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Harmful People: How Full Service Brokers Are Paid to Hurt You

They Are Salespeople, Not Portfolio Managers

A long time ago in places far away from the stock exchange, brokers were needed by anyone wanting to buy any stock. Since deregulation of the industry, and especially since financial platforms were put on the web, anyone can buy and sell stocks, bonds and almost every other type of security with a mere click on a computer.

Succinctly put, if you invest through David Lerner, Edward Jones, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Smith Barney, UBS, or any of the other "full service, full price" brokers, you are being ripped off. You have access to shiny reports, colorful screens, and a seemingly empathetic representative. Unfortunately, you are paying top dollar sales commissions while not getting a scintilla of added value. Brokers, by definition, get paid for transactions. Most of these firms have set up means to smooth out and even exaggerate commissions via schemes like wrap accounts and certain mutual fund platforms. Brokers are paid to get you into these. They are not paid to serve you. Whether they go by the title financial consultant, advisor, whatever, the brokers at the full service firms have one goal ? get your assets into their institution. Once in, the fees and commissions hit hard and then the salesperson's job is to keep you. They are paid handsomely to do so, and you are the one paying them.

How Can Help

gives you the power to shed all the heavy fees imposed by the major brokers. You can double your return on bonds and increase your equity returns by 30% or more by simply moving your assets from a "full service" firm to a discount brokerage. Meanwhile can provide the support you sought from your rep in a completely unbiased fashion whenever you want it. Without wrap fees, commissions, or pressure of any kind, brings to you the reports, projections, and financial info you might expect from the top brokers. also demonstrates how much you can save, or hopefully are already saving, by avoiding full-service brokers.