Читать книгу Investing All-in-One For Dummies - Eric Tyson - Страница 118

A type of account worth checking out at brokerage firms is generally known as an asset management account. When these types of accounts first came into existence decades ago, they really were only for affluent investors. That is no longer the case, although the best deals on such accounts at some firms are available to higher-balance investors.

Brokerage firms enable you to buy and sell stocks, bonds, and other securities. Among the larger brokerage firms or investment companies with substantial brokerage operations you may have read or heard about are Charles Schwab, ETrade, Fidelity, and T.D. Ameritrade. Vanguard has a solid brokerage offering but discontinued their cash management account and is exploring whether to offer another again.

Now, some of these firms have fairly extensive branch office networks, and others don’t. But those that have a reasonable number of branch offices have been able to keep a competitive position because of their extensive customer and asset base and because they aren’t burdened by banking regulations (they aren’t banks) and the costs associated with operating as a bank.

The best of brokerage firm asset management accounts typically enable you to

 Invest in various investments, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds, and hold those investments in a single account.

 Write checks against a money market balance that pays competitive yields.

 Use a Visa or Mastercard debit card for transactions.