3 Reasons to Take Control of Your Investments

Any advisor or bank executive would love nothing more than for you to hand over your hard-earned assets to one of their managed account programs. Many of the large discount brokerages -- Vanguard, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab, among others -- offer free online stock and exchange traded fund (ETF) trading. Managed investment programs at large banks or investment firms -- pooled funds that trade in and out of stocks according to market conditions and an investment mandate -- can cost anywhere from 1% to 3% of assets invested.