Brokers Recommendations

[Tommy Tainant]

I use three different brokers these days.

I get e mails off all three of them. opening,closing,summary hot stocks,you name it.

Not one of these bastards has suggested that there may be trouble ahead.

None of them has written me and said "Go liquid Tom, its looking a bit unsettled". Not even from the one looking after my pension.

I rather suspect that they are just trying to make short term cash out of me.

 

[BuckToothMoron]

Do you know each one of them personally. How are they paid? Do you pay them a percentage of your portfolio or a fee for each trade. The reality is most brokers would prefer all of their clients to have at least $500,000 in their investment portfolio. If you have less......don’t expect the personal attention.

 

[HenryBHough]

For what are they being used?

 

[Tommy Tainant]

Do you know each one of them personally. How are they paid? Do you pay them a percentage of your portfolio or a fee for each trade. The reality is most brokers would prefer all of their clients to have at least $500,000 in their investment portfolio. If you have less......don’t expect the personal attention.

I pay per trade and a quarterl fee. I make all my own decisions but I like to see the way the wind is blowing. Just sick of every day getting " a stock to lock away for brexit" . The UK is about to crash and burn but that isnt reflected in the info I am given. Or maybe I am wrong ?

 

[BuckToothMoron]

Do you know each one of them personally. How are they paid? Do you pay them a percentage of your portfolio or a fee for each trade. The reality is most brokers would prefer all of their clients to have at least $500,000 in their investment portfolio. If you have less......don’t expect the personal attention.

I pay per trade and a quarterl fee. I make all my own decisions but I like to see the way the wind is blowing. Just sick of every day getting " a stock to lock away for brexit" . The UK is about to crash and burn but that isnt reflected in the info I am given. Or maybe I am wrong ?

Also consider where you are in your life. How long until you retire, do you have big expenses coming due like kids education? I have one broker I listen to, but I read a plethora of investment newsletters. Your broker, most brokers are selling what they are told to sell, and it really only matters when we get to major inflection points, because the average broker misses these inflections every time. Do you have any gold investment now?

 

[Tommy Tainant]

Do you know each one of them personally. How are they paid? Do you pay them a percentage of your portfolio or a fee for each trade. The reality is most brokers would prefer all of their clients to have at least $500,000 in their investment portfolio. If you have less......don’t expect the personal attention.

I pay per trade and a quarterl fee. I make all my own decisions but I like to see the way the wind is blowing. Just sick of every day getting " a stock to lock away for brexit" . The UK is about to crash and burn but that isnt reflected in the info I am given. Or maybe I am wrong ?

Also consider where you are in your life. How long until you retire, do you have big expenses coming due like kids education? I have one broker I listen to, but I read a plethora of investment newsletters. Your broker, most brokers are selling what they are told to sell, and it really only matters when we get to major inflection points, because the average broker misses these inflections every time. Do you have any gold investment now?

No. Looked at it but humming and hahing about it. At the moment I am liquidating my UK holdings and keeping bits and pieces overseas. I am more likely to pay off the mortgage than anything else but I am not in a hurry to do that yet. Ive got a decade till retirement at least, unless her parents pass on.

 

[BuckToothMoron]

Do you know each one of them personally. How are they paid? Do you pay them a percentage of your portfolio or a fee for each trade. The reality is most brokers would prefer all of their clients to have at least $500,000 in their investment portfolio. If you have less......don’t expect the personal attention.

I pay per trade and a quarterl fee. I make all my own decisions but I like to see the way the wind is blowing. Just sick of every day getting " a stock to lock away for brexit" . The UK is about to crash and burn but that isnt reflected in the info I am given. Or maybe I am wrong ?

Also consider where you are in your life. How long until you retire, do you have big expenses coming due like kids education? I have one broker I listen to, but I read a plethora of investment newsletters. Your broker, most brokers are selling what they are told to sell, and it really only matters when we get to major inflection points, because the average broker misses these inflections every time. Do you have any gold investment now?

No. Looked at it but humming and hahing about it. At the moment I am liquidating my UK holdings and keeping bits and pieces overseas. I am more likely to pay off the mortgage than anything else but I am not in a hurry to do that yet. Ive got a decade till retirement at least, unless her parents pass on.

Sounds like you have a reasonable plan, I would only suggest a 5-10% exposure to gold. My opinion, this market (djia) will be at 17,000 again before it sees 27,000, and when the real dislocation begins, possibly around January/February, people will run to safe havens like gold. Good luck.

 

[squirt]

Do you know each one of them personally. How are they paid? Do you pay them a percentage of your portfolio or a fee for each trade. The reality is most brokers would prefer all of their clients to have at least $500,000 in their investment portfolio. If you have less......don’t expect the personal attention.

I pay per trade and a quarterl fee. I make all my own decisions but I like to see the way the wind is blowing. Just sick of every day getting " a stock to lock away for brexit" . The UK is about to crash and burn but that isnt reflected in the info I am given. Or maybe I am wrong ?

Also consider where you are in your life. How long until you retire, do you have big expenses coming due like kids education? I have one broker I listen to, but I read a plethora of investment newsletters. Your broker, most brokers are selling what they are told to sell, and it really only matters when we get to major inflection points, because the average broker misses these inflections every time. Do you have any gold investment now?

No. Looked at it but humming and hahing about it. At the moment I am liquidating my UK holdings and keeping bits and pieces overseas. I am more likely to pay off the mortgage than anything else but I am not in a hurry to do that yet. Ive got a decade till retirement at least, unless her parents pass on.

Sounds like you have a reasonable plan, I would only suggest a 5-10% exposure to gold. My opinion, this market (djia) will be at 17,000 again before it sees 27,000, and when the real dislocation begins, possibly around January/February, people will run to safe havens like gold. Good luck.

I sure hope you are wrong.

 

[BuckToothMoron]

Do you know each one of them personally. How are they paid? Do you pay them a percentage of your portfolio or a fee for each trade. The reality is most brokers would prefer all of their clients to have at least $500,000 in their investment portfolio. If you have less......don’t expect the personal attention.

I pay per trade and a quarterl fee. I make all my own decisions but I like to see the way the wind is blowing. Just sick of every day getting " a stock to lock away for brexit" . The UK is about to crash and burn but that isnt reflected in the info I am given. Or maybe I am wrong ?

Also consider where you are in your life. How long until you retire, do you have big expenses coming due like kids education? I have one broker I listen to, but I read a plethora of investment newsletters. Your broker, most brokers are selling what they are told to sell, and it really only matters when we get to major inflection points, because the average broker misses these inflections every time. Do you have any gold investment now?

No. Looked at it but humming and hahing about it. At the moment I am liquidating my UK holdings and keeping bits and pieces overseas. I am more likely to pay off the mortgage than anything else but I am not in a hurry to do that yet. Ive got a decade till retirement at least, unless her parents pass on.

Sounds like you have a reasonable plan, I would only suggest a 5-10% exposure to gold. My opinion, this market (djia) will be at 17,000 again before it sees 27,000, and when the real dislocation begins, possibly around January/February, people will run to safe havens like gold. Good luck.

I sure hope you are wrong.

Why not buy a spot of gold just in case I’m right?

 

[McRocket]

I use three different brokers these days.

I get e mails off all three of them. opening,closing,summary hot stocks,you name it.

Not one of these bastards has suggested that there may be trouble ahead.

None of them has written me and said "Go liquid Tom, its looking a bit unsettled". Not even from the one looking after my pension.

I rather suspect that they are just trying to make short term cash out of me.

Why would they want you to go liquid? Assuming they make commissions - they would make squat if you were all liquid.

Even if you are paying an overall percentage fee...there are often commission charges thrown in.

Never forget one thing...the Fed has some of THE most intelligent and educated business people in the nation. Yet they COMPLETELY missed the housing crisis until it was too late.
Most economists missed the housing crash and the dot.com crash.
They cannot be trusted.

IMO, people should not invest if they don't know what they are doing AND they should never invest money they are not prepared to lose.

But if you still want to invest, find out how the richest people invest. Not the actual stocks, but the breakdown of equities, bonds, pm's and cash. And then mirror the one you trust the most.
And for the stocks? Just buy major index stocks (like Spyders) if you don't understand the market's.

 

[MarathonMike]

I use three different brokers these days.

I get e mails off all three of them. opening,closing,summary hot stocks,you name it.

Not one of these bastards has suggested that there may be trouble ahead.

None of them has written me and said "Go liquid Tom, its looking a bit unsettled". Not even from the one looking after my pension.

I rather suspect that they are just trying to make short term cash out of me.

I'm really confused why you would use three different brokers. Have you totaled what you pay in commissions and fees per year? Do you believe their advice is worth what you pay them?

 

[Tommy Tainant]

I use three different brokers these days.

I get e mails off all three of them. opening,closing,summary hot stocks,you name it.

Not one of these bastards has suggested that there may be trouble ahead.

None of them has written me and said "Go liquid Tom, its looking a bit unsettled". Not even from the one looking after my pension.

I rather suspect that they are just trying to make short term cash out of me.

I'm really confused why you would use three different brokers. Have you totaled what you pay in commissions and fees per year? Do you believe their advice is worth what you pay them?

Its an historic thing.
The first one I have had an account with since the 80s. The second one is where my pension (sipp) is held, they have the lowest cost scheme. The last one has a fee structure that makes small deals more cost effective. I dont pay for advice, I make my own decisions, so my use of a broker is basically just based on cost. It can make a big difference at the end of the year.

My pension is by far the biggest part of my portfolio now. In the UK the pension regs were relaxed a few years back and you can manage your own pension. Within a SIPP wrapper you can hold cash,shares ,funds and even property. Its great if you are comfortable making those decisions.

But back to the OP. It worries me that brokers are leading people into bad investments.

 

[MarathonMike]

I consolidated everything into a Bank of America account (other than my 401K). It is one stop shopping for banking, credit cards and stock trading. They offer a brokerage service but I do everything myself including 401K investments. Many years ago I had a broker who was an arrogant mofo. I lost a fair amount with him. I closed the account and have done well ever since. It amazes me you can hold property in your pension fund. Do you mean REITs?

 

[Tommy Tainant]

Self-invested personal pension - Wikipedia

All assets are permitted by HMRC, however some will be subject to tax charges. The assets that are not subject to a tax charge are: [4]

• Stocks and shares listed on a recognised exchange
• Futures and options traded on a recognised futures exchange
• Authorised UK unit trusts and open-ended investment companies and other UCITS funds
• Unauthorised unit trusts that do not invest in residential property
• Unlisted shares
• Investment trusts subject to FCA regulation
• Unitised insurance funds from EU insurers and IPAs
• Deposits and deposit interests
• Commercial property (including hotel rooms)
• Ground rents (as long as they do not contain any element of residential property)
• Traded endowments policies
• Derivatives products such as a contract for difference (CFD)
• Gold bullion, which is specifically allowed for in legislation, provided it is "investment grade"[5]

Investments currently permitted by primary legislation but subsequently made subject to heavy tax penalties (and therefore typically not allowed by SIPP providers) include: [4]

• Any item of tangible movable property (whose market value does not exceed £6,000) – subject to further conditions on use of property
• "Exotic" assets like vintage cars, wine, stamps, and art
• Residential property

 

[Karl Rand]

I use three different brokers these days.

I get e mails off all three of them. opening,closing,summary hot stocks,you name it.

Not one of these bastards has suggested that there may be trouble ahead.

None of them has written me and said "Go liquid Tom, its looking a bit unsettled". Not even from the one looking after my pension.

I rather suspect that they are just trying to make short term cash out of me.

Having in my misguided youth worked for a broking firm allow me to say trust none of them.

 

[Cellblock2429]

I consolidated everything into a Bank of America account (other than my 401K). It is one stop shopping for banking, credit cards and stock trading. They offer a brokerage service but I do everything myself including 401K investments. Many years ago I had a broker who was an arrogant mofo. I lost a fair amount with him. I closed the account and have done well ever since. It amazes me you can hold property in your pension fund. Do you mean REITs?

/----/ My mother was a pioneer in the stock market when women didn't invest. She wanted to buy 10,000 shares of Xerox shortly after their IPO (1960 maybe) split-adjusted at 2 1/2 cents per share. The broker laughed at her and said no one would buy a copier when carbon paper was 10 cents a box. The all-time high was about $155 a share. After the stock soared she swore never again, did her own research and investment choices.

 

[PoliticalChic]

I consolidated everything into a Bank of America account (other than my 401K). It is one stop shopping for banking, credit cards and stock trading. They offer a brokerage service but I do everything myself including 401K investments. Many years ago I had a broker who was an arrogant mofo. I lost a fair amount with him. I closed the account and have done well ever since. It amazes me you can hold property in your pension fund. Do you mean REITs?

/----/ My mother was a pioneer in the stock market when women didn't invest. She wanted to buy 10,000 shares of Xerox shortly after their IPO (1960 maybe) split-adjusted at 2 1/2 cents per share. The broker laughed at her and said no one would buy a copier when carbon paper was 10 cents a box. The all-time high was about $155 a share. After the stock soared she swore never again, did her own research and investment choices.

My pal invested in the USSR....on December 25, 1991 it split 15 to one.