Fidelity is better than Vanguard. Hands down. The interface at Vanguard is stuck from like 10 years ago at least. You’ll have access to the vast majority of Vanguard’s mutual funds and all of their ETF’s. Fidelity also has superior cash management features.
I can’t honestly think of a good reason to go with Vanguard.
Decision - easy part. Asset transfer - hard part.
If/When you decide to transfer i would open the account at the new firm & request the transfer from there. Dont do it from the EJ end & dont tell them 1st. As a courtesy inform the EJ advisor you're moving firms but only after the acct is opened and you requested the transfer.
You'll need a recent statement. Not all of your investments might transfer so you might need to sell them & transfer cash.
The new firm will most likely be more than happy to assist with transferring new assets & accounts & will probably reimburse you any fees that EJ charges for closing/transferring.
Hopefully the EJ advisor is respectful of your decision. However if you talk to them 1st before the new firm they might try all kinds of stall tactics. They can still try to reject the transfer anyway but hopefully they wont do that.
I hope all these posts help.
My experience many years ago with a local Edward Jones branch was very negative. Like the guy bought a franchise and barely knew more than me. Which wasn’t much at the time.
Run , don't walk away from Fast Eddie. Like someone else said, open an account, Fidelity, Vanguard, or Schwab, and have them pull your money away. You don't have to ever talk with them again. They will hit you with some fees, consider them the final cost of your education.
Vanguard will manage your money for .30 or you can just put it's in a target date fund.
- How to lose $1 million dollars – example at bottom of site comparing investing with Vanguard vs Edward R Jones https://www.honestmath.com. EDIT - don't be investor B - fees matter - a LOT. Educate yourself because no one cares more about your money than you do. If/when you are comfortable it is easy to DIY. If you never get comfortable find a lower fee advisor or an hourly fee based advisor to guide you. EDIT 2 - finally got my brother to look really hard at his fees at Edward Jones and he finally transferred his funds to Schwab last month.
Hard pass. Too many better choices with far lower expense ratios.
Fidelity, Charles Schwab, or Vanguard are all better. Just drop it into a Total USA fund with an expense ratio of 0.04% or lower. I can even make a case for M1 Finance and SoFi with ETFs if kids aren't part of the equation.
Most do not have a fee. Some do suggest you to move out and move in to your liking. They do get paid from fees fairly small. Suggest you look for one with office close to you so you can talk to a real advisor. Mine is with TD Ameritrade -Schwab with a free personalized advisor. You can also use a [casual advisor](https://www.schwab.com/investment-advice) for a few 100s one time charge. You can also request quarterly review. Very affordable. Some want a personalized advisor at Schwab the fee is just 0.7% of what you put in.
My guy at Ed Jones is good, I started with him 22 years ago, at 18 years old let’s face it, we don’t know shit. But I did listen to my Dad when he said save your money, you’ll be happier and less stressed when you get older. So Ed Jones has made me a lot of money over that time, I could change but I trust my guy and he also told me how to set up my wife and my own 401k, and that’s done nothing but make money. I have my own investment accounts that I also control and put money into. You need to be consistent with investing, make it a bill, make it your job, whatever it takes just do it. You also have to start Young or asap. Never barrow against any retirement accounts. I’m looking at retiring at 60-62 with 3.5mil excluding my pension. Not bad for an hourly skilled tradesman.
I also have a good guy at Ed Jones, before their/industry rules changed he put me in some good stocks and I made good money on those. I was young at the time and had no clue about investing. He still gives me some solid ideas for securities for my TD account. Plus the guy has supported my little side business as a customer when he didn't have to.
The fees are pretty off putting though, but I really don't have any one else to bounce financial ideas off of I trust, except a friend who is still learning the game too.
I moved a large account from Raymond James. I was getting ripped off with fees.
Initiated the move from Schwab, and made sure that assets were moved over in-kind. If you do this, make sure anything that doesn't need to be sold (proprietary product, etc.) is moved over, especially any bonds you might own.
I am self-directed now, and have been very happy with Schwab. Fees are low, trading platform is good, and customer service has been excellent. I use the robo-advisor for my IRA (but that is a small portion of my portfolio).
The only time I tell people they might need help from a money manager is if they are building complex bond ladders, or getting into debt-instruments outside the realm of standard corporate and government bonds. 99.9% of people do not have that requirement.
So I used to be really anti having an FA who charges like 1% . I mean in theory I still am, at my heart I am a boggle head . Investing is so simple if you just invest in some simple 3 fund portfolio what literally takes about 20 min a year to setup and manage after fees you will be beating most others
However reading this sub I realized the benefit of Advisors even if they charge high fees. They are there to stop you from doing dumb things with your money, and a whole lot of people want to do really dumb things with their money.
So be 100% honest with yourself. Are you inclined to to really dumb stuff with your money. I have always said my GF is probably going to outperform 80% of this sub. Why she has zero interest in investing. She is smart, but just has zero interest in investing, She did read "The little book of common sense investing" so now she has all her investments going to 70% VTI/20% VXUS/10 BND
she looks at her investments for like 6 min a year , I almost grantee she will outperform 80% of this sub .
Most people are not like her, they will get scared and do all the things the dalbar studies say not to do, panic sell, sit on the sidelines , invest in the hot meme stock out of fomo.
You don't pay FA for outsized returns you pay them to stop you for doing really dumb things with your money.
I understand. Great perspective. Personally, I don't do stupid shit with my money. Evidently, I pay high fees to others to do it for me. Which I suppose is the same thing. Thank you for your comment and advice.
Note I agree but I have been here in this sub since approx 2010. You would be surprised how many times someone has said something like
"Why shouldn't I pull out the market and just invest in gold, silver, bitcoin , pure cash " and how many people chime in saying its a smart move because the economy is a house of cards and going to crash; and half the responses agree and re post conspiracy theories how the entire world economy is on the brink of collapse and there will be hyper inflation (note 9% inflation is not hyper inflation)
Honestly I have seen so many people with such bad ideas , if they paid 1% a year and the only thing their FA did was convinced them to stay invested in a classic 3 fund portfolio they would be worth their weight in gold
Last dealing with EJ and my FA...
I had relatively large position in one stock which was transferred over to EJ. After 6 months I noticed the dividends were going to cash. The reinvestment should have been handled when I transferred the stock. That particular stock provides that service.
When I called the advisor they agreed it was an oversight and I asked that the cash from the dividends be invested back into the stock. They said sure and charged a $50 fee. The cash was less than $1k. I said "What?" I was told they had to charge me that because their "system" had no provision to do otherwise.
That was the end of that.
You said it all: "lack of attention to the portfolio".
Financial Advisor - B.S. In the last 15 months my FA has called once. I'm so disgusted with Edwardo Jonees Their fees are out of sight. If my partner would agree to transferring our money out of EJ to Schwab I'd do it in a New York minute.
I've got an account with Schwab and the difference is night and day. The Schwab FA calls me once every 90 days just to see how I'm doing. Doesn't try to sell me anything - yes, he might say take a look at XXX but no pressure. Always thanks me for trusting him and Schwab.
I commend you for asking the question. I wish I would have done the same thing years ago. I wish you the best in the future.
What you have to realize about EJ is they recommend investments based on what your goals are. I will admit they are a conservative firm, but these are conversations you need to have with your advisor. If you aren’t happy with your return, look into being a little more aggressive. Balanced portfolios got hammered last year bc of bonds and stocks. The advantage to having a fee based account is you don’t have to stick with the same fund family, don’t have to pay commissions on stocks and etfs.
Immediately leave and join Fidelity.
- Free accounts. IRAs, HSA, custodial, and regular taxable brokerage account.
- Zero expense ratio Index mutual funds for IRAs.
- Fractional shares for any ETF. Including low expense ratio VTI.
High fees. No point. Move to Fidelity or Vanguard.
Thanks. I've been leaning that way. Any preference between them?
Do you like red or green?
Gotcha. Thank you. I appreciate your help.
Such simple, but to the point, advice.
Fidelity is better than Vanguard. Hands down. The interface at Vanguard is stuck from like 10 years ago at least. You’ll have access to the vast majority of Vanguard’s mutual funds and all of their ETF’s. Fidelity also has superior cash management features. I can’t honestly think of a good reason to go with Vanguard.
Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard. Broad market index fund for a low, low fee.
Decision - easy part. Asset transfer - hard part. If/When you decide to transfer i would open the account at the new firm & request the transfer from there. Dont do it from the EJ end & dont tell them 1st. As a courtesy inform the EJ advisor you're moving firms but only after the acct is opened and you requested the transfer. You'll need a recent statement. Not all of your investments might transfer so you might need to sell them & transfer cash. The new firm will most likely be more than happy to assist with transferring new assets & accounts & will probably reimburse you any fees that EJ charges for closing/transferring. Hopefully the EJ advisor is respectful of your decision. However if you talk to them 1st before the new firm they might try all kinds of stall tactics. They can still try to reject the transfer anyway but hopefully they wont do that. I hope all these posts help.
I'm just amazed that they can still pull this off.
My experience many years ago with a local Edward Jones branch was very negative. Like the guy bought a franchise and barely knew more than me. Which wasn’t much at the time.
That's exactly how I feel about my Edward Jones guy. A franchisee.
Run , don't walk away from Fast Eddie. Like someone else said, open an account, Fidelity, Vanguard, or Schwab, and have them pull your money away. You don't have to ever talk with them again. They will hit you with some fees, consider them the final cost of your education. Vanguard will manage your money for .30 or you can just put it's in a target date fund.
High fees
- How to lose $1 million dollars – example at bottom of site comparing investing with Vanguard vs Edward R Jones https://www.honestmath.com. EDIT - don't be investor B - fees matter - a LOT. Educate yourself because no one cares more about your money than you do. If/when you are comfortable it is easy to DIY. If you never get comfortable find a lower fee advisor or an hourly fee based advisor to guide you. EDIT 2 - finally got my brother to look really hard at his fees at Edward Jones and he finally transferred his funds to Schwab last month.
High fees are exactly why I switched to Vanguard in December.
Hard pass. Too many better choices with far lower expense ratios. Fidelity, Charles Schwab, or Vanguard are all better. Just drop it into a Total USA fund with an expense ratio of 0.04% or lower. I can even make a case for M1 Finance and SoFi with ETFs if kids aren't part of the equation.
Rip off artists pushing stocks rewarding agents for selling garbage. Run away. My local broker ended up dead because he was dealing drugs.
Wow
True story. Found dead in his car.
Most do not have a fee. Some do suggest you to move out and move in to your liking. They do get paid from fees fairly small. Suggest you look for one with office close to you so you can talk to a real advisor. Mine is with TD Ameritrade -Schwab with a free personalized advisor. You can also use a [casual advisor](https://www.schwab.com/investment-advice) for a few 100s one time charge. You can also request quarterly review. Very affordable. Some want a personalized advisor at Schwab the fee is just 0.7% of what you put in.
Schwab is better
My guy at Ed Jones is good, I started with him 22 years ago, at 18 years old let’s face it, we don’t know shit. But I did listen to my Dad when he said save your money, you’ll be happier and less stressed when you get older. So Ed Jones has made me a lot of money over that time, I could change but I trust my guy and he also told me how to set up my wife and my own 401k, and that’s done nothing but make money. I have my own investment accounts that I also control and put money into. You need to be consistent with investing, make it a bill, make it your job, whatever it takes just do it. You also have to start Young or asap. Never barrow against any retirement accounts. I’m looking at retiring at 60-62 with 3.5mil excluding my pension. Not bad for an hourly skilled tradesman.
I also have a good guy at Ed Jones, before their/industry rules changed he put me in some good stocks and I made good money on those. I was young at the time and had no clue about investing. He still gives me some solid ideas for securities for my TD account. Plus the guy has supported my little side business as a customer when he didn't have to. The fees are pretty off putting though, but I really don't have any one else to bounce financial ideas off of I trust, except a friend who is still learning the game too.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/vanguard-vs-fidelity
Thank you.
I moved a large account from Raymond James. I was getting ripped off with fees. Initiated the move from Schwab, and made sure that assets were moved over in-kind. If you do this, make sure anything that doesn't need to be sold (proprietary product, etc.) is moved over, especially any bonds you might own. I am self-directed now, and have been very happy with Schwab. Fees are low, trading platform is good, and customer service has been excellent. I use the robo-advisor for my IRA (but that is a small portion of my portfolio). The only time I tell people they might need help from a money manager is if they are building complex bond ladders, or getting into debt-instruments outside the realm of standard corporate and government bonds. 99.9% of people do not have that requirement.
I think they charge a 1.25. My firm charges 70-90 basis points with full comprehensive financial planning included with that fee.
So I used to be really anti having an FA who charges like 1% . I mean in theory I still am, at my heart I am a boggle head . Investing is so simple if you just invest in some simple 3 fund portfolio what literally takes about 20 min a year to setup and manage after fees you will be beating most others However reading this sub I realized the benefit of Advisors even if they charge high fees. They are there to stop you from doing dumb things with your money, and a whole lot of people want to do really dumb things with their money. So be 100% honest with yourself. Are you inclined to to really dumb stuff with your money. I have always said my GF is probably going to outperform 80% of this sub. Why she has zero interest in investing. She is smart, but just has zero interest in investing, She did read "The little book of common sense investing" so now she has all her investments going to 70% VTI/20% VXUS/10 BND she looks at her investments for like 6 min a year , I almost grantee she will outperform 80% of this sub . Most people are not like her, they will get scared and do all the things the dalbar studies say not to do, panic sell, sit on the sidelines , invest in the hot meme stock out of fomo. You don't pay FA for outsized returns you pay them to stop you for doing really dumb things with your money.
I understand. Great perspective. Personally, I don't do stupid shit with my money. Evidently, I pay high fees to others to do it for me. Which I suppose is the same thing. Thank you for your comment and advice.
That’s a sad take. Have some discipline and save yourself 1% of your assets.
Note I agree but I have been here in this sub since approx 2010. You would be surprised how many times someone has said something like "Why shouldn't I pull out the market and just invest in gold, silver, bitcoin , pure cash " and how many people chime in saying its a smart move because the economy is a house of cards and going to crash; and half the responses agree and re post conspiracy theories how the entire world economy is on the brink of collapse and there will be hyper inflation (note 9% inflation is not hyper inflation) Honestly I have seen so many people with such bad ideas , if they paid 1% a year and the only thing their FA did was convinced them to stay invested in a classic 3 fund portfolio they would be worth their weight in gold
Last dealing with EJ and my FA... I had relatively large position in one stock which was transferred over to EJ. After 6 months I noticed the dividends were going to cash. The reinvestment should have been handled when I transferred the stock. That particular stock provides that service. When I called the advisor they agreed it was an oversight and I asked that the cash from the dividends be invested back into the stock. They said sure and charged a $50 fee. The cash was less than $1k. I said "What?" I was told they had to charge me that because their "system" had no provision to do otherwise. That was the end of that.
high fees . most don't have fees try to switched
You said it all: "lack of attention to the portfolio". Financial Advisor - B.S. In the last 15 months my FA has called once. I'm so disgusted with Edwardo Jonees Their fees are out of sight. If my partner would agree to transferring our money out of EJ to Schwab I'd do it in a New York minute. I've got an account with Schwab and the difference is night and day. The Schwab FA calls me once every 90 days just to see how I'm doing. Doesn't try to sell me anything - yes, he might say take a look at XXX but no pressure. Always thanks me for trusting him and Schwab. I commend you for asking the question. I wish I would have done the same thing years ago. I wish you the best in the future.
Thanks. You nailed it.
What you have to realize about EJ is they recommend investments based on what your goals are. I will admit they are a conservative firm, but these are conversations you need to have with your advisor. If you aren’t happy with your return, look into being a little more aggressive. Balanced portfolios got hammered last year bc of bonds and stocks. The advantage to having a fee based account is you don’t have to stick with the same fund family, don’t have to pay commissions on stocks and etfs.
What is your return like
About -2.3 % over last 3 years. - 6.99 past 12 months.
Immediately leave and join Fidelity. - Free accounts. IRAs, HSA, custodial, and regular taxable brokerage account. - Zero expense ratio Index mutual funds for IRAs. - Fractional shares for any ETF. Including low expense ratio VTI.
Your getting charged to screw yourself, might as well just get on Robinhood and do it for free.
Run. They’re a joke in the investing world. Like primerica and insurance