Cash in stock certificate (sale, broker, to buy)

[Jerseyt719]

Does anyone on here know where I can cash in a stock certificate? I am having the hardest time finding out where to do this at.

Thanks in advance

[Retriever]

More than likely, you will have to open an account with a brokerage firm, and after the account is opened, you can forward the certificate to the firm, along with a letter of instruction stating the terms of the stock sale. Make sure that your brokerage account is with a discount broker. Otherwise, excessive brokerage fees will eat up a significant portion of the sale proceeds.

Is the certificate issued in your name?
Or, do you have a death certificate for the person named on the certificate, along with a probated will stating that the shares are to be left to you? If not, you will have a very difficult time selling those shares.

[Jerseyt719]

No, it's in our name. Not a problem there.

I heard some banks can do it, but have yet to find one that does. I really wanted to avoid opening a brokerage account. I can only imagine what the fees will be.

[Retriever]

Originally Posted by Jerseyt719

I really wanted to avoid opening a brokerage account. I can only imagine what the fees will be.

The "Deep Discount" brokers actually charge very low fees.
A "Merrill-Lynch type" of broker could wind up charging you...hundreds of $$ for a transaction, while a "Scottrade type" of broker would probably charge less than $15.

Just make sure that you look at ALL of the fees that a brokerage charges. Some charge only a few dollars for a stock trade, but then impose "inactivity" fees if you don't continue to trade with them on a monthly basis.

Since I am essentially a Buy and Hold type of investor, I don't want to be charged for "inactivity", so my account is with Muriel Siebert & Co. She charges more for a trade than the "deep discount" brokers ($19.95, if I recall correctly), but there are no other fees.

Every year, both Kiplinger's magazine and Smart Money magazine publish reports on the best brokers in the full-service, discount, and deep-discount categories. If you visit your local library, you might be able to find the most recent issues where both of those mags gave details (including fees) of their high-rated brokers.

[hrjersey]

If you have a 401K with someone like Fidelity you can open a brokerage account over the phone and then walk your certificates into one of their NJ offices. Fidelity happens to charge a very small fee.

[NJexpat]

I just saw this thread for the first time today, and I will suggest Scottrade.

I have a brokerage account with Scottrade and I can confirm that they charge nothing - not one cent - to open an account.

Every broker charges a commission to buy or sell securities, and Scottrade is one of the lowest. Their commission charge to sell your shares will be $7.00.