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Conference nyoss1::market_investing

Title:Market Investing
Moderator:2155::michaud
Created:Thu Jan 23 1992
Last Modified:Thu Jun 05 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1060
Total number of notes:10477

521.0. "Charles Scwabb for No-Load investing?" by MKOTS3::COUTURE (Gary Couture - NH Sales Support) Thu Jul 08 1993 17:01

Now that Charles Schwabb (along with a couple others) is offering to trade 
certain no-load mutual funds for "no fee's" I am considering consolidating 
most of my no loads under their control.  It appears that the benefits of a 
single monthly statement, a single number to call for buy/trade/sell and 
account  changes makes it worth the switch.  They have recently added several 
big no-load families like Janus, 20th Cent, Financial-Invesco, Berger, Kaufman.
Rumor (Money Magazine) says they are negotiating with T Rowe Price too.

Has anyone else tried using Schwabb for their no-load fund investments?  Are
there any drawbacks?  They claim they make their money from the funds (small 
portion of mgmt fees) and that you can transfer shares into their control and
back out later if you change your mind.

thanks


Gary

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521.1I say go for it!KYOA::BOYLEDirty Jobs Done Dirt CheapFri Jul 09 1993 11:0414
    I use schwab for my accounts for both individual equities and mutual
    funds.  The no load feature is nice, the one statement feature is nice. 
    However, for me, the best feature is having a common cash account to
    sell into and buy from allowing purchases of equities or mutual funds
    typically the day you call.  
    
    In addition, many transactions can be handled via the phone for a 10%
    commission savings.  Of course, their commissions are higher than some,
    bu I feel the quick response and some of the touchtone phone features
    are worth it!
    
    For what its worth,
    
    Jack Boyle  dtn 323-4448
521.2More questions.BROKE::SHAHAmitabh "Drink DECAF: Commit Sacrilege"Fri Jul 09 1993 11:2016
	Re. .0

	I was under the impression that Schwab does not handle 20th Century
	yet. Is that a recent addition? Do they also handle Scudder?

	Does Schwab charge anything for transferring current accounts in
	mutual funds to them? Of course, I can always close the current 
	accounts and open new ones, but that will involve some capital gains. 

	Also, can you DCA into the mutual funds via Schwab?

	While the idea of consolidating everything into one account is
	appealing, they charge about 10-15$ more for stock and options trading
	than my current broker (Waterhouse). At my usual 30-50 transactions
	per year, I'm wondering is the loss of $400-500 is worth this
	simplification. 
521.3NO DCAASDG::MISTRYFri Jul 09 1993 12:188
     
   >>	Also, can you DCA into the mutual funds via Schwab?

    
    This it seems to me is the main disadvantage.  As far as I know, one
    cannot DCA into individual funds in the account.
    
    Kaizad
521.4I talked to Charles Schwabb...MKOTS3::COUTUREGary Couture - NH Sales SupportFri Jul 09 1993 12:3630
I just met with a broker at Charles Schwabb in Mancherster NH this morning and
picked up all the forms.  There are no fees for the 90+ no-load funds they 
currently carry.  They are adding a bunch more next week.  There is no charge 
for transfering funds you currently own from the fund family to their control. 
There is also no fee if you choose to transfer them back.  Some fund families
do charge for the transfer but I think that was mostly loaded fund families.

20TH Century is one of the no fee funds. They have also just added Berger, 
Montgomerry Emerging Markets (Bob Brinker's favorite), Kauffman (a super
aggressive great performing fund), Janus Mercury, etc.


You can Dollar cost average into multiple funds within each account (IRA, 
SEP IRA, or individual)!  They have whats called a Automatic Investment Program
with a minimum of 50$/month per fund.
In addition, if your bi-weekly/monthly automatic investments aren't enough to 
meet the minimum investment for a particular fund, they will park it in a
money market until it builds up.

After looking everyhting over the only drawback I can see is the fine print 
which says they reserve the right to cancel the no-fee program and start 
charging for transactions.  But based on the fact that this program has been 
extremely successfull for C.S. I don't think they will do it.  The broker told
me that they had to beg funds to join up with them initially (1 year contracts)
but this year they had funds banging on their door to join.  Some funds said 
that they grew their business enormously since allowing CS to sell for them.

I've got all the data in the car if anyone has any questions.
gary

521.5UGMA?ASDG::WATSONDiscover AmericaFri Jul 09 1993 13:394
    
    	Will Schwabb also handle UGMA accounts?
    	
    	Bob
521.6yesSAHQ::ROSENKRANZC'mon baby, drive south!Fri Jul 09 1993 13:551
    
521.7SFC01::SFC01::SMITHPWritten but not readFri Jul 09 1993 16:252
This seems to be a trend. Fidelity Investments is adding this feature in a week
or two.
521.8its the trendMKOTS3::COUTUREGary Couture - NH Sales SupportFri Jul 09 1993 16:5312
Its just like the computer business,


brokering is becoming a commodity business, customers are getting smarter and
making their own investment decisions and choosing no-loads at a frantic
rate.  so you either join the herd or become a dinosaur!

I expect that Schwabb will have most popular no-loads within a couple years. 
Question is whether they can get the giants like Vanguard and Price.

g.

521.9Yes, they do.SOLVIT::CHENFri Jul 09 1993 17:346
    re: .8
    
    They do carry Vanguard and T. Rowe Price. But, I am not sure if they
    carry all of their funds.
    
    Mike
521.10must be NTFMKOTS3::COUTUREGary Couture - NH Consultant - SalesSat Jul 10 1993 09:1610
you ar right. Schwab does carry many funds like Vanguard and Price but they are
not part of their "No Transaction Fee" NTF program.  They will sell you just
about any no-load fund, but if its not listed as a NTF fund then they charge
a tranaction fee which is based upon a % of the transaction amount with a 
minimum charge of about $40.  Currently they ���have about 130 no-load funds
which ase NTF, no fees to buy��/sell, including 20th, janus, berger, invesco,
etc.

gary

521.11SOLVIT::CHENMon Jul 12 1993 11:4611
    re: .10
    
    When I talked to the Schwab rep. I specifically asked him if there's
    going to be any charge for transferring these accounts over. And, he
    told me no. He said Schwab will not charge anything for transferring
    the accounts. But, you have to check with your individual fund family
    to see if "they" would charge anything for doing so. He didn't mention
    anything about NTF. I'll call them again when I get a chance.
    
    Mike
    
521.12TRANSFER FEE FOR REGULAR ACCOUNT???JUPITR::KRAJMon Jul 12 1993 13:4010
    
    DOES ANYBODY KNOW SPCIFIC DEATILS OF WHO CHARGES TRANSACTION FEE FOR
    TRANSFERING THE ACCOUNT TO CHARLES SCHWABB.
    
    I AM PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN JANUS,INVESCO AND 20TH.
    
    THANKS
    
    === RAJ
    
521.13Don't the NTF fund kick .25% back?SFC01::SFC01::SMITHPWritten but not readMon Jul 12 1993 19:558
    re: .0
    
    The current issue of Money talks about this. If I recall correctly the 
    no-loads that schwabb/fidelity/etc... handle as NTF funds kick .25%
    of funds invested back to schwabb/fidelity/etc... The .25% gets  rolled
    into the general fund expenses and is reported as part of the expense
    ratio.
                                                             
521.14One more question.BROKE::SHAHAmitabh "Drink DECAF: Commit Sacrilege"Fri Jul 16 1993 16:242
Can you place limit orders when buying mutual funds? 
I would find this very useful, personally. 
521.15Have a cup of Sanka, then decideVMSDEV::HALLYBFish have no concept of fireSat Jul 17 1993 21:364
    The Benham group (1-800-4SAFETY) allows limit orders on many of their
    mutual funds.  Most families don't.
    
      John
521.16Limit orders on funds - nice idea - but ...BRASS::KRIEGERThink positive, make a difference every dayMon Jul 19 1993 09:2012
    
    limit orders on mutual funds implies a short term trader .vs. long term
    investor mentality that most mutual fund managers perfer. Yes it would
    be nice if you could buy/sell a mutual fund if it hits a specific
    price. I personally can not see a fund manager wanting to do this in
    terms of the increased overhead and volatility ( buys/sells ) this
    would cause ... your mileage may differ ...
    
    BTW - Fidelity does not allow limit orders on ANY of their funds ...
    
    jim krieger
    
521.17They just added....SPECXN::KANNANMon Jul 19 1993 10:5711
  ...a whole bunch of new families of funds:

           Janus
           20th century
           Newberger & Berman
           ....about 20 more families

    Check them out!

    Nari
521.18BROKE::SHAHAmitabh "Drink DECAF: Commit Sacrilege"Mon Jul 19 1993 11:5811
	Re. .16

	Oh, I understand that. Indeed, many MF's also limit the number of 
	switches one can do in or out of a fund in a calendar year. Perhaps
	the limit orders can also be restricted as such. I would still find
	this feature quite useful.

	PS. Are there a lot of Waterhouse customers here? If so, and if you 
	find the Schwab scheme appealing, would you call the Waterhouse 
	customer service and let them know that they should do it too? :-).
	(I find the idea of getting junk mail from only one place very good.)