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I currently have a Roth IRA retirement account, along with a single account, both at Edward Jones. Both accounts have mutual funds (originally suggested by the EJ broker) and stocks (that I started purchasing myself.) I am now looking to switch to some other service that would allow me to personally manage my investments. Here are the main reasons why I'm switching away from EJ:
1. High commission rates: $50 + other fees per trade.
2. Constant pushing of loaded mutual funds by the broker. If I don't do anything for a couple of months he'd call me and start pushing me to sell and then buy whatever makes his commission money.
3. No easy online access to check your account, or do trades. EJ broker says that I need to call him in person to ask a question or do a trade -- no email or text message support. I'd prefer to have an app on my iPhone to do all this on-the-go.
Any suggestions on what service would be good for me? Especially if you base it on your experience.
Thank you in advance!
PS. I am 35. I have around $30K in my Roth IRA and around $40K in my single account at EJ.
I've been using Fidelity for years. They are over-the-top helpful, especially the CFP I work with at the investor center. Not just "no pressure" but not even a hint of directing us toward Fidelity's funds except when we realize ourselves it is the right way to go. I have their Cash Management Account too, with an excellent Bill Pay feature. Their Full View isn't quite Mint.com, but it is getting there, and about to get a lot better. And their Retirement planner is the most well-regarded one on the web.
My colleague uses Schwab and we've compared notes. Same story there.
1. High commission rates: $50 + other fees per trade.
2. Constant pushing of loaded mutual funds by the broker. If I don't do anything for a couple of months he'd call me and start pushing me to sell and then buy whatever makes his commission money.
3. No easy online access to check your account, or do trades. EJ broker says that I need to call him in person to ask a question or do a trade -- no email or text message support.
I would recommend reading up on the differences between full service brokerages (like Edward Jones) and discount brokerages. Then go with one of the latter.
Their Full View isn't quite Mint.com, but it is getting there, and about to get a lot better. And their Retirement planner is the most well-regarded one on the web.
ive been using mint a couple of years now. i didnt know full view existed. i recently started up full view and put in my accounts. im interested in it since i already use fidelity and i love their personal rate of return feature. however, it isnt as good as mint at this point. where did you see that it will be getting a lot better?
@LongArm: Do you have any links to where I can learn that?
A Google search for "full service broker vs discount broker" (without the quotes) will bring up several.
Regarding Vanguard and its "low expense ratios/management fees..." you can get Vanguard funds from ANY discount broker, and the aforementioned fees are just as low. The reason you MIGHT want to go with Vanguard's BROKERAGE (Vanguard is also a fund FAMILY from which you can buy the funds directly) is in the case where you know you'll be buying Vanguard funds/ETFs and you'll be able to spare yourself the TRANSACTION fees (when you buy & sell). If you may be buying funds other than Vanguard's, however, another brokerage may have attributes that make it a better fit for you. For example, you may like that Scottrade, which has locations all over the country, has one near YOUR home where you can meet with a rep face to face. Probably not the case with Vanguard which, last I heard, only had about 3 locations. But that's just one example.
Regarding Fidelity and Schwab: These two are considered discount brokers, but with all of the services/extras they offer, they tend to blur the line between "full service" and "discount." That could be a good thing for someone coming from a full-service brokerage, as you sort of have more of what you're used to, but at a lower cost.
ive been using mint a couple of years now. i didnt know full view existed. i recently started up full view and put in my accounts. im interested in it since i already use fidelity and i love their personal rate of return feature. however, it isnt as good as mint at this point. where did you see that it will be getting a lot better?
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