Choosing a new bank & brokerage

[CBnCO]

All,

We are in the process of consolidating our cash and moving away from a full service investment advisor that we are not satisfied with. It seems the more well known names (Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard, E-Trade, etc..) have really solid trading products and platfoms; but, the online banks (Ally, CapitalOne, etc..) pay considerably more in interest on cash balances (checking & savings). We'd love to have a one stop shop where we can have all of our investing, retirement, and banking consolidated into a single online portal; but, my head is spinning after doing the research...anyone here have any suggestions?

Thanks!

[VoteCthulu]

I suggest doing your banking at a bank (local or national), and doing your investment at a brokerage (Vanguard, Fidelity, etc.)

The former don't generally have good low priced investment platforms, and the latter don't offer services like cashier's checks, automated billpay, ATMs, etc.

[Frankies Girl]

Have your investment accounts with a good investment company (Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab) and have your bank accounts at a good bank (Ally is the one I really like).

You can link them up so there's no reason to have to do a one stop shop. It is SUPER easy to transfer back and forth online once the accounts are linked.

I have my investment portfolio with Fidelity and my banking with Ally. I do have a checking account still with Chase just to have a brick and mortar place, but Ally has great customer service and if you don't foresee the need for any physical location, you couldn't do much better than Ally for your actual banking needs.

[Rob_bob]

I'm with TDAmeritrade and have it linked to my Ally account. Easy to move money back and forth.  My taxable account is a margin account so I don't have to wait for the incoming funds to clear if I'm in a hurry to buy something.  That wouldn't work for an IRA account though but I've already maxed it out so can't move more cash there anyway.

[grantmeaname]

Charles Schwab operates a reasonably good online bank if you need a one-stop shop, but I’ll echo the above and say you probably don’t.

[Steeze]

I 2nd the TD AMERITRADE / Ally bank set up. Bonus if you use HSA bank and invest it with TD. No worries at all with the ATM either, Ally has plenty and reimburses fees otherwise. Only pain is if you get paid in cash all the time as deposits are not straight forward. I get checks so it's great for us.

[GizmoTX]

Multiple banks diversify your risk; in this age of hacks & fraud, you want more than one basket. Checking, savings, & investments should each be handled by the bank that gives you the most for the least.

Schwab offers a great checking account -- no minimums, mobile deposit, free checks, free ATM anywhere in the world. Its bill pay doesn't deduct scheduled payments until actually cashed. We also use Schwab for our brokerage investments, as we've negotiated the lowest fees & it has a very supportive local office.

We have a Wells Fargo checking account for brick & mortar services. Currently we have this account set up to pay recurring bills (with constant amounts) automatically. A monthly direct deposit automatically funds it & makes the account free. We rarely write checks out of this account.

Savings (emergency & parked cash) are in an online account that pays at least 1.5% -- we like Ally, Synchrony, & CIT. These can & should be linked to your main checking account.

[katsiki]

This may not be exactly what you are looking for, but there are many benefits to the Fidelity Cash Management Account.  If you have not explored it, it may be worth a look.  Two nice benefits: free checks and ATM rebates worldwide.