Just realized my broker had me in the wrong account type for 4 years

I was talking to my buddy Dave last weekend who works at a credit union. He asked what kind of account I had with my broker and I told him... and he just goes "you know that's for people with way more money than you, right?". I looked it up and he was completely spot on. I'd been paying extra fees every quarter for a managed account when I didn't even need half the stuff they were offering. Has anyone else found out their account was a bad match after years of just trusting the person who sold it to you?

2 comments

2 Comments

wright.michael9d ago

Man I felt this one DEEP. Found out my "tax advantage" retirement account was actually set up wrong for three years and I had been paying a penalty every year for contributing too much. The guy who sold it to me just shrugged and said "oh yeah, that happens sometimes." Real confidence builder right there.

garcia.casey9d ago

Damn, I feel this one. Same thing happened to me with a whole life policy my uncle sold me back in the day. Took me five years to realize I was paying way more in fees than I was getting back in growth. I pulled every statement for the last few years and just went line by line, looked up what each fee actually was. Also, call your broker directly and ask them to justify the account in writing. If they can't explain why you need it, that's your answer. Then move your stuff to a simple index fund and walk away.