Here is the general advice I give people in my Adult-Ed investing class:
First, it is highly unlikely that any broker or advisor can make more money for you than you can make for yourself if you know a very few simple investing rules. A quick read: "
If You Can" by William Bernstein
https://www.etf.com/docs/IfYouCan.pdf (free 16 page download)
Avoid the storefront "investment advisors." In particular, Fast Eddy Jones. These folks' goal is to transfer your money to themselves by selling high-cost products and charging ridiculous fees.
Avoid brokers owned by large banks, like Merrill Lynch, RBC, Morgan Stanley, etc. Their goal is to transfer your money to themselves. If you have less than about $10M the process will be highly automated. Over $10M it will be more personalized.
Avoid brokers owned by insurance companies like Prudential, Thrivent, etc. Their goal is to sell you high-cost insurance products. Insurance is almost never a good investment. Plain jane term life is the only insurance product you should buy until it comes time to consider long-term care insurance.
Avoid brokers that are new to the business, like within the last ten or twenty years. This will help you avoid insanity like RobinHood.
Before committing to any individual, check them out at
https://brokercheck.finra.org/
Seek out brokers whose main business is to serve the individual investor market, not those for whom it is a sideline.
The result of all this filtering will probably lead you to the three brokers that are popular here: Schwab, Fidelity (aka Fido), and Vanguard (aka VG). Schwab and Fido are pretty much equals in every aspect; VG tends to be slightly lower cost and slightly less service. In the happy event you have Schwab and Fido offices nearby, pay each a visit and listen to the pitch. Talk to VG on the phone and get the pitch. Assuming you are a new investor, I think you'll be happier with a broker where you can visit and talk face-to-face.
(You may read about TDAmeritrade; they are being acquired by Schwab, so not worth your time to investigate.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by MRG
Fidelity's order execution and transparency is hard to beat. They're listening to the Wallstreetbets crowd and improving their mobile app to better than the competitions.
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WADR to @MRG, this should not matter to you. You should be an investor, not a trader. If you do not understand this or are not convinced, I suggest some reading:
"
The Coffee House Investor" by Bill Schultheis
https://www.coffeehouseinvestor.com/
"
The Bogleheads Guide to Investing" by Taylor Larimore et al
https://www.amazon.com/Bogleheads-Gu.../dp/0470067365
"
Winning the Loser's Game" by Charles Ellis
https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Loser.../dp/0071813659