Etrade or something else

[Steven Walker]

#14103

I wanted to get you opinion Sean.

I was reading an article with Marketwatch Morgan Stanley is paying $13B for E-Trade and the article.

It got me thinking about if E-trade and if it would the best option or is there is something better? E-trade was Capital One, before that it was Share-builder; so they keep changing. I don’t mind as long as I’m not paying a lot for fees, it’s easy to use, and it’s the best for my buck.

Just wanted to get you thought.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/morgan-stanley-is-paying-13b-for-e-trade-or-2500-per-customer-you-can-earn-a-3500-sign-up-bonus-for-signing-with-a-new-broker-with-one-major-catch-2020-02-21?siteid=nwhpf

[Sue Greene]

#14111

Hi Steven, my husband and I moved our money through all the changes you are talking about. “ShareBuilder” was the brokerage service operated by ING DIRECT Investing. Later, ShareBuilder became part of Capital One, then Capital One Investing liquidated to E*Trade. We continue to use E*Trade and have have been very happy since July 2018. The $6.95 per trade was dropped last year. Yesterday, I sold shares and my statement reflected the following: “FINRA TAF” = 2 cents and “Fee” = 14 cents. I hope this is helpful.

[Sean Hyman]

#14112

It’s still E*Trade either way. Not much should change except Morgan Stanley now profits from them.

I’m personally with Ameritrade (which Schwab is in the process of buying). Schwab is the other broker that I recommend. E*Trade is a little too small, but now it will be bigger, joined with Morgan Stanley. But the purchase by Morgan Stanley won’t likely change much on your end, from the customer experience of it all.

[Anonymous]

#14118

I don’t understand the “changes” being discussed above. I signed up with E*Trade in September of 2000, so almost 20 years ago now, and it has always worked smoothly for me—though I do not do the complicated stuff. When I need to phone about something, which seems no more than maybe once a year, I have always gotten just the help or information I needed. Ending the brokerage fee was just icing on the cake of a nice connection.

[Aaron – logicalinvestor.moderator@gmail.com]

#14121

Yeah I started out with gosh, think they called it trade monster or something like that I don’t remember. Over the years it’s gotten passed around and finally became etrade a while back. I’d have to agree it’s great for the basic stuff. I do like the think or swim platform better as its much more capable but for a novice I could see that being overwhelming. Etrade works great for the basics which really is all you need to place a trade.

[Sean Hyman]

#14123

E*Trade is smaller than the firms I suggest, which is why it’s never been a recommended firm of mine. However, there’s nothing wrong with using them. With that said, they still won’t be one of my suggested firms. But they should be stronger being a part of a much larger firm: Morgan Stanley.

So, all of these acquisitions rarely affect you as a customer. It’s just determines who’s the one profiting off of our account balances, fees, etc. So I wouldn’t overthink it or put much thought into it. Companies merging together and getting stronger is generally a good thing, if anything.

[Devon Hackelton]

#43471

ETrade seems to be having technical problems today. I missed the sell alert for PPLT until after the market closed Friday, so I put in an order to sell at market this morning. It still has not executed and the market has been open for over a half hour. The Down Detector website as over 2000 complaints this morning about the same issue with ETrade.

[Sean Hyman]

#43475

1) I’ve never suggested E*Trade. They’re much smaller than Ameritrade/Schwab (which are my two recommended brokers).

2) You’d want to call E*Trade to find out what the deal is.

[Devon Hackelton]

#43480

Thanks for your advice Sean. I was warning other members who use ETrade of possible problems. And when I call ETrade this morning, the call just hangs up after two seconds. Very strange.
Like some other members, I was with Options House long before ETrade bought them, and as others have noted, ETrade’s method of switching to another brokerage reads as if it is onerous. ETrade had a similar issue with their “mainframe” last December. It might be time to switch to Ameritrade.

[Sean Hyman]

#43492

When you switch to another broker, the new broker handles the switchover. All you’ve got to do is fill out the account form at the new broker (online) and then let them initiate the transfer.

Now, I will say…it takes a bit to transfer positions. Transferring cash is much faster. So, switching in a volatile market time does carry its own risks.

But I’ve said, like a broken record, over and over again through the years…to use Ameritrade or Schwab.

I hate it when some find out the hard way because of not heeding the info over and over again through the years.

Any firm can have its hiccups, where its technology goes down temporarily, etc., but what you’ll find is that Ameritrade and Schwab are far superior in how they handle it and usually how quickly they get things resolved. There are good reasons for everything I say. I’m not sure why everyone doesn’t heed it from the beginning and make life better for themselves, but I’m glad they eventually do whether they do at first or not.

In time, I hope you switch to make things smoother overall through the years for yourself. I’m not on Ameritrade or Schwab’s payroll. I don’t get a dime for sending business their way. I suggest them because through the years I’ve had accounts with a bunch of brokers…and these two always shined the best, stayed up the most, executed orders the best, had the best and most knowledgeable customer service, have the deepest pockets, largest credit lines, most venues to fill an order through, etc. All the things the average person doesn’t think about when opening an account and choosing a broker. That’s why I’ve always made it obvious by giving two names.

Don’t take this in a negative light toward you. It’s a message I hope everyone reading it gets and really understands.

[Devon Hackelton]

#43501

It is a good warning. I was with Options House before I even found out about your advice …. and well, I just stayed with it.

[Sean Hyman]

#43502

While I had no experience with Option House, my guess would be that they’d have to be more savvy and more timely and should have been better than E*Trade. If so, those that sold Options House got a great payday but it wasn’t likely the best move for its clients.

[Sean Hyman]

#43503

Keep in mind, one can do a switchover like Leslie is doing. She opened the new account and put some cash in it and is buying new ones in there. And as old ones sell out in the old account, she takes the money out and puts it in the new broker. Takes a bit more time/work but ensures you don’t get caught in the transfer and something goes nuts with the stock price while in transfer.

[Sean Hyman]

#43504

Where the men are separated from the boys, from a broker performance standpoint though, are at these times at/near the end of bull markets, in bear markets and at bottoms.

In the meat/middle of an uptrend, people don’t see much difference.

[Devon Hackelton]

#43517

Thanks again Sean, for your advice. I was thinking of making a slow switch like Leslie’s plan. This lights a fire under my feet to actually do it. And, yes, the trade was finally executed a mere 90 minutes after the order was placed.

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