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From Mark Ford, founder, Palm Beach Research Group: My colleagues think I’m a spendthrift. Why?
Because I use a full-service broker.
They use online discount brokers. They tell me I’m crazy to pay some guy a ton of money to do what I can do myself.
They may be right. But these colleagues of mine (in case you’ve never golfed with them) are the real cheapskates. I could tell you stories…
Instead, let’s talk about stockbrokers. Let’s talk about what these guys are supposed to do, what they actually do, how much you think they are charging you, and how much you’re actually paying.
There are two types of stockbrokers: full service and online discount.
A full-service broker gives financial advice, makes stock recommendations, answers your questions, supervises your account, and executes orders.
An online discount broker just executes your orders.
Full-service brokers usually charge you 1-2% of the assets they’re managing for you each year. If, for example, you have $100,000 with them, they’ll charge you $1,000 to $2,000 to manage it.
Some full-service brokers offer commission-based accounts. With these, you pay the broker a fixed amount on each transaction.
Online discount brokers charge a small fee for every transaction. If you don’t trade, you don’t pay anything.
If spending as little as possible is your objective, an online discount broker is the way to go.
But for many people—particularly older people—having someone you know who will answer your phone calls and explain your monthly statements is a considerable value.
I use a full-service broker. And I pay him good money. But I ask a lot of him.
For one thing, he is responsible for keeping up with the portfolios the Palm Beach Research Group puts together for subscribers.
To do that, he has to read all the issues and execute all the recommendations in a timely and consistent manner. If he ever reads a recommendation that falls outside of my super-risk-averse orientation, he notifies me and we discuss it.
My broker also provides me with a customized monthly report broken down by portfolio. (I designed it so I can understand it.) He comes to my office whenever I want (usually once a month) to go over everything. He answers all my questions thoroughly, gives me any research I ask for, and answers my emails and phone calls promptly.
None of what I have described so far is enormously time-consuming for him. Nor does it require any particular genius. After all, my broker is not doing original research or making recommendations. He is following the research and recommendations made in The Palm Beach Letter.
But if he didn’t guide me through trades, I would never do them. I’m just not interested in that kind of work. My time is better spent doing other things.
So I’m happy to pay my broker commission just for keeping me up to speed with the Palm Beach Research Group’s recommendations. But he does much more than that.
For one thing, he manages a proprietary options strategy I dreamed up for what I call “Legacy stocks.” Again, without his help, I’d never do this.
He provides the same high level of personalized service to my three boys and my mother-in-law—even though their accounts are much smaller.
I’m not very interested in talking about the financial markets, but when something happens that will affect my stock account, he makes sure I’m forewarned. For example, we once spent 20 minutes talking about the dramatic change in the Fed’s bank lending rate and what it would mean for my stock and bond portfolio.
And every so often, he brings me a sweet deal on an IPO—something he can get for me because I’m such a “good” client.
I feel safe with my broker because he respects my sentiments. He knows I’d rather make a slightly lower rate of return when the markets are strong if that can protect me from getting stomped when the markets turn against me.
He also adheres to my “never-lose-money” rule by monitoring my asset allocations and minimizing volatility in my accounts.
As you can see, I get a lot of value from my relationship with my full-service broker. And that’s why I’m happy to pay his fee. He charges me 1% of the total dollar value of my stocks and options each year, but not for the value of my bonds or cash.
In other words, if I have $5 million in stocks and options and another $5 million in cash and bonds with him, I pay him $50,000 per year.
If you have a lot of money, make a lot of money, and don’t want to manage your stocks, you should consider getting a good full-service broker like mine.
But if you don’t have a lot of money, don’t make a lot of money, or enjoy following the recommendations published by the Palm Beach Research Group and executing your own transactions, you should definitely consider using an online discount broker.