I'm looking for an online broker for which I will trade strictly NTF
mutual funds, and will do dollar-cost-average investing.
But I don't want to be stuck exclusively with one fund family.
I will need minimal customer service.
Please recommend one that you have good experience with.
martin lynch wrote:
>
> I'm looking for an online broker for which I will trade strictly NTF
> mutual funds, and will do dollar-cost-average investing.
> But I don't want to be stuck exclusively with one fund family.
> I will need minimal customer service.
> Please recommend one that you have good experience with.
A post by M. Lynch, asking about brokers? :-)
Some factors you may want to consider:
1. What is the minimum account balance required to avoid account fees?
2. How many NTF funds are available?
3. Are there any particular families you want that the broker is
missing (but are offered NTF elsewhere)?
4. Do you care about short term trading fees? Some brokers require you
to hold a fund 180 days before they let you sell it without a fee,
others are 90 or even 30 days. Some will make exceptions for funds like
Rydex, that are designed for traders. "Dollar cost averaging" usually
suggests longer term investors for which this isn't an issue, but you
also said "trade". That's why I ask this.
I've been quite happy with Fidelity - its online services are excellent,
and offers features like specific lot accounting for funds that you
won't find elsewhere. But:
1. It has a $50 annual maintenance fee if you don't maintain a total
balance of $25K (that used to be $30K):
2. While it offers 1,100 NTF funds, that number is somewhat inflated by
virtue of its offering all the retail Fidelity funds.
3. Though it offers Fidelity funds NTF (the only other broker doing
this is SiebertNet), it does not offer American Century Funds NTF.
4. It assesses a short term trading fee if you sell shares within 180
days of purchasing them with no transaction fee.
Schwab's service is good also, and they tend to offer the occasional
fund with load waived or NTF that you'd have to pay a load or fee for
elsewhere.
Examples: Diamond Hill Funds (load elsewhere, except TD Waterhouse),
Victory Funds, Class A (load funds elsewhere, or higher expense noload
class R shares offered elsewhere).
But, like Fidelity, it requires $25K in your account to avoid its
account fee ($30-$45 per quarter!)
Here are a couple of data sheets from SmartMoney:
To conclude, I have no personal knowledge of MLDirect.
--
Mark Freeland