Best brokerage for HNW self-directed accounts

[Hayden]

I've recently learned of a new policy at Fidelity where they do not assign reps to Private Client Group members with self-directed accounts. One has to sign up for wealth management in order to be assigned a rep.

Is there a brokerage house that provides excellent customer service for people who do not want wealth management?

Or should i start looking at options where I pay a fee?

[jebmke]

It isn't clear to me that getting good customer service requires a dedicated rep. I wonder if my dedicated rep at VG has specific knowledge of specific issues that might arise when I really need to call them. In the past, I've had them route me to specialists in the area of interest and it has worked out fine.

[inverter]

All of the brokerages are moving in that direction, like with Vanguard pushing PAS over Flagship statuses.

Fortunately however, you can be at Fidelity, Schwab, or Vanguard with seven or eight figures without needing a rep with the Bogleheads portfolio.

[Leesbro63]

+1 to the post just above. I honestly prefer NOT to have an assigned person. They're always "soft selling". The big brokers (Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab and ETrade) generally have good customer service without a dedicated account rep.

[123]

My experience is that both Schwab and Fidelity provide very good customer service. The customer service is geared toward resolution of problems and general "How To" (be self-sufficient). They are not geared toward giving you a familiar voice to talk to. And they are not geared toward selection or direction toward specific investments, for that you generally get directed to one of their paid services. I generally give Fidelity the edge over Schwab in terms of general friendliness of their web site and an investor being able to be self-sufficient.

I agree with the poster that if you have an assigned rep they are always "soft selling".

[Jack FFR1846]

What exactly are you looking for. I have a couple million at Fidelity and for decades have had a private client manager who I would tell not to call me, I do it myself. I just went on my web page and sure enough....no manager. Wow, that's so good! I did find my free turbo tax, which maybe I'll let one of my kids use.

If you want advice on asset allocation or what type of funds to put in taxable or Roth or tIRA, then post your questions here. I don't see any reason to be asking some broker person about that.

I can see asking about setting up RMD payments or auto investing, calling the broker and letting their front line people help you. At least at Fidelity or Schwab. I wouldn't bother at Vanguard as their high school aged phone call staff won't know what you're even talking about.

And yes, I' have always found front line staff at Schwab and Fidelity to be great at answer any of my questions. I thing the only manager I needed was when our income was too high to make Roth contributions and we needed to get excess contributions and gains figured out to remove them at both Fidelity and Schwab and both worked fine.

[Admiral]

Bogleheads is your (Im)personal Advisor Service!

Ask away!

[Doctor Rhythm]

How do you anticipate using a customer service representative?

I have to call Fidelity to arrange rollovers from a workplace retirement account to a Roth. Other than that, I have never needed to talk to a human at Fidelity, Vanguard, or Schwab over the course of decades and hundreds of transactions. I wouldn’t want to use a brokerage where I felt having good telephone service was important.

[Mike Scott]

If you are DIY, why do you need a rep? Pretty much any of the brokerages should be fine.

[exodusing]

Over the many years I've been with Vanguard, the main telephone issue I had was when I was executor for my father's estate. The phone wait time to reach the relevant department was very long. I could call my rep, someone would answer very quickly and they could put me through to the estate department, jumping the queue. The estate team usually put notes in the file such that I didn't often have to start from the beginning with the rep who answered (although there were some glitches). Essentially everything required phone calls.

Otherwise, the vast majority of things could be done on the website or by secure message. Recently, phone wait times have been slowly growing and occasionally responses to messages indicate that the recipient is not reading carefully.

Would things likely be much different at Schwab or Fidelity? Would the size of the account matter?

[veggivet]

I would view not having a rep assigned to my account as a positive.

[Hayden]

Thanks for all the replies. To answer your questions....
the front line people at Fidelity (and especially at Vanguard) cannot handle difficult, unusual things, and, even worse, will not say "i don't know how to do it" instead, they will try to do it themselves and sometimes botch the job.

As one example, i needed some paperwork completed and the Private Client Group person on the phone told me i had to walk into a center to complete the paperwork. in the center, the woman had never seen the paperwork before, didn't know what to do, but still attempted to do it herself. She botched the job. I later called my rep, and he said, always send it to me, and i will make sure it is done correctly.

To be clear, this doesn't happen much. Maybe once or twice a decade, i have something really complicated/atypical that needs to be done. It gave me confidence that my rep would always route it to the expert at Fidelity to make sure it was handled correctly. now i no longer have that confidence.

I am a DIY-er. I don't call Fidelity with routine stuff I can figure out myself. But I did like having a rep who could route me to the expert at Fidelity when i had a complicated question.

[beyou]

Thanks for all the replies. To answer your questions....
the front line people at Fidelity (and especially at Vanguard) cannot handle difficult, unusual things, and, even worse, will not say "i don't know how to do it" instead, they will try to do it themselves and sometimes botch the job.

As one example, i needed some paperwork completed and the Private Client Group person on the phone told me i had to walk into a center to complete the paperwork. in the center, the woman had never seen the paperwork before, didn't know what to do, but still attempted to do it herself. She botched the job. I later called my rep, and he said, always send it to me, and i will make sure it is done correctly.

To be clear, this doesn't happen much. Maybe once or twice a decade, i have something really complicated/atypical that needs to be done. It gave me confidence that my rep would always route it to the expert at Fidelity to make sure it was handled correctly. now i no longer have that confidence.

I am a DIY-er. I don't call Fidelity with routine stuff I can figure out myself. But I did like having a rep who could route me to the expert at Fidelity when i had a complicated question.

Non routine needs will always require finding some specialist. At Vanguard I have been able to get to specialist teams and avoid first line support, most of the time.

[Hayden]

Thanks for all the replies. To answer your questions....
the front line people at Fidelity (and especially at Vanguard) cannot handle difficult, unusual things, and, even worse, will not say "i don't know how to do it" instead, they will try to do it themselves and sometimes botch the job.

As one example, i needed some paperwork completed and the Private Client Group person on the phone told me i had to walk into a center to complete the paperwork. in the center, the woman had never seen the paperwork before, didn't know what to do, but still attempted to do it herself. She botched the job. I later called my rep, and he said, always send it to me, and i will make sure it is done correctly.

To be clear, this doesn't happen much. Maybe once or twice a decade, i have something really complicated/atypical that needs to be done. It gave me confidence that my rep would always route it to the expert at Fidelity to make sure it was handled correctly. now i no longer have that confidence.

I am a DIY-er. I don't call Fidelity with routine stuff I can figure out myself. But I did like having a rep who could route me to the expert at Fidelity when i had a complicated question.

Non routine needs will always require finding some specialist. At Vanguard I have been able to get to specialist teams and avoid first line support, most of the time.

What's the trick to getting directly to the specialist at Vanguard?

[beyou]

Sometimes people have posted direct numbers here on BH. Other times I sent a secure msg asking for a direct line if I know ahead if time I will be calling in the future. Sometimes one must call main number and just answer their questions intelligently to be routed correctly.

[muffins14]

What is an example of a really complicated and/or difficult task that you need to be performed?

[Phaedrus]

Thanks for all the replies. To answer your questions....
the front line people at Fidelity (and especially at Vanguard) cannot handle difficult, unusual things, and, even worse, will not say "i don't know how to do it" instead, they will try to do it themselves and sometimes botch the job.

As one example, i needed some paperwork completed and the Private Client Group person on the phone told me i had to walk into a center to complete the paperwork. in the center, the woman had never seen the paperwork before, didn't know what to do, but still attempted to do it herself. She botched the job. I later called my rep, and he said, always send it to me, and i will make sure it is done correctly.

To be clear, this doesn't happen much. Maybe once or twice a decade, i have something really complicated/atypical that needs to be done. It gave me confidence that my rep would always route it to the expert at Fidelity to make sure it was handled correctly. now i no longer have that confidence.

I am a DIY-er. I don't call Fidelity with routine stuff I can figure out myself. But I did like having a rep who could route me to the expert at Fidelity when i had a complicated question.

A specific example would help, but to be honest, having a potential mistake once or twice a decade for something "really complicated/atypical" does not sound like such a high error rate, depending on what types of things you mean, and I am skeptical you wouldn't have the same issues even at a big private bank that you paid high fees to.

Note that you do need to be smart enough to tell a Fidelity rep: "hey I recognize this is atypical/complex; do you have a specialist department you could escalate this to" rather than let some front-line person flounder with it.

[manlymatt83]

E*Trade!

I got a rep from day one, before I even put any money in. And I email him and he gets stuff done. And I don’t have a HNW.

[nalor511]

E*Trade!

I got a rep from day one, before I even put any money in. And I email him and he gets stuff done. And I don’t have a HNW.

This is true, E-Trade is very flexible. I've also run into more back the problems (accounts getting locked or failing to open without an override) at E-Trade that I've never seen with Fidelity (or Schwab)

[Hayden]

It isn't clear to me that getting good customer service requires a dedicated rep. I wonder if my dedicated rep at VG has specific knowledge of specific issues that might arise when I really need to call them. In the past, I've had them route me to specialists in the area of interest and it has worked out fine.

When I spoke with the salesperson at Fidelity, he made it sound like if I don't have an assigned rep I will be stuck dealing with the front line people, whom he described as fresh out of school and sometimes make mistakes.

I was left with the impression that if I wanted access to the good people, I needed to sign up for wealth management.

But perhaps this isn't true. As you suggest, I can call and ask to be routed to the specialist. In my experience, the front line person really wants to try to handle it themselves, but I can insist.

It feels like a bait and switch. When they rolled out Private Client Group they said we would have access to specialists. Now they are making it sound like we need to sign up for wealth management in order to get access to specialists.

[dbr]

Is this a question about getting customer service on logistics, transactions, information, website, and so on or about getting financial advice without paying for it noting that such advice is more likely to be a sell than objective advice.

[sc9182]

Not understanding - you want objective advisor/specialist, but don't want wealth-management/AUM deal. What an advisor going to advise you if you are not bound-by/pay-AUM to him/her !?

On a side note:
From time-to-time, one public.com or someone would offer tremendous sing-up bonus.
You might be able to snag (with good negotiation) similar deal-match with one eTrade, or Schwab or even Fidelity.
Once you get your sweet $5K or $10K ., then you would have monies to use towards "hourly paid" CFP/advisor -- then, have some extra bucks still saved in your pocket.

viewtopic.php?t=196884&start=4650

[manlymatt83]

E*Trade!

I got a rep from day one, before I even put any money in. And I email him and he gets stuff done. And I don’t have a HNW.

This is true, E-Trade is very flexible. I've also run into more back the problems (accounts getting locked or failing to open without an override) at E-Trade that I've never seen with Fidelity (or Schwab)

I agree that E*Trade has two annoyances:

- Their MFA requires a separate app. Honestly, it wasn't a big deal and I didn't mind downloading the app, but I used a workaround to setup Google Authenticator instead. It was a one-time thing.
- Sometimes they require you to upload a letter of intent to get things done. Honestly, I don't mind this process... I write it on a paper towel, or whatever, and include a picture of my ID, and whatever I need gets done within 24 hours. I've only had to do this ~3 times and all 3 issues were my fault (new home address, didn't want to wait for them to validate it, and one time I locked myself out).

But E*Trade is awesome otherwise -- it's good for an all-in-one (3.5% savings, checking account with no ATM fees or wire transfer fees, and brokerage), and they have an awesome auto-investing program (mutual funds, ETFs). $0 Vanguard Mutual funds if you're a Vanguard fan (in fact, they have a $0 fee for any mutual fund).

OP, I would be happy to introduce you to my "guy". He's in their Boston office. He is really awesome. He handles anything related to moving money to E*Trade, setting up new accounts, bonuses/promotions, etc. You can go back & forth with him in email and he's always quick to reply -- for example, he credited the $50 fee Schwab charged me for moving assets to E*Trade before I could even have the chance to email him and ask about it.

For more complex stuff related to trading (if you run into questions about that), he has me call a phone number, but I get through within 1 minute always. The "new accounts" team is about 10 people so sometimes I'll just call that -- I always end up talking to the same people over and over again. And luckily, if they can't resolve something quickly, they'll always be willing to call me back. For example, I wanted a new debit card and sent in the request yesterday. I called to have it expedited... the guy I was speaking with didn't want me to wait on hold, so he told me he'd call me back this morning. Sure enough, I got a call a bit ago that it was all set and on the way.

I am *not* a HNW individual, so you could expect your treatment to be even better. You could always email my "guy" in Boston and ask him what their private client without AUM looks like, at a minimum. He's not one of those people that will constantly follow-up with you -- you could tell him you're not interested and you won't hear from him again.

[Hayden]

Is this a question about getting customer service on logistics, transactions, information, website, and so on or about getting financial advice without paying for it noting that such advice is more likely to be a sell than objective advice.

I have never asked Fidelity for financial advice, I told my advisor 20 years ago that I was a boglehead using a 3 fund portfolio, and he respected that and never tried to sell me anything.

This is about getting access to Fidelity experts so that complicated/non-routine tasks are completed correctly.

As one example, I have had front line people mess up paperwork regarding a Keogh plan. That should have been handled by a specialist, but the front line person insisted on trying to do it themselves.

[dbr]

Is this a question about getting customer service on logistics, transactions, information, website, and so on or about getting financial advice without paying for it noting that such advice is more likely to be a sell than objective advice.

I have never asked Fidelity for financial advice, I told my advisor 20 years ago that I was a boglehead using a 3 fund portfolio, and he respected that and never tried to sell me anything.

This is about getting access to Fidelity experts so that complicated/non-routine tasks are completed correctly.

As one example, I have had front line people mess up paperwork regarding a Keogh plan. That should have been handled by a specialist, but the front line person insisted on trying to do it themselves.

Fair enough. On the one occasion I had a transaction roadblock it was resolved by going to the local office. I can't say that provides universally better service, but it is something to consider.

[Hayden]

Not understanding - you want objective advisor/specialist, but don't want wealth-management/AUM deal. What an advisor going to advise you if you are not bound-by/pay-AUM to him/her !?

On a side note:
From time-to-time, one public.com or someone would offer tremendous sing-up bonus.
You might be able to snag (with good negotiation) similar deal-match with one eTrade, or Schwab or even Fidelity.
Once you get your sweet $5K or $10K ., then you would have monies to use towards "hourly paid" CFP/advisor -- then, have some extra bucks still saved in your pocket.

viewtopic.php?t=196884&start=4650

I want access to specialists so that paperwork is processed correctly. I'm not looking for financial advice.

It was implied that without a rep I would be at the mercy of under trained first line people who sometimes mess up

[Hayden]

Is this a question about getting customer service on logistics, transactions, information, website, and so on or about getting financial advice without paying for it noting that such advice is more likely to be a sell than objective advice.

I have never asked Fidelity for financial advice, I told my advisor 20 years ago that I was a boglehead using a 3 fund portfolio, and he respected that and never tried to sell me anything.

This is about getting access to Fidelity experts so that complicated/non-routine tasks are completed correctly.

As one example, I have had front line people mess up paperwork regarding a Keogh plan. That should have been handled by a specialist, but the front line person insisted on trying to do it themselves.

Fair enough. On the one occasion I had a transaction roadblock it was resolved by going to the local office. I can't say that provides universally better service, but it is something to consider.

It was the local office that told me that if I don't sign up for wealth management, I will be at the mercy of under trained first line people who answer the telephone.

This seems to be a new Fidelity policy and is in sharp contrast to their original sales pitch for Private Client Group which emphasized access to experts.

[dbr]

Is this a question about getting customer service on logistics, transactions, information, website, and so on or about getting financial advice without paying for it noting that such advice is more likely to be a sell than objective advice.

I have never asked Fidelity for financial advice, I told my advisor 20 years ago that I was a boglehead using a 3 fund portfolio, and he respected that and never tried to sell me anything.

This is about getting access to Fidelity experts so that complicated/non-routine tasks are completed correctly.

As one example, I have had front line people mess up paperwork regarding a Keogh plan. That should have been handled by a specialist, but the front line person insisted on trying to do it themselves.

Fair enough. On the one occasion I had a transaction roadblock it was resolved by going to the local office. I can't say that provides universally better service, but it is something to consider.

It was the local office that told me that if I don't sign up for wealth management, I will be at the mercy of under trained first line people who answer the telephone.

This seems to be a new Fidelity policy and is in sharp contrast to their original sales pitch for Private Client Group which emphasized access to experts.

Not good.

[sc9182]

Not understanding - you want objective advisor/specialist, but don't want wealth-management/AUM deal. What an advisor going to advise you if you are not bound-by/pay-AUM to him/her !?

On a side note:
From time-to-time, one public.com or someone would offer tremendous sing-up bonus.
You might be able to snag (with good negotiation) similar deal-match with one eTrade, or Schwab or even Fidelity.
Once you get your sweet $5K or $10K ., then you would have monies to use towards "hourly paid" CFP/advisor -- then, have some extra bucks still saved in your pocket.

viewtopic.php?t=196884&start=4650

I want access to specialists so that paperwork is processed correctly. I'm not looking for financial advice.

It was implied that without a rep I would be at the mercy of under trained first line people who sometimes mess up

Ah - the complicated paper-work issue. If one Fidelity local office (along with help/assist for specialist) had tough time handling the job -- good luck getting it done correctly at one VG or TD or even eTrade (due to ongoing merger/integration) and such .. Glad Fido was able to fix the problem on short notice (upon your heads-up) -- help on complex matters is difficult to come-by., that's my experience. Such complex stuff is not routinely executed by all the folks to learn/stay-on-top.

May be have minimum/limited assets under AUM at one Fido (or your other choice brokerage, if you believe someone else is better at it) - have your special AUM guy/gal handling that small account/amount.
While keeping all else in separate account(s) at the same brokerage -- betcha that specialist would pitch-in assist on the larger account matters .. just saying ..

Or, setup a family office (if you are talking 25M+ portfolio)

[smooth_rough]

Not sure what you mean by HNW. Does vanguard provide local offices where you can arrange in-person meetings with advisor? Fidelity does offer that. However, the one time meeting I had ended with fidelity advisor handing me 10 page contract to review, which would have required an attorney to review and explain what I was committing to.

[manlymatt83]

Not sure what you mean by HNW.

High Net Worth

[smooth_rough]

Not sure what you mean by HNW.

High Net Worth

Dollar amount?

[manlymatt83]

Not sure what you mean by HNW.

High Net Worth

Dollar amount?

Ahhh... my bad. No clue.

[PatrickA5]

I've recently learned of a new policy at Fidelity where they do not assign reps to Private Client Group members with self-directed accounts. One has to sign up for wealth management in order to be assigned a rep.

Is there a brokerage house that provides excellent customer service for people who do not want wealth management?

Or should i start looking at options where I pay a fee?

Interesting. My Fidelity reps picture still shows up on my account page. I wonder if this new policy is nation-wide?

I haven't talked to "my guy" in a few years, but I did send an email this morning asking if my SIL could be added to his group of clients. She's inheriting money and I thought it would be good if she has someone to talk to if I'm not available. I guess I'll see if he replies.

[bltn]

I've recently learned of a new policy at Fidelity where they do not assign reps to Private Client Group members with self-directed accounts. One has to sign up for wealth management in order to be assigned a rep.

Is there a brokerage house that provides excellent customer service for people who do not want wealth management?

Or should i start looking at options where I pay a fee?

When I was approaching retirement, I decided to consolidate accounts at several different brkerages into just two. Vanguard and Fidelity. At Fidelity, I was assigned a personal representative who met with me annually for two or three years and was happy to take my rare calls. Then his name was taken off my account. I wondered if he had moved on.

Now I discover that because I declined soft sales pitches for managed accounts or funds, that I no longer qualify for a personal representative. That s ok with me, as the assistanceI I get from the private client group phone reps has been fine for handling my simple affairs.

[galawdawg]

Is this a question about getting customer service on logistics, transactions, information, website, and so on or about getting financial advice without paying for it noting that such advice is more likely to be a sell than objective advice.

I have never asked Fidelity for financial advice, I told my advisor 20 years ago that I was a boglehead using a 3 fund portfolio, and he respected that and never tried to sell me anything.

This is about getting access to Fidelity experts so that complicated/non-routine tasks are completed correctly.

As one example, I have had front line people mess up paperwork regarding a Keogh plan. That should have been handled by a specialist, but the front line person insisted on trying to do it themselves.

Fair enough. On the one occasion I had a transaction roadblock it was resolved by going to the local office. I can't say that provides universally better service, but it is something to consider.

It was the local office that told me that if I don't sign up for wealth management, I will be at the mercy of under trained first line people who answer the telephone.

This seems to be a new Fidelity policy and is in sharp contrast to their original sales pitch for Private Client Group which emphasized access to experts.

So move to Schwab where you'll get a dedicated financial consultant (if you have $500k or more in assets) and a nice transfer bonus to boot. No need to enroll in any AUM-based or extra-cost services.

https://www.schwab.com/invest-with-us/p ... nal-advice

[toddthebod]

Is this a question about getting customer service on logistics, transactions, information, website, and so on or about getting financial advice without paying for it noting that such advice is more likely to be a sell than objective advice.

I have never asked Fidelity for financial advice, I told my advisor 20 years ago that I was a boglehead using a 3 fund portfolio, and he respected that and never tried to sell me anything.

This is about getting access to Fidelity experts so that complicated/non-routine tasks are completed correctly.

As one example, I have had front line people mess up paperwork regarding a Keogh plan. That should have been handled by a specialist, but the front line person insisted on trying to do it themselves.

Fair enough. On the one occasion I had a transaction roadblock it was resolved by going to the local office. I can't say that provides universally better service, but it is something to consider.

It was the local office that told me that if I don't sign up for wealth management, I will be at the mercy of under trained first line people who answer the telephone.

This seems to be a new Fidelity policy and is in sharp contrast to their original sales pitch for Private Client Group which emphasized access to experts.

So move to Schwab where you'll get a dedicated financial consultant (if you have $500k or more in assets) and a nice transfer bonus to boot. No need to enroll in any AUM-based or extra-cost services.

https://www.schwab.com/invest-with-us/p ... nal-advice

I will second the Schwab experience, especially with OP's negative experience with his retirement plan paperwork. Twice I've had to do some extra paperwork for my solo 401(k), once when I first moved it to Schwab and mistakenly filled out the paperwork as a new plan instead of an amended plan, and once when I wanted to change the sponsoring employer from an LLC to a sole proprietorship, and both times I just emailed my rep, she got back to me the next day with a list of what to upload, and then she called me when everything was fixed.

[simpletone]

I have had a rep assigned to me at VG after asking for one a few years ago. They are very helpful when I contact them (they never reach out to me). I request their help when performing, what I consider significant transactions or changes, simply for a second set of eyes, or if I want to confirm information. They have always been helpful and available when needed.

[exodusing]

Is there a consensus on which firm is best for a HNW client that is not looking for investment advice, but wants to make sure non-routine transactions (things that cannot be done easily on the website) will be handled with a minimum of hassle (minimum time, competent assistance)? Or are there favorable and unfavorable anecdotes from all three and no real way to know how representative posted experiences might be?

[Leesbro63]

Is there a consensus on which firm is best for a HNW client that is not looking for investment advice, but wants to make sure non-routine transactions (things that cannot be done easily on the website) will be handled with a minimum of hassle (minimum time, competent assistance)? Or are there favorable and unfavorable anecdotes from all three and no real way to know how representative posted experiences might be?

Can you elaborate on the non-routine transactions that you are referring to?

[exodusing]

Is there a consensus on which firm is best for a HNW client that is not looking for investment advice, but wants to make sure non-routine transactions (things that cannot be done easily on the website) will be handled with a minimum of hassle (minimum time, competent assistance)? Or are there favorable and unfavorable anecdotes from all three and no real way to know how representative posted experiences might be?

Can you elaborate on the non-routine transactions that you are referring to?

By non-routine I mean anything that can not be done easily on a website. For example, I had to call in to execute a Specific ID sale (because Vanguard appears to require setting that up in advance of a trade), I had a technical issues on an ACATS transfer out (receiving firm said it was in good order, Vanguard disagreed), I was the executor of my father's estate (which required lots of phone calls), and Vanguard had made a mistake on a TIPS trade. All of these were at Vanguard over a period of years.

[HawkeyePierce]

I've always had excellent customer service from Schwab as a nobody with a six-figure account. Can't imagine what more I would need from them.

[Leesbro63]

Is there a consensus on which firm is best for a HNW client that is not looking for investment advice, but wants to make sure non-routine transactions (things that cannot be done easily on the website) will be handled with a minimum of hassle (minimum time, competent assistance)? Or are there favorable and unfavorable anecdotes from all three and no real way to know how representative posted experiences might be?

Can you elaborate on the non-routine transactions that you are referring to?

By non-routine I mean anything that can not be done easily on a website. For example, I had to call in to execute a Specific ID sale (because Vanguard appears to require setting that up in advance of a trade), I had a technical issues on an ACATS transfer out (receiving firm said it was in good order, Vanguard disagreed), I was the executor of my father's estate (which required lots of phone calls), and Vanguard had made a mistake on a TIPS trade. All of these were at Vanguard over a period of years.

That's going to be hit and miss. Even with an assigned Rep. Overall my experience with Schwab, TDAmeritrade, Vanguard and Fidelity, with multiple family deaths in the past 10 years, has been that once you get assigned to the correct "death department", they are excellent. TDAmeritrade is going away (to become Schwab), but any of the other three I think are very good. I've also had good service at ETrade, but there have been no death transfers with them.

You may be overthinking this. Probably Schwab or Fidelity would be best because if you do have a problem, you can walk into an office and eyeball a human to fix it. Oh and as mentioned above, be sure to shop for a bonus as the icing on the cake.

[exodusing]

Is there a consensus on which firm is best for a HNW client that is not looking for investment advice, but wants to make sure non-routine transactions (things that cannot be done easily on the website) will be handled with a minimum of hassle (minimum time, competent assistance)? Or are there favorable and unfavorable anecdotes from all three and no real way to know how representative posted experiences might be?

Can you elaborate on the non-routine transactions that you are referring to?

By non-routine I mean anything that can not be done easily on a website. For example, I had to call in to execute a Specific ID sale (because Vanguard appears to require setting that up in advance of a trade), I had a technical issues on an ACATS transfer out (receiving firm said it was in good order, Vanguard disagreed), I was the executor of my father's estate (which required lots of phone calls), and Vanguard had made a mistake on a TIPS trade. All of these were at Vanguard over a period of years.

That's going to be hit and miss. Even with an assigned Rep. Overall my experience with Schwab, TDAmeritrade, Vanguard and Fidelity, with multiple family deaths in the past 10 years, has been that once you get assigned to the correct "death department", they are excellent. TDAmeritrade is going away (to become Schwab), but any of the other three I think are very good. I've also had good service at ETrade, but there have been no death transfers with them.

You may be overthinking this. Probably Schwab or Fidelity would be best because if you do have a problem, you can walk into an office and eyeball a human to fix it. Oh and as mentioned above, be sure to shop for a bonus as the icing on the cake.

For Vanguard, an assigned rep was especially helpful for the estate work. There was a massive wait if I called the estate dept directly, while if I called my rep, they could connect me almost immediately. I would much rather deal with something online or over the phone than go to an office. I wouldn't turn down a bonus, but avoiding hassles is a much higher priority than getting a bonus.

[Leesbro63]

Is there a consensus on which firm is best for a HNW client that is not looking for investment advice, but wants to make sure non-routine transactions (things that cannot be done easily on the website) will be handled with a minimum of hassle (minimum time, competent assistance)? Or are there favorable and unfavorable anecdotes from all three and no real way to know how representative posted experiences might be?

Can you elaborate on the non-routine transactions that you are referring to?

By non-routine I mean anything that can not be done easily on a website. For example, I had to call in to execute a Specific ID sale (because Vanguard appears to require setting that up in advance of a trade), I had a technical issues on an ACATS transfer out (receiving firm said it was in good order, Vanguard disagreed), I was the executor of my father's estate (which required lots of phone calls), and Vanguard had made a mistake on a TIPS trade. All of these were at Vanguard over a period of years.

That's going to be hit and miss. Even with an assigned Rep. Overall my experience with Schwab, TDAmeritrade, Vanguard and Fidelity, with multiple family deaths in the past 10 years, has been that once you get assigned to the correct "death department", they are excellent. TDAmeritrade is going away (to become Schwab), but any of the other three I think are very good. I've also had good service at ETrade, but there have been no death transfers with them.

You may be overthinking this. Probably Schwab or Fidelity would be best because if you do have a problem, you can walk into an office and eyeball a human to fix it. Oh and as mentioned above, be sure to shop for a bonus as the icing on the cake.

For Vanguard, an assigned rep was especially helpful for the estate work. There was a massive wait if I called the estate dept directly, while if I called my rep, they could connect me almost immediately. I would much rather deal with something online or over the phone than go to an office. I wouldn't turn down a bonus, but avoiding hassles is a much higher priority than getting a bonus.

I agree with all of that. And with communications today, going to an office really isn't necessary and you only get a front-line person anyway. But from time to time it's convenient to have that option.

[Leesbro63]

See my other replies above. Considering all of what I said, above, if I had a gun at my head, I think I'd go with Fidelity. I think LadyGeek recently did that and she knows what she's doing.

[Leesbro63]

One other thing. Something that Fidelity does that none of the others do, that I can see, is to post the summary of all accounts on any page. Meaning this: If you have multiple accounts at the same brokerage, the start page does show all accounts. But once you "go into" any of those accounts, you no longer see the total of all accounts. I have a spreadsheet for each brokerage that I have and it's nice to see the total at the brokerage reconcile with the spreadsheet total for that brokerage. Fidelity is the only one that shows this on any page. The others require you to go back to the summary start page.

[ResearchMed]

I'd also recommend Schwab for many of the questions above.

They have helped us with quite a few non-routine things. As for the "selling", yup, we got some calls and then some emails on an occasional basis, until I said something like, "Look... WE will call YOU if we need something. Please do NOT bother us!" And it all stopped.

But if we need something, first resource is their 24/7 phone support, and also chat, which I have found remarkably effective (a real surprise).

When we moved very elderly MIL across country to Assisted Living Facility near us, Schwab was terrific.
First, they ACCEPTED her existing trust and DPOA (Durable Power of Attorney) forms "as is". They did want to review them, but no problem with that.
We told them she was very old, fully "with it", but had finally told DH, "I'm done with this nonsense, I want *you* to handle ALL of my finances now, please". Schwab never even met her (I find that both good and potentially, uh, not so good... not even a phone call, but she insisted... "nothing financial anymore!!").

Then DH found some tattered old stock certificates. We knew they were probably real b/c she was getting dividends from X every quarter. I brought them to the nearby office and asked them to "please transfer these to her electronic account". They started to tell me how to do it, and I said, "You do this stuff all the time. We have no idea how this is done, so would you please just do it for us?" And they did. They took the tattered papers, and some time later, the stock holdings showed up on her trust account.

Note: None of our accounts with Schwab are large yet. We finally have access to *some* of the "big bucks" at TIAA, so we'll move more to Schwab.

For us, we'll eventually keep both Schwab and TIAA (can't leave them entirely, due to Trad Ann and likelihood of annuitizing at least some), plus a small account at very nearby BoA for occasional cash, etc.
IF we wanted, we could have a Schwab personal rep right near by, to call or visit whenever needed. But we don't. But they are there if needed (e.g., tattered stock certificates, or handling outside trust or DPOA docs).

That seems the best of all worlds, at least for now.

And now that fees are pretty much the same - and close to zero (or actual zero) - in many cases, there's less reason not to use Schwab.

I should add that we liked Vanguard quite a few years ago. It's not the same now. We've left a couple of tiny TIRA accounts there for a while longer... inertia.

And as mentioned above, if there is some serious issue, there's nothing like walking in to speak with someone face to face (assuming they aren't a complete bozo...).

RM

[White Coat Investor]

I've recently learned of a new policy at Fidelity where they do not assign reps to Private Client Group members with self-directed accounts. One has to sign up for wealth management in order to be assigned a rep.

Is there a brokerage house that provides excellent customer service for people who do not want wealth management?

Or should i start looking at options where I pay a fee?

What do you mean by "self-directed" exactly? You just mean not having an advisor? Or do you mean investing in a retirement account into non-traditional investments?

[Hayden]

I've recently learned of a new policy at Fidelity where they do not assign reps to Private Client Group members with self-directed accounts. One has to sign up for wealth management in order to be assigned a rep.

Is there a brokerage house that provides excellent customer service for people who do not want wealth management?

Or should i start looking at options where I pay a fee?

What do you mean by "self-directed" exactly? You just mean not having an advisor? Or do you mean investing in a retirement account into non-traditional investments?

"self-directed" is Fidelity's term. They used it repeatedly in their conversation with me. From what i gathered, they classify people into either "self-directed" or "wealth management". I told them i don't want to pay an AUM fee, and they referred to me as self-directed.