Comments on: Consumer Reports America’s Best Brokers

By: jason

jason — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:43:45 +0000

I have had USAA auto insurance for over 19 years. The first time I was responsible for an accident (a very minor, non-moving violation after more than 17 years of coverage), they raised my rates by 60%. So I would NOT recommend USAA to anybody.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:04:22 +0000

Jim, from what I understand, anyone can have a brokerage account at USAA, it is just their insurance and banking services that are limited to military members and their families.

I have been a USAA member for about 9 years now, and love their customer service! That said, there are less expensive brokerages, so do your research and use whichever is best for you!

Regarding Edward Jones, I haven’t had good experiences with two different reps (both tried to sell me high load funds that weren’t in my best interest). That doesn’t mean they are all like that though – just my two experiences.

By: OleDrippy

OleDrippy — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:52:25 +0000

#4..

By: OleDrippy

OleDrippy — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:43:22 +0000

I also had a USAA brokerage account. I absolutely LOVE USAA. I can’t recommend them enough.. Superb customer service, fair prices on products, excellent insurance rates.. Prima!

P.S. – I said “had” because I’m a broker at another firm and can’t have conflict of interest. If I had my druthers I would be back at USAA..

By: OleDrippy

OleDrippy — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:40:37 +0000

Yup.. A share mutual funds at Ed Jones.. 5.25% front load.. No good for me. I’d stick with Vanguard and pay 15 bps.

By: Wojciech Kulicki

Wojciech Kulicki — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:31:08 +0000

I have Schwab and in 2007, they ranked very well on CR’s list. That’s one of the main reasons I decided to give them a try and have liked it since.

As Jim points out, CR just updated their rankings. The link to the article is here: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/may-2009/money/brokerage-services/overview/brokerage-services-ov.htm

By: Chewbakka

Chewbakka — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:15:14 +0000

Interesting…anyone know how Schwab ranks on that list?

By: ObliviousInvestor

ObliviousInvestor — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:34:10 +0000

…and for what it’s worth, 100% of my retirement accounts are now at Vanguard.

By: ObliviousInvestor

ObliviousInvestor — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:26:11 +0000

I used to work as a financial adviser at Edward Jones. I’d be very surprised if the stock trade commission structure was on the site anywhere. In fact, I don’t recall ever seeing it explicitly outlined anywhere while working there.

Most of their business is done with front-load mutual funds rather than individual stock trades. The sales loads are set by the fund companies rather than by the brokerage firm.