Comments on: Beware Broker Transfer Out Fees

By: P. Douglass

P. Douglass — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:22:48 +0000

Are these fees per position or for transferring an entire account? I am the executor for an estate where the stock positions are in a full svc broker. If the fee is per position, I might be better of keeping things where they are. Otherwise, I’ll transfer the 10-20 positions that I am liquidating and pay the set fee. The account is currently with MS-SB.

By: R Shah

R Shah — Thu, 12 May 2011 15:47:52 +0000

Level 1 option is good for covered option.
I have same level and had been trading covered calls for many years

By: chuck

chuck — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 11:28:08 +0000

Just got my statement in the mail from Ameritrade. $2 for the statement. Ripped me off. I am dumping them for Scottrade. No bogus FEES!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 04:50:01 +0000

I just found this post because my request to transfer my IRA account from Vanguard to Etrade was rejected with Vanguard saying I must first pay a transfer out fee. So, I can tell you Jan 8 2011 that Vangaurd will charge you a transfer out fee and just generally make it difficult for you even after being with them for more than a decade.

By: Mags

Mags — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 23:56:38 +0000

How is the Transfer of a Brokerage account handled when it contains instruments purchased on “Margin” borrowing and is not settled. What are the options that are usually available? Is it possible that the receiving firm will pay-off the Margin amount owed? Appreciate any information on this. Thanks.

By: ticktrade

ticktrade — Thu, 20 May 2010 09:14:12 +0000

@fedup, For immediate full options level approval, no questions asked, try thinkorswim. I too have an Etrade account but found the options approval process silly, as if they are protecting me from myself. Minimum funding on thinkorswim is $3500. You can immediately trade whatever type of options trades you like – calls, puts, spreads, condors, calendars, diagonals, you name it! Thinkorswim was just rated #1 overall online broker by Barron’s for second year in a row. No setup fees, no annual fees, but unlike Etrade they unfortunately do not pay interest on cash in a sweep account. I guess they want you to trade, not sit on cash. I sound like an ad, but just a happy customer.

By: fedup

fedup — Tue, 04 May 2010 15:40:17 +0000

I applied for level 3 stock options from Etrade but only got level 1. I do not plan on risky options trading. I just want to sell covered options to “get paid” to buy and sell stocks. I had options trading at Ameritrade and I have options trading at Zecco. Etrade must have stricter requirements for options trading. They told me I can reapply and change my application data but will not tell me what I needed in my application to get approved for full options trading. I want to move my IRA to another broker that will allow options trading. I plan to use Scott Trade to transfer out of Etrade. They will reimburse up to $100 of transfer out fees from the previous broker. Etrade will charge me $60. It does appear Scott trade will require a reimbursement form with attached proof of fees. I think it is worth the effort. I will get a custodian to custodian transfer that is not limited to the once a year restriction of a non-custodial transfer. If I do not like Scottrade I can transfer out of Scott Trade to any other broker without a fee.

By: DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad

DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:43:26 +0000

Thanks for the heads up– they getyou coming and going!

By: My Journey

My Journey — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:57:36 +0000

My Wife got hit with a $60 fee from Wachovia Securities for a Non-Qualified Account that wasn’t really active.

Since I am Series 6 Registered I just moved it over my broker-dealer and got NAILED with a $75 account transfer fee!

So angry

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:52:17 +0000

Well, if someone is interested in transferring between the IRA’s like the original poster, you can tell Ameritrade not to withhold any of the money for tax purposes (because you are doing a 60-day rollover). And as long as you re-deposit the money into a new IRA within 60 days you don’t have to worry about paying any taxes or early withdrawal fees at all. That was confirmed to me by multiple Vanguard representatives before I made the transfer and it went off without a hitch. If people have questions they can call the brokerage and people will walk them through it.

By: Rich

Rich — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:42:40 +0000

Jim, Folks should know that the transfer you mentioned is a “custodial to custodial” transfer. It should always be used for “transfer outs” unless you specifically plan to take control of the money for some reason. If you choose to take control, taxes are deducted immediately so if you were planning on redepositing the funds within the 60 day window you would have to make up the deducted tax amount out of pocket to redeposit the same amount as was withdrawn. This can be substancial! You can apply for and receive a refund of the deducted taxes at year-end provided you stayed with-in the 60 day limit but at that point it is to late to include those funds in the redeposit. Depending on your age you may also be hit with a withdrawl penalty.

By: eric

eric — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 04:46:26 +0000

Yeah I remember reading about this transfer fee before. Luckily in my case my account was a regular TD one so I just withdrew the money in cash without having to worry.

By: Mark Wolfinger

Mark Wolfinger — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:47:39 +0000

Don’t transfer the whole account.
Leave $20 behind.

Then you can eventually forfeit that $20 to Ameritrade.

If you want to be really mean to them, leave only $1 behind

Mark

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:34:00 +0000

I did a similar transfer from ameritrade to vanguard earlier this year. Don’t waste your money on that transfer fee. You can do a 60-day rollover where you withdraw the money from one IRA and deposit it into a new one within 60 days with no penalty. Call the vanguard people, they are very helpful and will walk you through the whole thing.

By: Ari

Ari — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:03:09 +0000

How odd that you have to pay to transfer out of an IRA, whereas traditional brokerage accounts you generally don’t have to pay to close the account.