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hmmm. well, i just transfered well over 250k but far less than 1 mil to fidelity by closing out my wellstrade account and i did not to think of asking for a bonus. crap. think i should ask for one retroactively?
in the alternate, i have a big pile (for me) at scottrade. if i decide to transfer those assets to F, maybe i could ask for a bonus then and ask them to also take into account what i brought over from wells ...
hmmm. well, i just transfered well over 250k but far less than 1 mil to fidelity by closing out my wellstrade account and i did not to think of asking for a bonus. crap. think i should ask for one retroactively?
in the alternate, i have a big pile (for me) at scottrade. if i decide to transfer those assets to F, maybe i could ask for a bonus then and ask them to also take into account what i brought over from wells ...
Below is Fidelity's bonus breakdown. Also a link to all current offers as of October 1. Scroll down the link for the bonus offers. After reading this I am not transferring all my money to Fidelity Monday but just a partial. I can earn more than the $3750 they offered me by making partial transfers from Scottrade over the ensuing months.
Bonus Breakdown: Deposit $1,000,000+, and receive $2500 Deposit $500,000+, and receive $1200 Deposit $250,000+, and receive $600 Deposit $100,000+, and receive $300 Deposit $50,000+, and receive $200
thanks for that. i just sent the following to fidelity:
hey guys: i've been transferring money into my fidelity accounts, both regular and ira, and did not realize until today, when somebody told me, that the amounts qualify for transfer bonuses and i should definitely ask for them and get pretty upset if they are not forthcoming. i transferred around xxxk in early june and around xxxk in mid september, which according to the bonus breakdown appended below should lead to a $900 bonus at the least. i have substantial assets at scottrade that i'd like to bring over, too, but i want to see how you handle this matter first, because merrill lynch / boa is always another option. please let me know. best, xxxxxx Bonus Breakdown: Deposit $1,000,000+, and receive $2500 Deposit $500,000+, and receive $1200 Deposit $250,000+, and receive $600 Deposit $100,000+, and receive $300 Deposit $50,000+, and receive $200
Howdy @linter I do believe Fidelity will satisfy your request.
Side note: We've had accounts with Fidelity since the late 1970's. Several years ago we decided to take a decent profit in one sector and move monies into another sector. Twas' a busy day and I pulled a large sum of monies from the wrong fund (I'll name this "ticker brain fart"). The "wrong" fund from which the money was pulled had recently received money. This fund also had (if I recall properly) a 90 day short term trading fee attached at 3/4%. Several days later when I was reviewing our holdings I discovered the error and the .75% fee charged to the IRA account involved. I penned a short, gracious and courteous internal email to Fidelity about "my" error. Within the next business day they reversed the transaction and refunded the fee. I thanked them for their understanding in the matter and expressed that I would continue to recommend their organization to others regarding investments. Regards, Catch
well, fidelity said no, it's against federal regs to give bonuses after the move is complete.
here's the note i got from f:
Thank you for following up with us regarding our promotional offers. I am happy to further assist you with this information! I have reviewed your request, and I am happy to address your concerns regarding these promotions. FINRA requires that in order for an award to be considered a promotion, the award must be the reason you are transferring the account. You stated that you were not aware of the promotional offer until after you had transferred your assets, so we are unable to consider these assets towards our promotional offers. The only time we are able to retroactively award a promotional offer to an account is when we have documentation that you have spoken with a representative about the promotion prior to transferring the assets to Fidelity.
Hi @linter Sorry to read about the FINRA requirement relative to your account. Thank you for posting the legal aspects of this type of transaction. Regards, Catch
well, fidelity said no, it's against federal regs to give bonuses after the move is complete.
here's the note i got from f:
Thank you for following up with us regarding our promotional offers. I am happy to further assist you with this information! I have reviewed your request, and I am happy to address your concerns regarding these promotions. FINRA requires that in order for an award to be considered a promotion, the award must be the reason you are transferring the account. You stated that you were not aware of the promotional offer until after you had transferred your assets, so we are unable to consider these assets towards our promotional offers. The only time we are able to retroactively award a promotional offer to an account is when we have documentation that you have spoken with a representative about the promotion prior to transferring the assets to Fidelity.
I decided against moving to Fidelity. Scottrade gave me a competing dollar offer to keep my money there. Not quite as much as Fidelity but I wasn't that enthusiastic anyway about leaving Scottrade which has been good to me over the years. That would seem to conflict with the above from Fidelity. You would think if Scottrade could simply credit my account for keeping my money there Fidelity could have found a way to work around their so called FINRA issue.
The Scottrade response seems consistent with Fidelity's interpretation of FINRA rules.
What linter did was go to Fidelity and say: "please give me money". Asked for a gift.
With Scottrade, Junkster said: I will refrain from closing my account; in consideration, you will add $X to my account. Quid pro quo (something for something), not a gift.
Now linter might go back to Fidelity and try making the same offer - I will refrain from moving my money out for some consideration ($$$). I don't know how Fidelity would react (it might even say: goodbye, we don't need your accounts), but that offer might keep Fidelity's lawyers satisfied.
Of course none of this is legal advice, just some observations based on what was described.
msf: i can see your point about my request. when it comes to moving, scottrade is one option but the folks at boa/merrill have been very good to me, and helpful. then again, the easiest thing is to just stay put.
@linter: Since you now have the name of a contact at Fidelity (the person who responded to your note) maybe a gentle inquiry as to whether under the circumstances they could consider "enhancing" their inducement for a largish future transfer?
Worrying about a brokerage firm going belly up, especially one like Schwab, is not really warranted, Vintage. Your holdings are protected under SIPC, even cash up to a very high amount. The issue I have with the smaller firms (like Scottrade) is they are likely takeover targets, as we are now seeing. They may or may not provide great service to clients, but we should be mindful of the financial disadvantage under which they operate. Each company has some things we might really like and use a lot, but that can change pretty quickly. If, as many expect, a lot of active funds will be biting the dust in the next few years because of performance, lack of dollars, M&A, legal problems, etc., it might be prudent to look at what index funds and ETFs are available at the bigger custodians, not to mention expenses for each, trading costs, trading restrictions, and overall account expenses/fees, and technology available to customers. I am not saying your fears are unjustified. I am suggesting that all investors should understand the ever-smaller margins firms have to deal with and the probable decisions that result from that, especially the smaller custodians that each of us might like. Another factor in all this are the ever-expanding federal regulations forced upon all in the securities industry. Dodd-Frank was a killer, and the newer regs just get more and more numerous, no matter how redundant, unnecessary, and strange many of them are. They all cost firms mega dollars to enact, monitor, and report, not to mention the hundreds of hours and larger and larger compliance staff needed to oversee. Companies have to offset these ever-growing expenses somehow, whether it is higher fees to customers/clients or even deciding a merger/acquisition is a better option.
We deal with client account transfers on a daily basis, and it is still surprising the road blocks different custodians throw at account owners. Fees here, fees there. Fidelity's comment about not waiving a fee is baloney. This is just not true. But think what it means to Fidelity, a $50 fee times many thousands of accounts is a nice chunk of change, and that is just the tip of the iceberg for them.
I spoke with my local Scottrade broker on Thursday about this issue and then in an email Friday. The response was that these "reports" are only rumors. I'm unconvinced.
What does this do exactly, anyone know? Will Scottrade brand be retained? How about the trading policies, commissions and minimums - which are now like Schwab's $100 for mutual funds?
Wish there was an easy way to identify which fund NTF at Scottrade were not at Ameritrade. I would sell them now to avoid hefty commissions.
What is the consensus on the board? Stick with Ameritrade or bail?
Following the finalization of the merger, the Scottrade name will be phased out, including at the Scottrade Center arena downtown, home of the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues. The arena's name will be changed to TD Ameritrade Center
Scottrade employees will be eliminated:
"After the integration, we'll have between 500 and 1,000 jobs in the St. Louis area," Hockey said, adding that Scottrade's 3,700 employees nationwide will total about half that figure following the sale.
@VintageFreak, I would give them a bit of time to get organized but eventually I'd call customer service and ask them to grandfather Scottrade's pricing for you or whatever you'd like to keep. I did that successfully many years ago during another combination but I'm pretty sure I waited until the merger was complete before I made my request.
@LLJB. I've successfully gotten over falling in love with ANY fund. So I don't want my shares to be grandfathered. I'm okay selling any fund. My problem is I don't want them charging my hefty commissions.
What about $100 minimum to buy? Schwab started and Scottrade and Etrade followed. Dunno about Ameritrade.
@LLJB. I've successfully gotten over falling in love with ANY fund. So I don't want my shares to be grandfathered. I'm okay selling any fund. My problem is I don't want them charging my hefty commissions.
What about $100 minimum to buy? Schwab started and Scottrade and Etrade followed. Dunno about Ameritrade.
@VintageFreak, I didn't mean anything related to shares. I was talking about a request to grandfather the commissions you're paying at Scottrade, or other fees that the brokerage decides for themselves, since they should be lower than the ones TDA charges.
@lljb, that's awesome, but also too good to be true. I doubt they will grandfather Scottrade commissions. My prior experience with TDAmeritrade is not good and I closed my account. It was the about the time TD bought Ameritrade things went bad for me.
I guess I don't have much of a choice. Like chosing President this election. Not many options.
Comments
in the alternate, i have a big pile (for me) at scottrade. if i decide to transfer those assets to F, maybe i could ask for a bonus then and ask them to also take into account what i brought over from wells ...
Bonus Breakdown:
Deposit $1,000,000+, and receive $2500
Deposit $500,000+, and receive $1200
Deposit $250,000+, and receive $600
Deposit $100,000+, and receive $300
Deposit $50,000+, and receive $200
http://www.hustlermoneyblog.com/best-brokerage-bonuses/
hey guys: i've been transferring money into my fidelity accounts, both regular and ira, and did not realize until today, when somebody told me, that the amounts qualify for transfer bonuses and i should definitely ask for them and get pretty upset if they are not forthcoming.
i transferred around xxxk in early june and around xxxk in mid september, which according to the bonus breakdown appended below should lead to a $900 bonus at the least.
i have substantial assets at scottrade that i'd like to bring over, too, but i want to see how you handle this matter first, because merrill lynch / boa is always another option
best,
xxxxxx
Bonus Breakdown:
Deposit $1,000,000+, and receive $2500
Deposit $500,000+, and receive $1200
Deposit $250,000+, and receive $600
Deposit $100,000+, and receive $300
Deposit $50,000+, and receive $200
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
we shall see!
I do believe Fidelity will satisfy your request.
Side note: We've had accounts with Fidelity since the late 1970's. Several years ago we decided to take a decent profit in one sector and move monies into another sector. Twas' a busy day and I pulled a large sum of monies from the wrong fund (I'll name this "ticker brain fart"). The "wrong" fund from which the money was pulled had recently received money. This fund also had (if I recall properly) a 90 day short term trading fee attached at 3/4%. Several days later when I was reviewing our holdings I discovered the error and the .75% fee charged to the IRA account involved. I penned a short, gracious and courteous internal email to Fidelity about "my" error. Within the next business day they reversed the transaction and refunded the fee. I thanked them for their understanding in the matter and expressed that I would continue to recommend their organization to others regarding investments.
Regards,
Catch
Barron's
here's the note i got from f:
Thank you for following up with us regarding our promotional offers. I am happy to further assist you with this information!
I have reviewed your request, and I am happy to address your concerns regarding these promotions. FINRA requires that in order for an award to be considered a promotion, the award must be the reason you are transferring the account. You stated that you were not aware of the promotional offer until after you had transferred your assets, so we are unable to consider these assets towards our promotional offers. The only time we are able to retroactively award a promotional offer to an account is when we have documentation that you have spoken with a representative about the promotion prior to transferring the assets to Fidelity.
Sorry to read about the FINRA requirement relative to your account.
Thank you for posting the legal aspects of this type of transaction.
Regards,
Catch
What linter did was go to Fidelity and say: "please give me money". Asked for a gift.
With Scottrade, Junkster said: I will refrain from closing my account; in consideration, you will add $X to my account. Quid pro quo (something for something), not a gift.
Now linter might go back to Fidelity and try making the same offer - I will refrain from moving my money out for some consideration ($$$). I don't know how Fidelity would react (it might even say: goodbye, we don't need your accounts), but that offer might keep Fidelity's lawyers satisfied.
Of course none of this is legal advice, just some observations based on what was described.
We deal with client account transfers on a daily basis, and it is still surprising the road blocks different custodians throw at account owners. Fees here, fees there. Fidelity's comment about not waiving a fee is baloney. This is just not true. But think what it means to Fidelity, a $50 fee times many thousands of accounts is a nice chunk of change, and that is just the tip of the iceberg for them.
BBG reporting the TD-Scottrade deal may be announced tomorrow. Le sigh...
Now the Bloomberg story.
I spoke with my local Scottrade broker on Thursday about this issue and then in an email Friday. The response was that these "reports" are only rumors. I'm unconvinced.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/24/td-ameritrade-td-bank-to-buy-scottrade-for-4-billion.html
Wish there was an easy way to identify which fund NTF at Scottrade were not at Ameritrade. I would sell them now to avoid hefty commissions.
What is the consensus on the board? Stick with Ameritrade or bail?
http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/td-ameritrade-buying-rival-brokerage-scottrade-for-billion-stl-will/article_e328c4c0-5525-59f1-ae60-8f603964cd7d.html
What about $100 minimum to buy? Schwab started and Scottrade and Etrade followed. Dunno about Ameritrade.
TD has minimum buys of 100 and 250 on the low-end for many funds I've stumbled across over the years, so I think you'd probably be okay.
I guess I don't have much of a choice. Like chosing President this election. Not many options.