Scrapps, Dwight, whomever--
Has any of you ever considered using a full-service broker? Mine called me twice before 11 EST this morning: that's what we pay'em for. He calls at least once a day, usually twice. And I live in Italy (okay, his boss is a little upset about the phone bills).
Needless to say you have to get a good one. Commission fees are of course much higher, but they don't nickel and dime you to death over quotes and research reports and whatever, and they're there when you need them. And they can also get you in on IPOs and stuff: since I'm not exactly George Soros I can't get a whole bunch of juicy stuff, but I usually manage to make enough (buy it, sell it half an hour into the session) to pay off my margin interest. It's also easier to buy or sell at the mid; I rarely have a problem with this unless the stock's really screaming, and buying an eighth of a point below ask effectively takes a lot of the sting out of your transaction fees.
Give it a thought. But remember anyway: you can't expect full service from a discount broker.
Janice |
