Using Vanguard as a broker?

[thirtythree]

So I've had a Roth IRA through Vanguard for a few years, currently have about $20,000 in it. I've been investing with mutual funds but wanted to get into stocks a bit. I have no doubt that Vanguard would be a good broker, but their fees are pretty high for such a small portfolio ($30 per year, plus $25 per trade). I wouldn't be trading frequently however. The main benefits of staying with Vanguard are (1) don't have to transfer IRA funds to another company/all retirement funds in the same place (including employee-sponsored) and (2) they seem to have fairly high money market returns, which is where my brokerage money would be when it isn't invested in stocks (I'd probably have some money in here at most times).

So, whaddya think? Anyone have experience transferring from Vanguard to another brokerage?

 

[blipblop]

I was in a similar situation as you. I had a Roth IRA with Vanguard since 16, then I wanted to trade some stocks. I would just open another account with another brokerage firm (tradeking, scottstrade, thinkorswim, whatever).

This way you will have an IRA which is pretty close to fee-free, and then a discount brokerage firm in which you can buy individual stocks. If you have anymore questions, feel free to drop me a PM.

 

[thirtythree]

Originally posted by: blipblop
I was in a similar situation as you. I had a Roth IRA with Vanguard since 16, then I wanted to trade some stocks. I would just open another account with another brokerage firm (tradeking, scottstrade, thinkorswim, whatever).

This way you will have an IRA which is pretty close to fee-free, and then a discount brokerage firm in which you can buy individual stocks. If you have anymore questions, feel free to drop me a PM.

I was thinking about TradeKing, since they were rated best discount broker by smartmoney.com. But, are you suggesting opening a taxable account with them? I was hoping to avoid any taxes on my stock trades.

EDIT: Actually E*Trade was rated the top premium broker, and it's only a bit more. Might go with them instead.

 

[blipblop]

Hmm, so what you're saying is you want to buy stocks and trade withint your roth ira?

This can be good, but keep in mind that you only get 4k a year to put into an IRA. 5k this year I believe. So for 5k, it would be sort of difficult keeping an individual stock. Personally, my retirement account only has funds and I just have a separate taxable account.

You can go with etrade, their company is fine, except that they're about to hit the bottom. I'm not sure if I would start an account with etrade. Although it shouldn't be a problem, if it goes out of business or something, but that's just for my own piece of mind.

You can also check out some other ones like SogoInvest or FirstTrade, there are a lot of different ones out there.

 

[vrbaba]

Free of any fees... 10 free trades per month. Perfect for a non-active trader.

http://www.Zecco.com

They also started IRAs, but its fairly new, so cant vouch for that. Simple stock trading has been effortless and without any problems for over half a year.

 

[thirtythree]

Originally posted by: blipblop
Hmm, so what you're saying is you want to buy stocks and trade withint your roth ira?

This can be good, but keep in mind that you only get 4k a year to put into an IRA. 5k this year I believe. So for 5k, it would be sort of difficult keeping an individual stock. Personally, my retirement account only has funds and I just have a separate taxable account.

You can go with etrade, their company is fine, except that they're about to hit the bottom. I'm not sure if I would start an account with etrade. Although it shouldn't be a problem, if it goes out of business or something, but that's just for my own piece of mind.

You can also check out some other ones like SogoInvest or FirstTrade, there are a lot of different ones out there.

Correct, I want to trade within my Roth IRA. I actually already contributed my 5k for this year, so I'd have to rollover into another company's IRA or create a taxable account. What do you mean when you say for 5k it would be difficult to keep an individual stock? I'll look around a bit, but I'm think I might just stick with Vanguard. That way I can start out with a little in stocks and gradually increase as/if desired. Not having to pay taxes on earnings could potentially be worth the extra fees. Anyway, this is just a trial run, so I can always switch broker's later.

vrbaba: I've seen zecco and haven't heard anything terrible about them, but still, I'm a little hesitant. They're only a little over a year old, correct?

 

[blipblop]

Regarding the 5k into buying individual stocks, I usually buy stocks in lots of 100, so something such as an AAPL, WYNN, RIMM would be difficult to purchase since their current prices are from $90 - 200. That was what I meant, sorry if I wasn't clear. IE 5k a year, you cannot even buy 100sh of WYNN. The thing about sticking with Vanguard is every transaction you make is $30(I'm not sure), it's just a lot more expensive. If you are an infrequent trader, it is okay. I'm a PT daytrader as well as long term investor. Sometimes I might go through 30 transactions from 9:30 - 1.

Regarding Zecco, there have been people that are happy with them if you are a very light trader and don't demand the best GUI, services and such. You can always see what their site has to offer.

 

[thirtythree]

Originally posted by: blipblop
Regarding the 5k into buying individual stocks, I usually buy stocks in lots of 100, so something such as an AAPL, WYNN, RIMM would be difficult to purchase since their current prices are from $90 - 200. That was what I meant, sorry if I wasn't clear. IE 5k a year, you cannot even buy 100sh of WYNN. The thing about sticking with Vanguard is every transaction you make is $30(I'm not sure), it's just a lot more expensive. If you are an infrequent trader, it is okay. I'm a PT daytrader as well as long term investor. Sometimes I might go through 30 transactions from 9:30 - 1.

Regarding Zecco, there have been people that are happy with them if you are a very light trader and don't demand the best GUI, services and such. You can always see what their site has to offer.

It's $25 per trade. I think I will give it a try for starters, and if I decide to open a taxable account I'll probably go with something cheaper like Zecco. Thanks for all the replies.

 

[imported_Lothar]

Unless you/your family members already have a net worth of $500,000 or more in a Vanguard household account, what you plan on doing seems moronic.

Paying commission fees of "$25 or $0.025 per share, whichever is greater" for each trade?