Chef Jim Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Not sure if there's different classes of accounts, but a quick search shows that I'm not alone. A couple of the many links I found: http://consumerist.com/5057127/ http://a-loonie-saved.blogspot.com/2009/02...ivity-fees.html God forbid they should make money off you. That's how they make money, buy executing trades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Regular folk should have no business trading individual stocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Regular folk should have no business trading individual stocks. But these aren't regular folk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 But these aren't regular folk. I know, everyone thinks he's the next Warren Buffet. But your rule works. Unless you're ok with a 100% loss on your investment, stay away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Regular folk should have no business trading individual stocks. Not sure who you consider "regular folk" but I have consistently out performed the "pros" who "manage" my money in the employer's 401(K). If you are disinterested - don't dop your own research or are lazy about it then I would agree - don't buy stocks. If you are willing to learn a system / methodolgy / strategy and pay attention to what you are doing then no reason not to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magox Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 There is absolutely nothing wrong with anyone who want's to invest their own money into what they believe is a good idea to try to make a little money. Just understand the risks involved, that's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stl Bills Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Regular folk should have no business trading individual stocks. Yeah that 42k I made on 1500 investment of SPNG last month sucked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Not sure if there's different classes of accounts, but a quick search shows that I'm not alone. A couple of the many links I found: http://consumerist.com/5057127/ http://a-loonie-saved.blogspot.com/2009/02...ivity-fees.html I also only had ~2k in the account, so it may be a "no activity in a quarter and less than $10k" or something. Your account will be reviewed and a $40 Account Service Fee (ASF) will be assessed, if applicable, on Wednesday during the last full week of each quarter. You will not be assessed an ASF at the end of the calendar quarter if any of the following apply: ■Your account is a Retirement Account ■Your account is a Global Trading Account ■Your account is a Personal Trust Account ■Your account is a Custodial Account ■Your account has been opened less than 12 months ■You maintain a stock plan account and you are an employee of a current E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corporate Services Client. ■You execute one or more stock, option, or mutual fund trades per quarter ■You make a minimum of two bill payments using Online Bill Pay ■Your combined balance in linked E*TRADE Securities accounts is at least $2,000 ■Your combined balance in linked E*TRADE Securities and E*TRADE Bank accounts is at least $20,000 Straight from ETrade. Of course, if you're trading on $2k, you're a moron to begin with. Put it in mutual funds. I wouldn't trade with anything less than $10k available...and even that's ridiculously low by most standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Regular folk should have no business trading individual stocks. Define "regular folk". Personally, I define it as "people who need to ask what brokerage company they should go with to buy the next 'sure thing'." But that's just me. And really...everyone who starts, starts somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Define "regular folk". Regular folk are those who can't name the three basic financial statements, or describe what each line item means (never mind reading MDOs & notes) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricojes Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 Define "regular folk". Personally, I define it as "people who need to ask what brokerage company they should go with to buy the next 'sure thing'." But that's just me. And really...everyone who starts, starts somewhere. Or they may just be people who want to learn. They are not necessarily buying "the next sure thing," but rather people with a few extra bucks looking to invest and learn the ropes. You do have to start somewhere, and who the heck really cares what the definition of "regular folk" is anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Or they may just be people who want to learn. They are not necessarily buying "the next sure thing," but rather people with a few extra bucks looking to invest and learn the ropes. You do have to start somewhere, and who the heck really cares what the definition of "regular folk" is anyway? Like I said, you've got to start somewhere. I started with $1000 and an Olde Discount account. Only with hindsight do I realize how "not bright" that was. Truth is, if you're looking to make money, there are better ways to use what little you have right now. If you're looking to learn, however...that's pretty cheap tuition, but like people said be prepared to lose it all. But my honest and most helpful recommendation to you would be to spend the money on a subscription to Barrons, and four books (one on basic corporate accounting - and yes, it will be dull, one on basic technical trading, and two on investor psychology or mob psychology). (BTW...I've been with ETrade for twelve years. No complaints. The one time they screwed anything up, it was minor and their customer service fixed it quickly and politely.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Like I said, you've got to start somewhere. I started with $1000 and an Olde Discount account. Only with hindsight do I realize how "not bright" that was. Yeah -- I put my couple thousand in the market during the height of the .com days (with ETrade.. ). I thought WebVan was a fantastic idea (still do - if done right, and there are some companies doing that around here now). Didn't pay attention to the fundamentals (and nobody did back then...). Lost it all. Like you said though, great learning experience. Now I actually read the financial statements and make better educated decisions. But I don't do any of that until I max the 401(k) and Roth IRA, and I make sure my "rainy day" fund has enough in it for 6-12 months, in case of an emergency. And like you said - prepare to lose everything because there's no guarantee, even if you've done all of your homework. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Yeah -- I put my couple thousand in the market during the height of the .com days (with ETrade.. ). I thought WebVan was a fantastic idea (still do - if done right, and there are some companies doing that around here now). Didn't pay attention to the fundamentals (and nobody did back then...). Lost it all. Like you said though, great learning experience. Now I actually read the financial statements and make better educated decisions. But I don't do any of that until I max the 401(k) and Roth IRA, and I make sure my "rainy day" fund has enough in it for 6-12 months, in case of an emergency. And like you said - prepare to lose everything because there's no guarantee, even if you've done all of your homework. It sounds like you're doing some things right. But most of all of you know what I do. My question is do you feel you'd need the services of a planner? Not soliciting just want people's opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I thought WebVan was a fantastic idea (still do - if done right, and there are some companies doing that around here now). Webvan was a horrible business model and still is - margins are way too thin in the grocery business and inventory control along with logistics hard to control. Since the Webvan days you will also now have to unseat Wallyworld's logistics and "customer experience." Wallyworld and Target (or the like) nail you typically because you wander around and buy about $100 or $200 of crap you never intended to buy in the first place. My wife just kills me with this stuff. The online shopping for groceries loses out on this revenue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Webvan was a horrible business model and still is - margins are way too thin in the grocery business and inventory control along with logistics hard to control. Since the Webvan days you will also now have to unseat Wallyworld's logistics and "customer experience." Wallyworld and Target (or the like) nail you typically because you wander around and buy about $100 or $200 of crap you never intended to buy in the first place. My wife just kills me with this stuff. The online shopping for groceries loses out on this revenue. The more and more I hear about the women you guys married the luckier and luckier I feel that I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 It sounds like you're doing some things right. But most of all of you know what I do. My question is do you feel you'd need the services of a planner? Not soliciting just want people's opinion. Let me start by saying that I'm not implying you don't know what you're doing or that you steal from your customers or anything. These are just general opinions/impressions of the industry as a whole. Personally, I'm jaded on the whole idea of a planner managing my money. I had a friend who hired someone who had helped his family for years. From talking to this friend, it sounded like the guy didn't actually offer any value-add. I don't think he "cost" much (not sure where his paycheck came from), but I didn't see any advantage. As a whole, they don't seem to have anything to lose if they screw up your finances; they just find new clients (which, agreed, may be more difficult). If they lose all of my wealth, I'm the one who's really screwed. Then you hear about all of the personal finance managers who embezzle funds from their customers, and it turns me off of the whole thing. I could probably benefit from a planner -- but I just don't know if I can get past all of my preconceived notions (some of which are valid, some of which are probably not). Honest enough opinion for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Let me start by saying that I'm not implying you don't know what you're doing or that you steal from your customers or anything. These are just general opinions/impressions of the industry as a whole. Personally, I'm jaded on the whole idea of a planner managing my money. I had a friend who hired someone who had helped his family for years. From talking to this friend, it sounded like the guy didn't actually offer any value-add. I don't think he "cost" much (not sure where his paycheck came from), but I didn't see any advantage. As a whole, they don't seem to have anything to lose if they screw up your finances; they just find new clients (which, agreed, may be more difficult). If they lose all of my wealth, I'm the one who's really screwed. Then you hear about all of the personal finance managers who embezzle funds from their customers, and it turns me off of the whole thing. I could probably benefit from a planner -- but I just don't know if I can get past all of my preconceived notions (some of which are valid, some of which are probably not). Honest enough opinion for you? No I get what you're saying. But here's what a real planner (me ) does. It's not just about investing. It's about planning. How much do you need to retire? Are you on track? Can we get you on track if you're not? When and where do you want to retire? What's the most tax efficient way to plan? Do you have any guaranteed income for retirement? How do we control your taxes today and tomorrow? Do you have enough life insurance? Too much? Is it the right kind of insurance? Long term care? Disability? Who's going to take care of you when you can't? Who is going to take care of your kids if you can't? Who's going to take care of your parents when they can't? Is the trust done? Is it funded right? Who are the beneficiaries on your retirement accounts? Who is the beneficiary on your life insurance? Is it your wife, the trust, the kids? It's not just stocks, bonds and mutual funds. And most of us really care about our clients. But that stuff doesn't make the evening news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebug Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 No I get what you're saying. But here's what a real planner (me ) does. It's not just about investing. It's about planning. How much do you need to retire? Are you on track? Can we get you on track if you're not? When and where do you want to retire? What's the most tax efficient way to plan? Do you have any guaranteed income for retirement? How do we control your taxes today and tomorrow? Do you have enough life insurance? Too much? Is it the right kind of insurance? Long term care? Disability? Who's going to take care of you when you can't? Who is going to take care of your kids if you can't? Who's going to take care of your parents when they can't? Is the trust done? Is it funded right? Who are the beneficiaries on your retirement accounts? Who is the beneficiary on your life insurance? Is it your wife, the trust, the kids? It's not just stocks, bonds and mutual funds. And most of us really care about our clients. But that stuff doesn't make the evening news. How much does it cost to have someone (like you) do all that stuff for you? Is there a flat fee or percentage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopsGuy Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 If you do not know who you are, the market is an expensive place to find out. Other than that, I'm just gonna keep my mouth shut here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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