Why I stopped using my bank's investment platform for a brokerage account

I had about $15,000 sitting in my bank's managed investment account for two years. The returns were okay, around 4% a year, but I noticed they charged a 1.5% management fee on top of the fund fees. Last spring I moved everything to a discount brokerage and bought a simple index fund with a 0.03% expense ratio. Over the next six months I saved over $200 in fees alone. Has anyone else looked at the fine print on their bank's investment fees? I wish I'd done this sooner.

2 comments

2 Comments

riley8601d agoTop Commenter

Is it just me or does this fee thing creep into everything we do now? I swear I've found hidden charges in my phone plan, my car insurance, even my streaming subscriptions. It's like companies bank on people not reading the small print.

hayden_martin291d ago

Moving everything over to a simple index fund was the best thing I ever did with my savings. My old bank was charging me nearly $200 a year in management fees alone, and after switching I barely pay anything now. The returns actually went up slightly too since I wasn't getting eaten alive by fees. Sometimes you just gotta read the fine print and see where your money is really going.