FYI: Q. We are paying 2.2 percent in fees to Merrill Lynch. I don't think I can tolerate that. We have some Merrill Lynch investments, so if we move our money to another firm, say at .9 percent or 1 percent, will we have to sell the Merrill Lynch properties and pay taxes on that? They are in an IRA worth about $340,000.
Will a move benefit us? We are not buying or selling that much anymore, so do we need an "advisor"? We are 72 and 74 years old. We sell only what we are required to sell by the IRS. —A.B., by email.
A. Since the money appears to be in a tax-deferred account, you could sell anything that needed to be sold without tax consequences— unless you take the proceeds out of the account. You could also transfer all non-proprietary investments— such as individual stocks and bonds, many mutual funds and all exchange traded funds—to your new custodian and sell them at your leisure and at your new brokerage commission rate
Regards,
Ted
http://assetbuilder.com/scott_burns/some_alternatives_to_expensive_brokerage_accounts
