Kiplinger rates "Best of the Online Brokers"

[eta2020]

You are right. I just called them. I will need to open retail account to protect 401k account with Symantec Hardware key. Retail account can then sit empty......

Key thing is to call phone number listed on web site and not 401k representative.

So this is how they work. Fidelity will protect retail account but anybody can still access 401k through 401k.com without hardware key verification.

This is pretty stupid (politely said) and convinced me not EVER consider opening brokerage account with Fidelity.

They are way behind E*Trade or Schwab in customer support.

 

[Cobra9777]

Do you have to pay for trades at Fidelity, how about on Vanguard ETF's.

Already answered this earlier in the thread. See posts 6, 8, and 9.

I'm not a heavy trader but probably make 150 ETF or Stock trades a year.

Sure sounds heavy to me. I average 1 or 2 trades per year, so commissions are the least important consideration in deciding where to house my investments.

 

[eta2020]

Already answered this earlier in the thread. See posts 6, 8, and 9.



Sure sounds heavy to me. I average 1 or 2 trades per year, so commissions are the least important consideration in deciding where to house my investments.

With 150 trades a year broker makes pretty penny on spread They love people like that.......

[FONT=arial, helvetica]Stock markets are not non-profit organizations staffed by social workers paid by the government to provide a public service.[/FONT]

 

[purplesky]

With 150 trades a year broker makes pretty penny on spread They love people like that.......

[FONT=arial, helvetica]Stock markets are not non-profit organizations staffed by social workers paid by the government to provide a public service.[/FONT]

Didn't the government just recently bailout the banks and the stock market.

Wallstreet is kind of in bed with the government.

 

[purplesky]

So this is how they work. Fidelity will protect retail account but anybody can still access 401k through 401k.com without hardware key verification.

This is pretty stupid (politely said) and convinced me not EVER consider opening brokerage account with Fidelity.

They are way behind E*Trade or Schwab in customer support.

So millions of Fidelity 401k customers are at risk of fraud.

 

[sengsational]

What happens if you need to make a trade, you're traveling, and you've left the token at home?

Most of these companies give you an alternate way to access the account, which reduces the token to meaninglessness.

For instance, I got a PayPal hardware token and there's a "don't have token" process right there on the screen! Maybe the brokers have a thing where you call and give them something like your address and date of birth, then let you through without the token.

Security is always dependent on the weakest link, so if you are targeted, the token might not make as much difference as you think, given that there are probably "don't have it with me" customer service processes ready to spring into action.

 

[eta2020]

So millions of Fidelity 401k customers are at risk of fraud.

I don't think so. You would most likely not loose anything if you were a victim of some kind of fraud. But you may have big headaches and loose access to your your securities for some time.

For this reason it is nice to have two-factor authentication.

It similar to argument that one should construct portfolio with Asset Protection in mind. You will probably not get sued and if you do you will not go bankrupt. But once you are getting sued it is too late to build Asset Protection. (That is how law works)

 

[eta2020]

What happens if you need to make a trade, you're traveling, and you've left the token at home?

Most of these companies give you an alternate way to access the account, which reduces the token to meaninglessness.

For instance, I got a PayPal hardware token and there's a "don't have token" process right there on the screen! Maybe the brokers have a thing where you call and give them something like your address and date of birth, then let you through without the token.

Security is always dependent on the weakest link, so if you are targeted, the token might not make as much difference as you think, given that there are probably "don't have it with me" customer service processes ready to spring into action.

In my case they will not talk to you until you give them verbal password

If I forget that password I would have to march with my passport to local office. BTW I was discouraged to set up verbal password because resetting it is a big headache.

And should all of that fail I trust SIPC and Brokers insurance will take care of things. But that is lengthy and unpleasant process.

 

[purplesky]

I don't think so. You would most likely not loose anything if you were a victim of some kind of fraud. But you may have big headaches and loose access to your your securities for some time.

For this reason it is nice to have two-factor authentication.

It similar to argument that one should construct portfolio with Asset Protection in mind. You will probably not get sued and if you do you will not go bankrupt. But once you are getting sued it is too late to build Asset Protection. (That is how law works)

Good info. I think most 401ks are protected from lawsuits if I remember correctly.
This is something most people don't even consider when retirement planning.

 

[check6]

What is important to me is the trading format. This includes the watch list, current holdings, charts, order ticket and how easy it is to read and use them. Like someone else stated I could care less about the research. I have been with Scottrade for over 15 years and thought their Scottrade Elite was fantastic; simple and so easy to read and use. Not so since last week when they have changed over to a new Scottrade Elite. I absolutely HATE it and have let them know since last spring when the beta format came online. Because I am in top 10% of all their customers, they assign a rep to me. He got an even bigger earshot yesterday when the new site was down for two hours at the open of the market. I have demanded compensation for the loss of gains incurred because of being unable to trade. Whether or not I stay will depend on the outcome.

 

[grizzlyff]

My experience with Fidelity, TDAmeritrade, Etrade

I have accounts (IRAs and some non-IRAs) with Fidelity Investments, TD Ameritrade, and Etrade. I am a medium to high volume trader, and buy/sell Stocks, EFTs, options, and to a lesser extent mutual funds. My overall ranking would be:

1. Fidelity
2. TD Ameritrade
3. Etrade

Some of my comments on each:

Etrade > decent tools and charts, user interface pretty logical, highest commission charges of the three, especially highest option commission prices. Decent bill paying functionality.

TDA > By far the best trading tools of the three, especially related to options. Commission prices seem higher than Fidelity but less than Etrade. Have not used bill pay with TDA

Fidelity> technical trading tools are OK, but not as good as TDA, but seem to be getting better. By far better commission prices and better execution prices (and speed) generally than the others, and overall I like Fidelity the best.


But I have to be honest here....I often use TDA's charts and tools to make my trading decisions, and then switch to Fidelity to make most of my trades. Part of that is because my Fidelity accounts have most of my money, but I can't live without TDA's charting. I belong to some investor groups and have heard a few other traders say similar things, ie use TDA analytical tools (Thinkorswim, etc), then use other brokers to make the trades....

 

[Sunset]

I tried out TradeKings site, the thing that drives me nuts is, if you don't log in for 2 weeks, you have to use their on-screen keyboard to type your password, you cannot simply paste it into the field.
Now if my password was ("1234") that would be no problem, but its completely random mix of characters, so its really hard to type in.
Its so bad I decided to use their site.