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I have my accounts at Scottrade, which has been sold to TD Ameritrade. I don't care much for TD Ameritrade, having had a small acct there once.
At Scottrade I pay $6.95 for stock trades & $17 transaction fee for mutual funds. I have access to the S&P stock reports, as well as several other reports on individual stocks. Info on bonds, as well.
Is there another comparable, good online brokerage firm that you know of or have used?
I checked out Vanguard & Fidelity, but wasn't impressed. High transaction fee for mutual funds, and confusing rules and pricing structure. Hard to see everything, when you don't have an acct there, though.
There is no transaction fee for most mutual funds owned by the brokerage house. These are "no load and no transaction fee funds and ETFs." Fidelity has other funds at no fee including iShare funds/etfs in addition to their own. Fidelity fee for trading stock is $4.95 per transaction. Vanguard charges $7.95 per stock or non-vanguard fund transaction.
Fidelity has more comprehensive research tools and access to data than Vanguard. Vanguard is known for having among the lowest expense ratios in the industry for their funds, although Fidelity is trying to compete with them and has lowered some of their expense ratios.
Between the two I'd say Fidelity has the edge here. I have accounts at both since I purchase funds by each.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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I feel for you... TD bought THREE of my previously GREAT brokerages...
so... now I am stuck with... Vanguard - rollovers / Donor advised = passive investing with simple instructions Fidelity Brokerage + bank + MF's / ETFs(normal / simple / retirement stuff) I REALLY don't like them. (Pretty worthless) LOTS of banking and CC hassles. (not fun when you are overseas 50%+)
I would also look into https://tastyworks.com/
Since I was very pleased with ThinkorSwim (bought by TD)
TD of course ended up with some of my accts, but I have moved most, and will continue to flee them.
Ideally I would have a ONE STOP SHOP!, but...12+ accts (IRA's, 401k, Roth, traditional, LLC's, SDIRA (Self directed business IRA LLC's), business accts, spouse , custodial,,, USA makes it SO EZ...)
I have to laugh when brokerage clients complain about the banking capabilities at their firm such as Fidelity, Vanguard etc. These are not banks, they are investment firms- they have to use 3rd party banks to process transactions so there can & are some limitations at times. Brokerage companies have been offering cash management accounts for quite some time and recently have been promoting them as an alternative to the traditional bank as less expensive due to banking fee's but there are some transactions that are challenging such as requesting a cashier's check and forget being able to deposit any cash. For the most part these accounts can run very smoothly but if you are someone that is challenged by banking procedures or needs more hands on help then a traditional bank would be a better relationship.
I compare this as going to seafood restaurant and ordering a steak....the restaurant specializes in seafood but can cook a steak for you but don't expect the steak to be perfect.
I really haven't found another broker I liked as much as Think Or Swim. I use IBKR, but not a huge fan of the software terminal. It works and all. It's suitable for long term investors and all, but sort of begs you to trade with all it's capabilities. The commissions however are very good.
I have my accounts at Scottrade, which has been sold to TD Ameritrade. I don't care much for TD Ameritrade, having had a small acct there once.
At Scottrade I pay $6.95 for stock trades & $17 transaction fee for mutual funds. I have access to the S&P stock reports, as well as several other reports on individual stocks. Info on bonds, as well.
Is there another comparable, good online brokerage firm that you know of or have used?
I checked out Vanguard & Fidelity, but wasn't impressed. High transaction fee for mutual funds, and confusing rules and pricing structure. Hard to see everything, when you don't have an acct there, though.
You should call Schwab & ask about the transfer deal they have for Scottrade accounts. I think you'll be happy.
I buy only Vanguard funds and ETF's so I use Vanguard and pay no fees. I don't care to buy individual stocks but they are pretty cheap for that as well. I've heard grumblings about their customer service but I haven't had any major contacts with them just a few questions by econtact/email.
For Vanguard if you have less than $50k, after your first 25 trades, it's $20/trade. If you have $50-$500k it's $7, which is roughly $2/trade more than other B/D's.
i use fidelity and have always tried to limit myself to their funds and etf's that have no transaction fees. i am very happy with the online experience. so for me, it is very low cost and i am very happy with them.
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