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Even though I'm always full of good advice for others, I must admit I don't always follow it myself.
Many years ago, I opened a brokerage account with Olde Discount. They were one of the main discounters at the time - this was before the Internet. And that's who my dad used, so it seemed like the way to go at the time. They were later bought out by H&R Block. I've kept my account with them in which I hold 4 individual stocks and a small money market fund. The total value of the account is less than 20K.
My problem is that H&R charges me a quarterly account fee because my assets are below a certain level. I'm honestly not sure what that figure is, so that's the first thing I need to find out. If the amount needed to avoid the quarterly fee is not far above my current balance, like 25K, I could just add that much to my account to avoid the fee going forward. I actually have my eye on a couple of stocks that I might want to buy anyway. H&R's commission is higher than the online discounters now, but considering that buying through them could also eliminate the quarterly fee, I think it would be worth it.
If, however, the balance needed to avoid the fee is much higher than 25K, like maybe 50K, I would consider moving the account. How do I go about doing that and where would you recommend I go? I used to have an Ameritrade account but I closed it a few years ago. I currently have no other brokerage accounts.
I do have a lot of money with Vanguard. I was just browsing at their site and I know they have a brokerage too and I could transfer my H&R account to them. It appears that they charge a $30 annual fee for their brokerage accounts (which is half of the $60 I'm paying H&R). I won't have enough with them anytime soon to qualify for Voyager status ($250,000) which would eliminate the fee. But I'd still be paying $30/year which seems like a waste.
Sorry to drone on so long. I'm open to ideas and suggestions. Thanks.
Many years ago, I opened a brokerage account with Olde Discount. They were one of the main discounters at the time - this was before the Internet. And that's who my dad used, so it seemed like the way to go at the time. They were later bought out by H&R Block. I've kept my account with them in which I hold 4 individual stocks and a small money market fund. The total value of the account is less than 20K.
My problem is that H&R charges me a quarterly account fee because my assets are below a certain level. I'm honestly not sure what that figure is, so that's the first thing I need to find out. If the amount needed to avoid the quarterly fee is not far above my current balance, like 25K, I could just add that much to my account to avoid the fee going forward. I actually have my eye on a couple of stocks that I might want to buy anyway. H&R's commission is higher than the online discounters now, but considering that buying through them could also eliminate the quarterly fee, I think it would be worth it.
If, however, the balance needed to avoid the fee is much higher than 25K, like maybe 50K, I would consider moving the account. How do I go about doing that and where would you recommend I go? I used to have an Ameritrade account but I closed it a few years ago. I currently have no other brokerage accounts.
I do have a lot of money with Vanguard. I was just browsing at their site and I know they have a brokerage too and I could transfer my H&R account to them. It appears that they charge a $30 annual fee for their brokerage accounts (which is half of the $60 I'm paying H&R). I won't have enough with them anytime soon to qualify for Voyager status ($250,000) which would eliminate the fee. But I'd still be paying $30/year which seems like a waste.
Sorry to drone on so long. I'm open to ideas and suggestions. Thanks.
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