I think it depends on the level of trading stocks.
If you want to be in it all the time (and got the money) - get an exchange seat. Which one? Depends - there are exchanges all over the world.
Then there are those If you want to do your own strategy. But you got to at least keep an eye on stuff daily and set up warnings and pay attention to them!
Then there are the ones that do the strategy and the trading. Usually retirement oriented companies, but they have non-IRAs and the like out there.
About half with Fidelity, half with Schwab. Schwab is cheaper on stock trades (or at least used to be). Fidelity has a nicer selection of individual corporate bonds, which is useful for constructing a laddered bond portfolio.
"...which is useful for constructing a laddered bond portfolio." You know that stuff? More power to you, but I let them do it since I am as about as knowledgeable in the financial market as is a brick! :)
My trading account is custodied at Brown Brothers Harriman. I trade on a DVP basis with whichever broker is offering me best execution for that particular trade.
Currently, I use a discount broker in Canada called Investorline, affiliated with Bank of Montreal. All that I require from Investorline is timely execution of my buy and sell stock orders. I do not require any hand holding or advice. I do not hold bonds. I am 100% invested in equities and I am not an active trader. I have one equity position that I have held since 1974.
In fact, with several of my positions I take delivery of the physical stock certificates if the DRIP and, more importantly, the OSPP are better than with stock held in street name.
Occasionally the broker will piss me off for some reason or other so I just move my accounts to a different broker. I often wonder why brokers bother with customers like me. I trade so infrequently that I pay peanuts in commission. I never keep large cash positions in any account that the broker can leverage to its own advantage.
In the investing world I am the equivalent of the SC customer sitting at the bar watching the stage show, never buying lap dances.
Don't use a broker at all. Most big companies have a dividend reinvestment plan , Computershare or Shareowneronline, so I use them. Most of the time you can buy shares directly from the DRIP but sometimes you can't so there are limitations. For fixed income I use treasury direct which is only to buy treasuries. Don't buy bonds of companies as I have found if the stock is no good the bonds are no good either.
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Does that "son of a vet" work for a 65 year old guy? My father was a WWII vet.
If you want to be in it all the time (and got the money) - get an exchange seat. Which one? Depends - there are exchanges all over the world.
Then there are those If you want to do your own strategy. But you got to at least keep an eye on stuff daily and set up warnings and pay attention to them!
Then there are the ones that do the strategy and the trading. Usually retirement oriented companies, but they have non-IRAs and the like out there.
"...which is useful for constructing a laddered bond portfolio." You know that stuff? More power to you, but I let them do it since I am as about as knowledgeable in the financial market as is a brick! :)
In fact, with several of my positions I take delivery of the physical stock certificates if the DRIP and, more importantly, the OSPP are better than with stock held in street name.
Occasionally the broker will piss me off for some reason or other so I just move my accounts to a different broker. I often wonder why brokers bother with customers like me. I trade so infrequently that I pay peanuts in commission. I never keep large cash positions in any account that the broker can leverage to its own advantage.
In the investing world I am the equivalent of the SC customer sitting at the bar watching the stage show, never buying lap dances.