What's your favorite brokerage?

[Flexo]

I've been using ShareBuilder for a while, some E-Trade and Scottrade as well.  I was happy to get away from Wachovia Securities.  Of these, ShareBuilder is my favorite...

[That One Caveman]

We set up an IRA at Edward Jones for a roll-over of a 401(k) and I'm quite disappointed with the performance and especially disappointed in myself that I accepted a 15% front load...

[Flexo]

We set up an IRA at Edward Jones for a roll-over of a 401(k) and I'm quite disappointed with the performance and especially disappointed in myself that I accepted a 15% front load...

15%? Ouch. I can't think of any situation where that's worthwhile. But if it was a mistake, it's definitely something to learn from.  I made a mistake by creating a recurring automatic investment in a load fund. I wrote about that in 2004.

[eric]

I have a Sharebuilder account too, but I haven't used it extensively. Do you have IRAs set up or just regular investing accounts?

[That One Caveman]

We set up an IRA at Edward Jones for a roll-over of a 401(k) and I'm quite disappointed with the performance and especially disappointed in myself that I accepted a 15% front load...

15%? Ouch. I can't think of any situation where that's worthwhile. But if it was a mistake, it's definitely something to learn from.  I made a mistake by creating a recurring automatic investment in a load fund. I wrote about that in 2004.

Ya, I was following my father's advice by going to his broker instead of following my gut and going to Vanguard (or even leaving it at my wife's former employer).  After the 15% load and the dramatic drop in the markets since we rolled it over in January, it's fallen below Vanguard's $3,000 minimum.

I trust my father on many things, but I think I'll at least double-check his money advice from now on...

[eric]

Sorry to hear about that! When I set up my IRA with Vanguard, I didn't meet the $3,000 minimum either so my only option was to invest in the STAR fund, which has a $1,000 minimum.  I could've chosen another brokerage but I really wanted Vanguard due to the high recommendations.

[Green Panda]

Vanguard is great, but I don't have enough to invest in it. I rolled over my husband's old 401(k) to an IRA at Vanguard and it was pretty easy.

I'm using Sharebuilder and it's ok. The interface is real easy to follow.

[Yana]

My favorite brokerage is my only brokerage - Charles Schwab.  I considered ShareBuilder, Vanguard and Wells Fargo, but am satisfied with Schwab.  I like the Investor Checking as well.

[kaidez]

I'm all about the big three discount brokers: T. Rowe Price, Fidelity, and Vanguard.  I use the first two for retirement saving and the last for wealth building.

[Flexo]

As, I forgot to mention my other favorite, Vanguard, in my original post.  I don't use Vanguard for stock trading (not that I do much, or any, stock trading).  I'll use ShareBuilder for cheap trades if I feel the need, but the bulk of my real investments are in Vanguard.

I also have some retirement accounts at TIAA-Cref, but I don't plan on adding anything to that account, and I will probably transfer the balances to Vanguard at some point.