Poll: Which Brokerage(s) do you use? Switching? See 1st Post for Poll Details.

[yakers]

Vanguard and Wells Fargo.

 

[Car-Guy]

Surprising poll results (to me anyway). I thought Schwab would have easily been the leader... I'm very comfortable with how Schwab works but now I'm wondering if Fidelity or Vanguard is so much better it's worth considering switching.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Surprising poll results (to me anyway). I thought Schwab would have been easily been the leader... I'm very comfortable with how Schwab works but now I'm wondering if Fidelity or Vangard is so much better it's worth considering switching.

Me too. But I have had Vanguard before and think I would choose Fidelity as they have an Office in Jacksonville. I am considering putting our IRA (about 50% of our stash) in Fidelity when it matures from our local CU.

 

[Car-Guy]

^^^^^
For me, I wouldn't pick any of them for having a nearby office since I'm to far away from any populated area to expect that. What would drive me is their web interface functionally and customer service. Schwabs web site is intuitive (for the most part) and has "loads of functionality" and does everything I want/need. Customer Service hotline is great too but I rarely need it. But it sure seems like a lot of folks here have chosen other brokerage firms "for some reason".

 

[Mark1]

^^^^^
... But it sure seems like a lot of folks here have chosen other brokerage firms "for some reason".

I'm 100% with Fido. Most likely because all of my Megacorp benefits were administered through Fido. If they had instead utilized Schwab, I suspect that I would be 100% Schwab right now(?).

 

[USGrant1962]

Surprising poll results (to me anyway). I thought Schwab would have been easily been the leader... I'm very comfortable with how Schwab works but now I'm wondering if Fidelity or Vanguard is so much better it's worth considering switching.

I looked them up and I'm surprised Schwab is as big as it is, and Fidelity as small. I thought VG and Fido were neck-and-neck for the biggest. I guess the TDA-Schwab merger was bigger than I thought.

Assets under management, August 2023:

Vanguard $8.2T
Schwab $8.0T
Fidelity $4.5T

https://money.usnews.com/investing/...rticles/the-largest-brokerage-firms-this-year

 

[ShokWaveRider]

^^^^^
For me, I wouldn't pick any of them for having a nearby office since I'm to far away from any populated area to expect that. What would drive me is their web interface functionally and customer service. Schwabs web site is intuitive (for the most part) and has "loads of functionality" and does everything I want/need. Customer Service hotline is great too but I rarely need it. But it sure seems like a lot of folks here have chosen other brokerage firms "for some reason".

I get that. For us we do go in on occasion to deposit large checks, or at least have done in the past. I am relatively close compared to you (40 Miles). When moving IRAs, I like to hand them a check. I was going to just let Schwab have it all, and I still "may" do, but it seems to make sense to split up the stash.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Assets under management, August 2023:

Vanguard $8.2T
Schwab $8.0T
Fidelity $4.5T

https://money.usnews.com/investing/...rticles/the-largest-brokerage-firms-this-year

Good info.

 

[target2019]

With the turmoil in the banking system, Perceived Schwab Woes, and other financial uncertainties, I was wondering where we (ER Members) kept the "Majority" of our stashes.

This Poll is intended for those who keep The Majority their stashes in one or more Brokerages, the main ones being Fidelity, Schwab and Vanguard. As opposed to significantly small amounts in Checking Accounts Etc.

If you use another institution or Brokerage, please feel free to select "Other" and if you like, highlight in the posts.

If you use a combination of institutions, and if you like, highlight in the posts.

This poll is simply for curiosity purposes with no underlying reasoning as I am thinking of adding Fidelity to our Schwab accounts for our IRAs. We do keep our day-to-day funds in a local Credit Union Checking Account, but I have not included this in my selection.

Two accounts make sense for us at this time. Maybe just one down the road.

Schwab and Vanguard. VG was started about 1987, Schwab was added in 2013 or so.

We use local bank for all incoming transactions as well as most bill-paying.

I started a conversation with Schwab dude about our situation (he called me.) I mentioned the shortcomings of Schwab, as I experience them. One is the sweep account interest, the other is needing to pay a fee to buy Wellesley funds. Of course this opened the barn door and he started explaining additional "products" they have for us. Lol on that. So I mentioned in closing that I was considering going to Fidelity to see what they had to offer, and compare that with what Schwab has to offer. He has called me back, but I have not had time to return that call and hear what he has to say.

We have something like 7 accounts that would be consolidated. So there would be some effort required on our part to follow through.

 

[Badger]

Vanguard for IRAs and a little cash. Wish they had a branch in my town.
Schwab for stocks and CDs (at various banks). I have 2 advisors that I have known for years that I go to at the local branch.

Cheers!

 

[Car-Guy]

I get that. For us we do go in on occasion to deposit large checks, or at least have done in the past. I am relatively close compared to you (40 Miles). When moving IRAs, I like to hand them a check. I was going to just let Schwab have it all, and I still "may" do, but it seems to make sense to split up the stash.

Back in the day when I was working in Houston, there was a Schwab office less than a mile away from my office. Even then, I'd only stopped by about once a year to deposit a large check or turn in a "stock certificate" (remember those days.) . Well, no more stock certificates to turn in these days, and if I have a large check, I just deposit it in my local back and do a on-line funds transfer. I don't recall the last time I had to send them anything VIA snail mail, so it's not been a problem for me.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

I have equity accounts at TD Ameritrade, Schwab, Fidelity. When my Ameritrade & Schwab accounts get consolidated, the Ameritrade/Schwab combo will be fairly close in size to the Fidelity accounts.

Historically, the Fido account came because of my mega-corps 401K. When I finally converted it to an IRA last year, Fidelity made the most sense as it was a near instant transfer (from NetBenefits). I have since moved over most of my current employers 457 plan (in-service transfer) to Fidelity.

Long ago I had a Datek account and a Schwab account. Eventually Datek was purchased by Ameritrade, and I've had good service from them over the years. ThinkOrSwim is an amazing trading platform, better than anything Schwab had or Fidelity has.

I am thinking of rearranging things a bit, e.g. consolidating all of my tax-deferred assets in Fidelity (as the majority is there now). This would entail moving a small Roth from Schwab and a smallish tradiational IRA from Ameritrade. On the other hand, I have a smallish regular brokerage account at Fidelity, it would make sense to consolidate this into my much larger Ameritrade account once that gets moved to Schwab.

They all have their pros and cons. I am able to complete/do trades the quickest (i.e. with the least effort in clicks/etc.) on Ameritrade. Fidelity has a huge advantage in terms of "cash" with the ability to simply keep it in a core account that gets non trivial interest. OTOH, Schwab/Ameritrade's SWVXX has been consistently about 20 or so basis points higher in return than Fido's MM. That adds up over time.

I don't think I am "trusting" enough to consolidate all of it into a single institution.

 

[foxcreek9]

I’m trying to figure out what “combination” consists of. How can you have a majority in multiple places? The one that has the most is the majority. Do those people have the exact same amount in two or more places?

Different purposes, some laziness in moving. Schwab for their bank debit card and traveling overseas, had to create a brokerage account with bank. Schwab is also handy for taking advantage of checking account bonuses as transfers from their brokerage account is often treated as a direct deposit. Merrill to get preferred benefits on BOA credit cards (5.25% cash back online and they consider Wal-mart grocery pickup as online) and a $900 bonus. Ally is where I transfered my 401k ($2,500 bonus), handy since my main checking is there. Fidelity has wife's accounts and finally Vanguard is where my Dad's accounts are that I manage.

I use quicken to manage and keep track of overall allocation.

 

[latexman]

I’ve been with Fidelity since early ‘80’s, when MegaCorp started their 401k. When I past $1 M, they gave me a free FA. The FA’s started out as mid level; now mine is VP level. They’ve never given me a reason to look elsewhere. I’m happy!

 

[MSDalt]

Although Vanguard offers NTF funds from other companies via their brokerage, there is evidently no means for screening them. The last time I checked, you could only screen Vanguard products. Another knock is that you are automatically logged out from their website after 15 minutes of inactivity.

 

[target2019]

I get that. For us we do go in on occasion to deposit large checks, or at least have done in the past. I am relatively close compared to you (40 Miles). When moving IRAs, I like to hand them a check. I was going to just let Schwab have it all, and I still "may" do, but it seems to make sense to split up the stash.

Even though we've rarely used the local Schwab office, I want a local office so that my spouse can go there if something urgent pops up.

We're fortunate to have Fidelity office a little closer. We're talking 7-10 miles for either, one way.

 

[COcheesehead]

I get that. For us we do go in on occasion to deposit large checks, or at least have done in the past. I am relatively close compared to you (40 Miles). When moving IRAs, I like to hand them a check. I was going to just let Schwab have it all, and I still "may" do, but it seems to make sense to split up the stash.

Fidelity lets me do mobile deposits on my phone up to $500,000. I haven’t stepped into a Fidelity office in ages.
As far as if something happens to me, my wife likely has better support from a team of people on the phone than if she had some random dude in an office.

 

[pb4uski]

Me too. But I have had Vanguard before and think I would choose Fidelity as they have an Office in Jacksonville. I am considering putting our IRA (about 50% of our stash) in Fidelity when it matures from our local CU.

Me three. I'm sick of having to sweep money between the 0.45% default settlement account that can't be changed and 5.22% SWVXX to have uninvested funds earn a decent rate of interest. I wouldn't have to do that with Fidelity and in Sarasota the Fidelity office is across the street from the Schwab office.

 

[RunningBum]

Another knock is that you are automatically logged out from their website after 15 minutes of inactivity.

Go to your Security Settings, under Timeout you can change this to up to 4 hours. Web version. I have no idea about the app.

 

[MSDalt]

Go to your Security Settings, under Timeout you can change this to up to 4 hours. Web version. I have no idea about the app.

Thanks for trying to help.
I use my laptop to access Vanguard and that feature is not available under the security settings as far as I can see. I had asked previously and was told that it was what it was.
Other brokers' websites allow you to adjust the timeout ejection feature. Fidelity limits you to 30 minutes with no adjustment at this time.

 

[aaronc879]

Surprising poll results (to me anyway). I thought Schwab would have easily been the leader... I'm very comfortable with how Schwab works but now I'm wondering if Fidelity or Vanguard is so much better it's worth considering switching.

I think the three brokerages listed are the best 3 but I thought Vanguard was the most popular with Schwab being third. I think as long as you are with one of the 3 there is no need to switch.

 

[aaronc879]

Vanguard for almost everything, credit union for the rest.

 

[Car-Guy]

Thanks for trying to help.
I use my laptop to access Vanguard and that feature is not available under the security settings as far as I can see. I had asked previously and was told that it was what it was.
Other brokers' websites allow you to adjust the timeout ejection feature. Fidelity limits you to 30 minutes with no adjustment at this time.

Schwab allows you to adjust your inactivity timeout as low as 15m or as much as 8hours. Mine is set at 2hours which was about right when I was swing trading. Now that I'm not an active trader, I may reduce that to 30 mins.

 

[RetireAge50]

We are working toward 100% Vanguard. Nice and simple. Sweep account is great at 5.3%. We have mostly stock index funds and brokerage CD’s so do not need anything fancy.

 

[Montecfo]

The majority is at E*Trade. Also use TDA (now Schwab) and Fidelity.

As an aside, if I were looking for a brokerage to switch to, it would be E*Trade. It rates very highly in the annual brokerage surveys by Kiplinger and Barron's. Those would be good places to start when analyzing brokerages as they evaluate cost, fund offerings, customer service, research materials, technology, mobile app, etc.

The one to consider switching away from in my opinion is Vanguard. Why? It is still playing catch-up ball with the others due to its legacy as a fund platform.

Also, it does not participate in the annual studies by Kiplinger and Barron's. That is with good reason I am sure.

All of the top platforms (Fidelity, E*Trade, and Schwab) are very good and competitive with each other. Choice comes down to how you weigh what each brokerage is best at.