mazlack@ernie.BERKELEY.EDU (Lawrence J. &) (12/07/85)
COST OF INVESTING (developed from information in Wall Street Journal, 2 Dec 85)
Brokerage Rate Structure Cost for 100 shares ($10-30)
--------- --------------------- ----------------------------
Security Pacific Transaction Value $36
Fidelity Brokerage Transaction Value $30
Pacific Brokerage Number of Shares $25 (0-300 shares)
Spear Securities Value + Number $35
Rose Value + Number $25 ($20 + 0.05 sh to 5,000 sh)
Quick & Reilly Value + Number $35
Schwab Transaction Value $34
Whitehall Securities Number of Shares $12.50 ($0.125 a share)
Kennedy and Cabot Number of Shares $35 ($30 for less than 100)
Unless otherwise noted, these
are minimum chareges.
Note: The cost for 100 shares is, for the brokers using value as part of the
cost basis, the brokers minimum charge. For most of the brokers, the
charge will not go over the minimum charge untill the share price exceeds
$30.
ALTHOUGH I USE DISCOUNT BROKERS TO HANDLE 90% OF MY TRADES, I STRONGLY
RECOMMEND THAT YOU CONSIDER QUESTIONS OF EXECUTION QUALITY AND BOOK KEEPING
QUALITY AS WELL AS BROKER COSTS WHEN SELECTING A BROKER.
Larry Mazlack
UUCP {tektronix,dual,sun,ihnp4,decvax}!ucbvax!ucbernie!mazlack
New style mazlack@ernie.berkeley.edu
ARPA | CSNET mazlack%ernie@berkeley.ARPA
BITNET mazlack@ucbernie.BITNETfranka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams) (12/10/85)
In article <11166@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> mazlack@ernie.UUCP (Lawrence J. Mazlack) writes: >ALTHOUGH I USE DISCOUNT BROKERS TO HANDLE 90% OF MY TRADES, I STRONGLY >RECOMMEND THAT YOU CONSIDER QUESTIONS OF EXECUTION QUALITY AND BOOK KEEPING >QUALITY AS WELL AS BROKER COSTS WHEN SELECTING A BROKER. You forgot to mention financial soundness. Large, well-backed firms are less likely to go bust than small, independent ones. (I use Schwab, by the way, and have had no problems with them. My trading volume is not high, however.) Another important point is diversity. Don't have all your assets managed by one institution. I would recommend at least having a substantial money market-type account separate from your brokerage account. Frank Adams ihpn4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka Multimate International 52 Oakland Ave North E. Hartford, CT 06108
mazlack@ernie.BERKELEY.EDU (Lawrence J. &) (12/16/85)
>In article <11166@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> mazlack@ernie.UUCP (Lawrence J. Mazlack) writes: >>ALTHOUGH I USE DISCOUNT BROKERS TO HANDLE 90% OF MY TRADES, I STRONGLY >>RECOMMEND THAT YOU CONSIDER QUESTIONS OF EXECUTION QUALITY AND BOOK KEEPING >>QUALITY AS WELL AS BROKER COSTS WHEN SELECTING A BROKER. > >You forgot to mention financial soundness. Large, well-backed firms are >less likely to go bust than small, independent ones. (I use Schwab, by >the way, and have had no problems with them. My trading volume is not >high, however.) I certainly agree that financial soundness is important. However, size alone is not the determiner of soundness. A few years ago, some of the biggest brokerage houses went belly up. (I wish that I could place it accurately in time, but I think it was about ten years ago - I think that Bache was one of them. But, I'm not sure.) Recently, the largest seller of single premium annuities (Baldwin-United) went under, also Continental Bank (when it went, it was one of the top ten banks. Currently, Bank of America (owns Schwab) is losing money hand over fist. I don't think that any of us is in a accurate position to judge financial soundness. That is why I suggest that you take delivery. I like good book work because then, if they fail, then my recover time MAY be shorter (maybe only 7 months instead of 2 years). >Another important point is diversity. Don't have all your assets managed >by one institution. I would recommend at least having a substantial >money market-type account separate from your brokerage account. Agreed. I always use at least two brokers. I also use several mutual fund families (currently 4). However, I manage my own non-mutual accounts. I wouldn't trust a commision making broker to do it. My money accounts are seperate. ...Larry Mazlack