Originally Posted by
Dr Jabadski
FWIW, a few days ago I noticed that on-line trading tabs had been added to my CPC JPM account on-line interface. I discussed it with a CPC telephone rep and with my CPC Advisor (not banker) and both said it was new in the past 2-3 months. Previously I could not trade in the account on-line and would have had to place any trades via the CPC Advisor. (I’ve never actually made a trade in my CPC JPM account.)
I asked about commissions and fees for no-load mutual funds, was told there are none. I did not ask about stock commissions and fees. (I’ve become a quasi Warren Buffet style investor, buy-and-hold forever and mostly I’ve been buying leveraged index mutual funds like Profunds Ultra and UltraSector funds which are, to say the least, volatile and not for the faint of heart.) My CPC advisor agreed that with no fee or commission mutual fund trades JPM is targeting discount and deep discount brokerage clientele.
This makes a JPM account more attractive. Now when Ameritrade accounts are merged to Schwab probably sometime next year (after last year's USAA to Schwab merger) there’s another option for those who don’t like to “keep all their eggs in one basket”.
It is not "keep all their eggs in one basket" situation for most people. It is all about what those banks offer. In the old times, you can keep some old time investors and keep clipping like 1-2% management fees with limited gains. With the technology and the no commission investing, more and more people get smart and smarter. We can analyze the markets ourselves and make investment decisions on our own.
Now with Morgan Stanley's acquisition of ETrade, it is going to be interesting to see what they offer. Wells Fargo is in some talks to sell its wealth management division. I figure its self-directed business may go with it.
There are so many changes. It is just much easier for the large bank/brokerage firms to make technology investment and make things much better and easier. We'll see the industry more competitive.