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Banc of America Online Investing review 2010: high trading commissions and average trading tools.
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Banc of America Brokerage Commissions and Investments Offered (2010)
- Equities: $14 per trade ($10 for checking account customers)
- Telephone Orders: $32.50. Broker Assisted Trades: $42.50
- Options commission: $19.95 + $1.50 per contract
- Mutual Funds: 1,900 no transaction fee mutual funds, except when mutual fund shares held for 90 days or less are exchanged or redeemed
$45 minimum per transaction for non-NTF funds
- Bonds: call 1.800.926.1111 to get pricing
- Investment products: stocks, treasury bills, notes & bonds, govt. agencies, municipal notes & bonds, corporate bonds, mutual funds, ETFs
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. was bought by Bank of America Corporation, one of the largest financial institutions in
the world, creating a banking and wealth management franchise.
Banc of America Online Investment trading tools are just average and not what you would expect from one of the
largest financial institutions in the world. Even more surprisingly, you might get errors when you try to
modify your orders. Good charts but terrible stock screener. There is access to market commentary by Standard & Poor's and
Dorsey Wright & Associates. Individual stock research is provided by Standard & Poor's, Argus Research and First Call
Earnings Valuation Reports provided by Thompson Financial.
- Very high trading costs for all investment classes
- Poor customer service
- Semiannual maintenance fee: $50 (waived with personal checking account relationship)
- IRA termination fee: $75
- Messy account opening process
- Full service brokerage available for wealthy investors
- Free dividend reinvestment
- Minimum to open: $0
Banc of America Online Investments (website Baisidirect.com) bought troubled Merrill Lynch for a fraction of the
price during financial meltdown in the late 2008 and, in theory, together they should be able to offer a lot more
to their customers. The firm offers a self-managed brokerage services as well as wealth management solutions.
But how could you trust to manage your money to the company that can't manage its
own money?
Investment costs with Banc of America Investment Services are very high: $14 for stock trades and $19.95 + $1.50 per contract for options.
And you are not even getting a stellar customer service which is a must for a high-end brokerage house.
$50 semiannual maintenance fee, which almost no other broker is charging, is not helping either.
Banc of America offers no real advantages over other
online brokerage firms.
We can't recommend Baisidirect.com for any type of account - there are much better
brokerage firms with low commissions.
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