparison review of several different online brokerages:
I have a great deal of respect for Consumer Reports, but their brokerage survey article on is a complete farce. They just didn't get it not right, they got it completely wrong. Stunningly run. Most (all?) brokerage articles are bad, but they have taken bad to new heights. Its the equivalent of somebody writing a mutual fund article and declaring Frontier Microcap (FEFPX), the fund with an 18% expense ratio, to be the top rated fund.

Take a few examples:

ETrade is the undisputed king of poor customer service. Customer phone times over 30 minutes are the norm and not the exception. Yet, they received the top rating (1 of 5) for customer support. Google or query any message board on ETrade, you will get the most vehement and vitriol responses.

Vanguard is known for great customer service. They get a middle ranking of "good" (3 of 5).

Wells Fargo has one of the sweetest mutual fund pricing structures. If you participate in their PMA program (linked checking account), you receive 100 free annual stock or mutual fund trades. This essentially makes all funds NTF. After your 100th trade, subsequent trades are $6, cheaper than any broker in the list. Yet Consumer Reports lists their trade fee at $20, and gives them a mutual fund ranking of "good" (3 of 5). Its obvious that Consumer Reports didn't consider Wells Fargo's PMA program. Yet, they did consider a similar but inferior program that Bank of America offers. Apples to oranges.

Wells Fargo has no early redemption fee penalties, yet they get a "Trading" ranking of "good" (again, 3 of 5). Firstrade gets a "trade" ranking of "Excellent" (top ranking), yet they have a 3 month early redemption fee period.

Scottrade is a decent brokerage but has few banking options. Your cash is put in to a "interest bearing" account that provides little interest. At one point, they didn't even provide electronic means to deposit your monies into an IRA account. (I'm not sure of the status of that now). They get a "banking and asset management" ranking of "Very Good", 2nd best rating (2 out of 5). Meanwhile Wells Fargo, a bank that offers everything in the sun - mortgages, banking, investments, credit cards - receives a "good" ranking (3 of 5).
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pointyhairedboss
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Post by pointyhairedboss »

Anyone know what kinds of strings Wells Fargo attaches to their 100 free trades a year with a $25k balance? I've got an account at Schwab, where trades are $12.95 for share lots under 1000.
You have to open a checking account at Wells Fargo, and link that checking account to your brokerage account. There is no minimum balance to the checking, although you do have to open with a mimimum investment of $100. You can take it out the next day.
DOA2035
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Post by DOA2035 »

And there's no annual fee on the brokerage account at Wells Fargo? Does anyone know if Wells Fargo will rebate any account transfer fee you might be charged from another brokerage firm? A customer service rep at Charles Schwab told me that they practice this.
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DaveTH
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Post by DaveTH »

And there's no annual fee on the brokerage account at Wells Fargo? Does anyone know if Wells Fargo will rebate any account transfer fee you might be charged from another brokerage firm? A customer service rep at Charles Schwab told me that they practice this.
There is no maintenance fee for the brokerage account as long as the total of all your accounts is at least $25K. Otherwise there is a $15 quarterly fee. I am not aware of anyone who has been reimbursed for another broker's transfer out fees, but you should probably check directly with a Wells Fargo rep. Generally brokers charge around $50 to completely close an account. You will easily make that up in just a few trades.

Dave
livesoft
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Post by livesoft »

The WF checking account that goes with the PMA is outstanding. It's almost worth it by itself. Free everything. If you go below the PMA limit, the $25 fee is "monthly". The fees are well-described in the WF online literature.

The cash sweep at WF that I use is WFLXX which is paying above 4.6% nowadays. That's not the best, but it ain't shabby.
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springwater
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Post by springwater »

Fidelity reimbursed me over $200 in assorted fees when I transfered a legacy account from Merrill Lynch. You have to talk to a customer service rep and negotiate your best deal.

It also helps of course if you have a large account to move over.
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paulob
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Post by paulob »

DOA2035 wrote:Does anyone know if Wells Fargo will rebate any account transfer fee you might be charged from another brokerage firm? A customer service rep at Charles Schwab told me that they practice this.
I emailed Wells Fargo and they don't rebate the transfer fee.
Paul
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watchnerd
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Post by watchnerd »

I know that Bank of America and Wells Fargo are now offering free trading, at least for some things, under some circumstances.

But I have to wonder about their execution ability. Schwab, Fidelity, E*Trade, etc, have all invested years and millions building trading platforms that are supposed to be able to execute rapidly even under congested market conditions (which they don't always do).

I have to wonder if the big retail banks like Wells and BofA can execute as well under tough conditions as the dedicated online brokers?

Then again, maybe they don't need/want to if they're targeting people who make half a dozen trades a year when rebalancing, but otherwise lie dormant.
Global stocks, IG/HY bonds, gold & digital assets at market weights 75% / 19% / 6% || LMP: TIPS ladder
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pointyhairedboss
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Post by pointyhairedboss »

But I have to wonder about their execution ability. Schwab, Fidelity, E*Trade, etc, have all invested years and millions building trading platforms that are supposed to be able to execute rapidly even under congested market conditions (which they don't always do).
I can't speak for the quality of Wells Fargo's trading platform, as I invest primarily in mutual funds. I believe they bought out Strong's brokerage and started from there. They aren't as young as they appear.
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DaveTH
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Post by DaveTH »

Quote:
But I have to wonder about their execution ability. Schwab, Fidelity, E*Trade, etc, have all invested years and millions building trading platforms that are supposed to be able to execute rapidly even under congested market conditions (which they don't always do).


I can't speak for the quality of Wells Fargo's trading platform, as I invest primarily in mutual funds. I believe they bought out Strong's brokerage and started from there. They aren't as young as they appear.
I have purchased both ETFs and stocks using the WellsTrade platform and my trades executed flawlessly. It is also very easy to cancel or modify pending trades. I still have some holdings with Fidelity and although Fidelity's website is probably more refined, the WellsTrade site is completely functional.

Dave
livesoft
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Post by livesoft »

watchnerd wrote:But I have to wonder about their execution ability. Schwab, Fidelity, E*Trade, etc, have all invested years and millions building trading platforms that are supposed to be able to execute rapidly even under congested market conditions (which they don't always do).

I have to wonder if the big retail banks like Wells and BofA can execute as well under tough conditions as the dedicated online brokers?
I bought and sold ETFs at WF on those high volume days back in Feb/Mar without any problems. I used limit orders and WF always bested my limit price. I could watch my order from my other brokerage account with Level II quotes.

IMHO, execution ability is outstanding. Perhaps this is because they don't have a lot of clients yet? (Hmmm, maybe I should be bashing them to keep a good thing for myself?)
Topic Author
sterjs
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Post by sterjs »

Question about WellsTrade:

The 25k minimum balance for 100 free trades--do stocks, etc, count toward that minimum or just cash?
livesoft
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Post by livesoft »

Unlike BoA, at WF anything counts. You can even count 10% of your WF mortgage. But why take it from me? Why not review the WF web site for what counts?
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sterjs
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Post by sterjs »

livesoft wrote:Unlike BoA, at WF anything counts. You can even count 10% of your WF mortgage. But why take it from me? Why not review the WF web site for what counts?
Thanks. I will review it in detail--I've looked it over before but wasn't 100% clear on this point.
Trying2blazy
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Post by Trying2blazy »

I found this informative.

I am now looking for a broker to park a stock certificate / stock certificates. I am not looking for any trading etc. so I don't care how much trades cost etc. All my other stuff is with Vanguard, but at $30/yr to maintain a brokerage acct, I'm hesitant to go with them, despite the fact that it would be more convenient and allow me to have everything at one place.

Which brokerage would you recommend for me?

Thanks
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DaveTH
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Post by DaveTH »

Trying2blazy wrote:I am now looking for a broker to park a stock certificate / stock certificates. I am not looking for any trading etc. so I don't care how much trades cost etc. All my other stuff is with Vanguard, but at $30/yr to maintain a brokerage acct, I'm hesitant to go with them, despite the fact that it would be more convenient and allow me to have everything at one place.

Which brokerage would you recommend for me?
Based upon your very limited criteria, any broker would qualify. I believe that several people have already mentioned in your other post that it was not worth opening a brokerage account just to store your certificates. Why not just keep them in a safe deposit box as others have suggested?

Dave
Trying2blazy
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Post by Trying2blazy »

A safe deposit won't work b/c my bank does not have branches in the state where I live.

A home safe deposit won't work b/c it's not so safe. We live in an appt.

I would also like a brokerage acct b/c it's easy access to the money. If I am in a bind, I can sell the shares and transfer them to a checking acct. on the spot.
livesoft
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Post by livesoft »

A home fireproof box would probably still be OK. Just leave it unlocked, so if thieves rummage through it, they will see no cash, jewels and leave it alone.

If you don't want to do that, as I wrote before, just go to a local walk-in broker like TDAmeritrade, Fidelity, Scottrade, or Schwab. Check online to make sure there are no fees for sitting tight. I know TDAmeritrade charges us nothing to sit tight.

Or sell the NECB shares now. They don't appear to be anything special given the context of your VG investments.
winterescape
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Post by winterescape »

The JD power ranking of investment firms
http://www.jdpower.com/finance/ratings/ ... /index.asp
Trying2blazy
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Post by Trying2blazy »

NECB was quite a story. A friend convinced me to do what he does.

You deposit small amounts of money in private banks in the hope that they will go public. That's what happened with NECB. They offered the stock a year ago at $10 and and Friday it closed at 12.49.

I don't want to sell it yet b/c I have no need to sell it. I have some small deposits in a few other small bankings and just waiting.

I will probably go with Firsttrade and do it all online.
Jason Beeler
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Post by Jason Beeler »

I have been using zecco since just after it opened. It has been great so far, they send you a mailed confirmation for free after every trade along with quarterly summaries of your holdings. Its hard to see how they could take all your money after sending you records of your holdings so often.
technofox
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Post by technofox »

I have sogoinvest, sharebuilder, and scottrade for buying etfs/stocks; however out of the three sharebuilder is the most expensive, scottrade is nice if you enjoy being able to walkin to a place, and sogoinvest is just down right cheap, it finally has DRIPs. My only problem with scottrade and sogoinvest is that you can't ACH out back to your checking account, like sharebuilder; however, I am going to close sharebuilder for sure, because I am never going to use them again even though I had a good experience with them. As for the other 2 I don't know right now. I have 4 stocks at sogoinvest set with DRIP and 0 in scottrade. I would like to use VBS however the $25 trades are a real killer; now if they offered customers to by their ETFs without a brokerage fee or with lower commission I would consider it big time.
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RiskAverse
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Post by RiskAverse »

The lack of DRIPS at scottrade is a major nuisance. Otherwise SC is awesome, cheap trades, so/so online service, horrible credit rate on cash balances, poor mutual fund platform, but lots of local branches with real people.

All in SC is pretty darn good if you want a minimalist online brokerage company.
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