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...with decent customer service in California. Thanks.
I second ING.
They have a great rate and it is easy to set-up and transfer money.
Remember, you asked about a savings account, so you shouldn't be messing around with it too much.
i am checking out hsbc. they have a great APY of 6% thru apr 30, but i'm still trying to figure out what the usual APY w/o the promotion. thanks for all the suggestion. i am a late-bloomer when it comes to financial-saviness. yes, i'm still learning,
usual apy is at or above ing direct. oh, and i agree - the biggest drawback is the crappy interface, but since it's a savings account, you probably won't need to be on there often anyway, right?
Actually, ING Direct just started an "Electric Orange" E-checking account. The rates are great for checking accounts, there are no fees, and everything is completely electronic. I'm thinking about giving it a try....how about good places to have a checking account?
If you have $1000 off the bat for opening deposit, check out AmTrust Direct. 5.36% APY and great CD rates. I'll open a savings acct with them soon -- I've had a CD with them -- great service and no issues.
my checking account is my fidelity core account. all money that i have to write checks with sits in the select money market fund, and then when i write a check they redeem it automatically, transfer it to CA municipal mmf, and then debit the account. so i earn dividends up until the last minute.
What about ACH in/out? What's the rate?
For savings I'm leaning towards Costco Capital one money market 5.20% APY. You need a costco membership.
it's the settlement account for my brokerage account. i can access this money in 5 ways - ach, fed wire transfer (free for me because i meet trade/balance thresholds), checkwriting, visa atm/debit card, and amex delayed debit card. the rate is competitive, but i'm not sure what - you can get it from fidelity.com and lookup up the money funds rates - typically around 4.5-5.5%.
edit: i looked it up, and the 7 day yield is 5.06%. it's lower than ing/hsbc, but i'm willing to take that hit in order for more convenience/have funds ready for investment opportunities.
How much money do we need to open a fidelity core account? I have some stock at the moment (inherited) which are held individually. I was thinking about transfering them to Fidelity just for the easy of operation and in case I want to drop them (if the stock finally goes over $40) and buy some index funds. Is there any advantage to holding stocks individually? I figured if there was a minimum requirement at fidelity I could use the stocks as some kind of relationship deal to get rid of the minimums.
The only advantage to holding stocks individually occurs when that stock drammatically increases in value. Therefore, putting 100% of some sum of $$$ in that one stock will yield more than spreading that same sum of $$$ across multiple stocks in a fund. You are risking more for a potentially larger reward.How much money do we need to open a fidelity core account? I have some stock at the moment (inherited) which are held individually. I was thinking about transfering them to Fidelity just for the easy of operation and in case I want to drop them (if the stock finally goes over $40) and buy some index funds. Is there any advantage to holding stocks individually? I figured if there was a minimum requirement at fidelity I could use the stocks as some kind of relationship deal to get rid of the minimums.
The only advantage to holding stocks individually occurs when that stock drammatically increases in value. Therefore, putting 100% of some sum of $$$ in that one stock will yield more than spreading that same sum of $$$ across multiple stocks in a fund. You are risking more for a potentially larger reward.
Yeah that is what I meanactually, i think what the poster was asking a question regarding holding securities in book-entry or certificate form, as opposed to "street-name" i.e., in a brokerage account. the only advantage could be that you get to look at a cool looking stock certificate (it's why i hold 1 share of a lot of my holdings in certificate form); but then again, if you lose it, you'll have to pay a 3% "insurance fee" to get another one. also, holding stock in your name as opposed to your brokers means that they can't be lent out for short selling, although it probably won't make a difference considering how miniscule our holdings are compared to the daily float. so i guess you should go ahead and deposit the certificates.
Sorry, I guess I was just being thick this morningYeah that is what I mean
How do they normally work dividends when you hold the stock with a broker?
No, no. Honestly I know what I meant to ask but I think I had the financial terms wrong. Sorry about that Google is my friend next timeSorry, I guess I was just being thick this morning
Dividends are just "direct deposited" into your brokerage account when you use a broker.
No, no. Honestly I know what I meant to ask but I think I had the financial terms wrong. Sorry about that Google is my friend next time
Just to talk about savings again:
I'm currently using WaMu's free checking and statement savings (5%) - it's pretty nice if you have WaMu's in your area... interest rates comparable to an online bank but the customer servive of a bricks and mortar (plus free checks! )
http://www.wamu.com/personal/accountchoices/checking/wamufreechecking/default.asp
(you'll see the link slightly down that talkings about opening the savings account with it).
i have a wamu checking account with $0.09 in it - the ONLY reason i have it is because they offer free domestic and international wire transfers, which is a HUGE benefit. the 5% deal is cool, but i'll stick with the 4.62% i'm getting at wells/fidelity - it's not like i have a lot of money that's in cash savings anyway, so a few tenths of a percent doesn't really matter.
Wow. Free international wire transfers?! Is this a standard feature or was that some special limited time thing?
EverBank FreeNet Checking Account is a great online checking account. 6.01% Intro APY with good benefits - checks, free atm, bill pay. Need $1500 to open.how about good places to have a checking account?
Does anyone know if the transfer of money between your checking account and these online savings accounts is qualified as a "wire transfer." I don't want my checking account bank to charge me $30 every time...anyone know?
nope...they are electronic debits that are processed through ACH (automated clearinghouse), not the fedwire system.