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The bulk of my portfolio is with Schwab but Fidelity is way better than Schwab in tech and customer service. Plus auto sweeps into high interest MM account vs. Schwab where it can only be done manually. Schwab CS is very friendly compared to Fidelity but Fidelity has its act together on the tech.
@Crash- I just walked into the local Schwab a couple of days ago- nobody there needed an appointment. You might need an appointment to talk with the branch manager though. I don't know about cash, but they take checks. How many brokerages (not banks) do you know who would take cash?
Another service not mentioned is the ability to "talk" to a Schwab service rep using "chat" on your computer. I've done that a number of times and found the reps to be friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. Even if they are in Texas. They talked me through some stuff so that I didn't even need to go to the local office.
".....As far as having to purchase money markets funds that’s not “underhanded “ as you call it. It’s transparent and known...."
Ya, but why should it be necessary at all? If you were to choose a MMF making decent interest as a sweep fund--- but THEY choose, anyhow, to put cash somewhere else? That's a buncha junk.
Anyhow, you've almost convinced me to switch from TRP. I called today to the office downtown and got a human. Being in Hawaii, fluent English speakers are not so common; even those born here and who went to school here are allowed to graduate speaking terrible English. They justify it by calling it a dialect. ...Anyhow, the woman on the phone was ALMOST completely understandable. Encouraging.
....NOTENCOURAGING: the particular woman I called yesterday STILL has not called me back. Maybe I'll just let it slide. (Could be she transferred-in from Tejas? LOL.)
I barely keep any spare cash in the brokerage account . . . So I guess the automatic sweep rate at Schwab or Fido would not bother me, being so miniscule.
My accounts are at Schwab, and the cash portion is rarely more than 1% of my portfolio, except for maybe the occasional day or two if I've sold something. So the minuscule rate doesn't bother me.
...Not to mention that I've waited a full day to get a call-back from Schwab, from the downtown office, which has not come. Stinky poopy. Not a good sign.
From 1997 when I moved to Schwab, up until a couple of years ago, I was very impressed with Schwab overall. It seemed to be a well-oiled machine, and that rarely happens in a business of that size. Exceptionally nice people on the phone who are usually well-informed, and a great website.
That has changed, in my experience. Most likely from taking on TD; it was too much too fast and now is a behemoth. IMO they went from a "10" to maybe an "8", if I can rate a business to that old familiar rating system.
They really upset me a year or so ago and I thought long and hard of just yanking everything. I didn't, and they did rectify some stupid things on their website that I had complained about for months. So I'll probably be there til I croak. But the luster is gone.
My local guy? I've only been there 3-4 times since '97 and a couple of those were invites. There really is no reason for me to go there.
"...There really is no reason for me to go there."
Very often, I'm downtown, and just a block away from Schwab's office. It would be very handy to walk in and get stuff done. Anytime. About stuff that might not even come to mind at this moment. (Isn't that why offices are THERE??? Not anymore, obviously. ORK!) Yes, I would do my trading online, with zero fees. I have a question or two for them, also, about THAT: foreign stocks incur a FEE? Even if they trade on US exchanges???? "Foreign stocks." That's what the footnote says.
@Crash- I'll tell you what- when you find the perfect broker who meets each and every one of your non-negotiable demands, and has a record of perfect service for at least ten years, please let the rest of us know.
@Crash- I'll tell you what- when you find the perfect broker who meets each and every one of your non-negotiable demands, and has a record of perfect service for at least ten years, please let the rest of us know.
When did people ever wander into brokerage firms and expect to be served without delay?
"...There really is no reason for me to go there."
Very often, I'm downtown, and just a block away from Schwab's office. It would be very handy to walk in and get stuff done. Anytime. About stuff that might not even come to mind at this moment. (Isn't that why offices are THERE??? Not anymore, obviously. ORK!) Yes, I would do my trading online, with zero fees. I have a question or two for them, also, about THAT: foreign stocks incur a FEE? Even if they trade on US exchanges???? "Foreign stocks." That's what the footnote says.
The closest office for me is 25 or so miles away. I can do anything I want with my account online at home, in my underwear if I wish, in a few minutes. Even if the office was 5 minutes away, I would still never go there.
For what reason?
I started online banking/bill paying with my local bank in 2004. Then I started doing mobile check deposits several years ago with them. I drive by it nearly every day, but only go in rarely as there is no need to.
@Crash- I'll tell you what- when you find the perfect broker who meets each and every one of your non-negotiable demands, and has a record of perfect service for at least ten years, please let the rest of us know.
We're just having an online conversation here, right? The truth is, the world is extremely screwed up, wherever you look. Nobody wants to see it or hear me point it out. If people acknowledge the problem, they'd feel obligated to DO something to fix it.
Why should we always have to settle? Why shouldn't systems work FOR us?
I have a question or two for them, also, about THAT: foreign stocks incur a FEE? Even if they trade on US exchanges???? "Foreign stocks." That's what the footnote says.
I just posted a fair amount of info on foreign stock trading (in response to Yogi's similar comment about $50 fees) on another thread. Here's the post.
Short answer: Listed stocks (i.e. stocks trading on a US exchange) are charged the same regardless of whether they are domestic or foreign stocks. At Schwab, that's $0.
Listed Stocks and ETFs ¹ $0 online commission Foreign stock transactions placed on the U.S. over-the-counter (OTC) market⁹ $50 foreign transaction fee
¹ Standard online $0 commission does not apply to over-the-counter (OTC) equities, transaction-fee mutual funds, futures, fixed-income investments, or trades placed directly on a foreign exchange or in the Canadian market.
⁹ Transactions in foreign ordinary shares incur additional custody, clearing, and settlement expenses. A foreign transaction fee is added to trades placed on the US over-the-counter market through the online or automated phone channels. The commission and foreign transaction fee will be combined and will appear as one line item, labeled "Commission," on the trade confirmation.
Why should we always have to settle? Why shouldn't systems work FOR us?
While this model was created to describe goods, it also applies to services.
You want good service? You'll either pay more for it (not cheap), or you'll have to wait for it (slow service, understaffed).
You want fast service? You'll either pay more for it (sufficient, well-trained staff) or get lower quality/limited service.
You want cheap service? You'll have to give up quality (lower paid, less trained providers) or speed (understaffed).
It's just economics. Some places do better than others (e.g. economies of scale, better training methods, more productive technology, etc.), but they are all subject to the same tradeoffs.
For me, there is nothing more irritating than calling Fidelity reps after I sell in an IRA, and half of them claim you can't do it, and then I insist on talking with a supervisor.
I must be missing something here. What do you mean you can't sell in an IRA at Fido? I have had no problems selling some, or all of some funds.
Sell shares of a fund in Fidelity IRA, and try to buy on the same day another fund. You can't do it online. You must call a rep. The most you can buy is 90% of the proceeds. Half of the reps tell you to wait for the next day = not correct. At Schwab I sell and then enter another order to buy another fund, no need to call anyone, and I buy at 99+% of the sell proceeds of another bond fund. Most of my funds are non Schwab\Fidelity.
"...It's just economics. Some places do better than others (e.g. economies of scale, better training methods, more productive technology, etc.), but they are all subject to the same tradeoffs."
Makes sense, under the current, predominant way of thinking: profits before people.
For me, there is nothing more irritating than calling Fidelity reps after I sell in an IRA, and half of them claim you can't do it, and then I insist on talking with a supervisor.
I must be missing something here. What do you mean you can't sell in an IRA at Fido? I have had no problems selling some, or all of some funds.
Sell shares of a fund in Fidelity IRA, and try to buy on the same day another fund. You can't do it online. You must call a rep. The most you can buy is 90% of the proceeds. Half of the reps tell you to wait for the next day = not correct. At Schwab I sell and then enter another order to buy another fund, no need to call anyone, and I buy at 99+% of the sell proceeds of another bond fund. Most of my funds are non Schwab\Fidelity.
OK. Thanks.
Not something that has ever been important to me. I try not to be in a hurry.
msf "It's just economics. Some places do better than others (e.g. economies of scale, better training methods, more productive technology, etc.), but they are all subject to the same tradeoffs."
True for some but not all. I found over the years great tradeoffs, there are plenty of them. See examples below. Restaurants: we love cheap, fast, good service at great prices. Hotels: we usually stay in Fairfield Inn, Hamptons, and Holiday Inn Express. You get breakfast in all of them, they are cheaper than others and you get similar services. Vehicles: A Camry is a much better buy than many others that cost more. Auto, Home, and Umbrella insurance can be cheaper if you do the work as I do, and better too. I pay nothing for Schwab services and they are better than others that would cost me more. REI, the outdoor store has an excellent service and return policy, such as returning your shoes that you have worn for up to a year if you are not happy. Prices are good too. I switched from cable to YouTubeTV, it's a lot cheaper for similar stuff. It's an example of big Tech, Google, eating up legacy companies. Most of the auto mechanics I know charge a lot of money and some are not good. My mechanic has a small shop, very cheap and excellent.
Remember, more expensive doesn't guarantee better it just guarantees you will spend more.
I doubt that there are many non-profit brokerages. Probably not a great business model.
You're just throwing grenades at this point, OJ. Let us say that profit should be an expected piece of the Big Picture. So, if a corporation makes a profit, why should the drive for more and more profit squeeze out the effective operation of the actual business they are conducting? Profit above all else? No. This is what chases people away, thus sinking the very business the corporation has undertaken. Why not make the profit by best serving customers, and thus attracting even more customers? Not by finding ways to cut corners, put surprises in the fine print, cut back on well-trained staff, employ Call Center phone answerers who literally know nothing about the problems customers are expected to call about? Put people who know stuff and can do stuff at the ready.
Technology is very clearly being used to remove contact between actual humans, wherever possible. (Just try to get through to a human at the hotels.com phone number.) Business suffers. Clients are unhappy. Endless phone prompts. "Press 41 if your mother is from Mars and you were born with 6 toes. Otherwise, stay on the line for a person who will never pick up and actually speak to you."
We started with my own dissatisfaction with TRP. I have learned quite a bit about both Schwab and Fido in the ensuing conversation, thanks to everyone's input. It's a pleasant surprise to discover that Schwab has an office here in my city. What they make of its existence is a different matter.
Now, THERE'S an idea. But I've just read a thing from someone else here. And I spoke to the wife. REAL customer service has been dead for many years. Among brokerages, TRP has lost my confidence. Schwab has to be better, even though Customer Service is dead there, too. Vanguard, according to many here, is downright stinky, if not stinky-poopy. And I don't cotton to Fidelity's website. ...So, Schwab it is. ____End____
@Crash- I'll tell you what- when you find the perfect broker who meets each and every one of your non-negotiable demands, and has a record of perfect service for at least ten years, please let the rest of us know.
Ain’t that the truth? 90% success / satisfaction over time is pretty good in the business world. I’ve been with probably 15 different fund houses over 50 + years. Only two became so atrocious in service that I fled on account of it: Strong Funds and T.Rowe Price. Works out to about 87% success rate. And no one else has ever even come close to sharing in the dubois distinction possessed by the two afore mentioned.
.....We just now initiated our joint trading account at Schwab. Perhaps wifey's IRA will be put under the Schwab umbrella, too. But my understanding is that BRUFX is peculiar; so, we'll move that $$$ into WBALX beforehand. Or is there a 1-step way to do that? To move the T-IRA from BRUFX to WBALX via Schwab? Thanks to @larryB for going the extra mile with me. I have tooled around the website a bit. Still not funded. I do like the layout, the info as displayed. It's pretty "busy," but OK.
Can I take a paper check and drop it off at the downtown office to be added to my Schwab account, for deposit?
.....We just now initiated our joint trading account at Schwab. Perhaps wifey's IRA will be put under the Schwab umbrella, too. But my understanding is that BRUFX is peculiar; so, we'll move that $$$ into WBALX beforehand. Or is there a 1-step way to do that? To move the T-IRA from BRUFX to WBALX via Schwab? Thanks to @larryB for going the extra mile with me. I have tooled around the website a bit. Still not funded. I do like the layout, the info as displayed. It's pretty "busy," but OK.
Can I take a paper check and drop it off at the downtown office to be added to my Schwab account, for deposit?
Despite my negative comments above, Schwab is still a pretty well-run company IMO. I’ve never had any issues trading.
You should try depositing checks from your phone. Once you do it you will never look back.
@Crash BRUFX pulls up a quote at Schwab, but it's not available for purchase. So, it exists on Schwab platform, and should be transferrable in-kind. WBALX is no-load/NTF at Schwab.
You should be able to drop off the check at Schwab branch. You can also login from your wife's phone and deposit the check electronically (you may have to activate the electronic deposit feature first).
Just a heads up @Crash. When I transferred my 401k from TRP to a Schwab IRA back in 2014, Schwab told me they didn't allow transfers in-kind. Meaning all the money went to cash and I had to buy funds again. That is actually the reason I kept a sizeable amount in my 401k. It held PRWCX which was then closed and I wasn't going to be able to buy again.
Things may have changed now or maybe I didn't push hard enough at the time, but that's what happen with my transfer.
Comments
Another service not mentioned is the ability to "talk" to a Schwab service rep using "chat" on your computer. I've done that a number of times and found the reps to be friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. Even if they are in Texas. They talked me through some stuff so that I didn't even need to go to the local office.
Am I reading too much into this statement???
Ya, but why should it be necessary at all? If you were to choose a MMF making decent interest as a sweep fund--- but THEY choose, anyhow, to put cash somewhere else? That's a buncha junk.
Anyhow, you've almost convinced me to switch from TRP. I called today to the office downtown and got a human. Being in Hawaii, fluent English speakers are not so common; even those born here and who went to school here are allowed to graduate speaking terrible English. They justify it by calling it a dialect. ...Anyhow, the woman on the phone was ALMOST completely understandable. Encouraging.
....NOT ENCOURAGING: the particular woman I called yesterday STILL has not called me back. Maybe I'll just let it slide. (Could be she transferred-in from Tejas? LOL.)
That has changed, in my experience. Most likely from taking on TD; it was too much too fast and now is a behemoth. IMO they went from a "10" to maybe an "8", if I can rate a business to that old familiar rating system.
They really upset me a year or so ago and I thought long and hard of just yanking everything. I didn't, and they did rectify some stupid things on their website that I had complained about for months. So I'll probably be there til I croak. But the luster is gone.
My local guy? I've only been there 3-4 times since '97 and a couple of those were invites. There really is no reason for me to go there.
Very often, I'm downtown, and just a block away from Schwab's office. It would be very handy to walk in and get stuff done. Anytime. About stuff that might not even come to mind at this moment. (Isn't that why offices are THERE??? Not anymore, obviously. ORK!) Yes, I would do my trading online, with zero fees. I have a question or two for them, also, about THAT: foreign stocks incur a FEE? Even if they trade on US exchanges???? "Foreign stocks." That's what the footnote says.
For what reason?
I started online banking/bill paying with my local bank in 2004. Then I started doing mobile check deposits several years ago with them. I drive by it nearly every day, but only go in rarely as there is no need to.
Why should we always have to settle? Why shouldn't systems work FOR us?
Short answer: Listed stocks (i.e. stocks trading on a US exchange) are charged the same regardless of whether they are domestic or foreign stocks. At Schwab, that's $0.
From Schwab pricing (online price column):
Listed Stocks and ETFs ¹ $0 online commission
Foreign stock transactions placed on the U.S. over-the-counter (OTC) market⁹ $50 foreign transaction fee
¹ Standard online $0 commission does not apply to over-the-counter (OTC) equities, transaction-fee mutual funds, futures, fixed-income investments, or trades placed directly on a foreign exchange or in the Canadian market.
⁹ Transactions in foreign ordinary shares incur additional custody, clearing, and settlement expenses. A foreign transaction fee is added to trades placed on the US over-the-counter market through the online or automated phone channels. The commission and foreign transaction fee will be combined and will appear as one line item, labeled "Commission," on the trade confirmation.
While this model was created to describe goods, it also applies to services.
You want good service? You'll either pay more for it (not cheap), or you'll have to wait for it (slow service, understaffed).
You want fast service? You'll either pay more for it (sufficient, well-trained staff) or get lower quality/limited service.
You want cheap service? You'll have to give up quality (lower paid, less trained providers) or speed (understaffed).
It's just economics. Some places do better than others (e.g. economies of scale, better training methods, more productive technology, etc.), but they are all subject to the same tradeoffs.
At Schwab I sell and then enter another order to buy another fund, no need to call anyone, and I buy at 99+% of the sell proceeds of another bond fund.
Most of my funds are non Schwab\Fidelity.
Makes sense, under the current, predominant way of thinking: profits before people.
Not something that has ever been important to me. I try not to be in a hurry.
True for some but not all. I found over the years great tradeoffs, there are plenty of them. See examples below.
Restaurants: we love cheap, fast, good service at great prices.
Hotels: we usually stay in Fairfield Inn, Hamptons, and Holiday Inn Express. You get breakfast in all of them, they are cheaper than others and you get similar services.
Vehicles: A Camry is a much better buy than many others that cost more.
Auto, Home, and Umbrella insurance can be cheaper if you do the work as I do, and better too.
I pay nothing for Schwab services and they are better than others that would cost me more.
REI, the outdoor store has an excellent service and return policy, such as returning your shoes that you have worn for up to a year if you are not happy. Prices are good too.
I switched from cable to YouTubeTV, it's a lot cheaper for similar stuff. It's an example of big Tech, Google, eating up legacy companies.
Most of the auto mechanics I know charge a lot of money and some are not good. My mechanic has a small shop, very cheap and excellent.
Remember, more expensive doesn't guarantee better it just guarantees you will spend more.
Let us say that profit should be an expected piece of the Big Picture. So, if a corporation makes a profit, why should the drive for more and more profit squeeze out the effective operation of the actual business they are conducting? Profit above all else? No. This is what chases people away, thus sinking the very business the corporation has undertaken. Why not make the profit by best serving customers, and thus attracting even more customers? Not by finding ways to cut corners, put surprises in the fine print, cut back on well-trained staff, employ Call Center phone answerers who literally know nothing about the problems customers are expected to call about? Put people who know stuff and can do stuff at the ready.
Technology is very clearly being used to remove contact between actual humans, wherever possible. (Just try to get through to a human at the hotels.com phone number.) Business suffers. Clients are unhappy. Endless phone prompts. "Press 41 if your mother is from Mars and you were born with 6 toes. Otherwise, stay on the line for a person who will never pick up and actually speak to you."
We started with my own dissatisfaction with TRP. I have learned quite a bit about both Schwab and Fido in the ensuing conversation, thanks to everyone's input. It's a pleasant surprise to discover that Schwab has an office here in my city. What they make of its existence is a different matter.
____End____
Can I take a paper check and drop it off at the downtown office to be added to my Schwab account, for deposit?
You should try depositing checks from your phone. Once you do it you will never look back.
But I use an old flip-phone. My wife is the SMART phone user here.
You should be able to drop off the check at Schwab branch. You can also login from your wife's phone and deposit the check electronically (you may have to activate the electronic deposit feature first).
Things may have changed now or maybe I didn't push hard enough at the time, but that's what happen with my transfer.