Tried opening a brokerage account with my credit union and got laughed out of the building

I walked into my local credit union last Tuesday thinking I'd just set up a simple brokerage account alongside my checking. The branch manager spent 15 minutes explaining they only offer CDs and savings accounts, no trading platform at all. She recommended I go talk to a full-service broker down the street who charges 2% fees. I ended up going with Fidelity online instead and paid zero in commissions on my first trade. Did any of you run into banks that just don't do investments at all? It felt like I walked into a hardware store asking for milk.

2 comments

2 Comments

avery_carr573d ago

Yeah I actually kinda get why your credit union said no. A lot of smaller ones just don't have the infrastructure for trading platforms and it's NOT their thing. They're good for loans and basic stuff but investing is a whole different animal. I'd rather have them be honest than try to sell me some half baked product.

caseyl182d ago

Did your friend try asking a big online broker instead? Mine got set up with Vanguard in ten minutes flat.