Posted by on Oct 6, 2019 in Articles & Advice, Blog, Columns, Featured |

Image Credit: Alex Nabaum

By Jason Zweig | Updated Oct. 4, 2019 4:47 pm ET

Freedom isn’t free, and free trades aren’t either.

Charles Schwab Corp. shook the brokerage industry this week when it said it will cut commissions to zero on Oct. 7. Schwab’s move, which followed a similar cut by Interactive Brokers Group Inc. and has already been matched by rivals TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. and E*Trade Financial Corp., is likely to be copied by other big brokers.

You no longer will pay a few bucks in commissions to buy or sell a security at these firms. But Schwab and other brokerage firms are in business to make money, and one way they often do that is by milking clients’ cash. When you trade for free, you still pay—at a different tollbooth.

 

To read the rest of the column:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/your-stock-trades-go-free-but-your-cash-is-in-chains-11570199582

 

For further reading:

Books:

Benjamin Graham, The Intelligent Investor

Jason Zweig, The Devil’s Financial Dictionary

Jason Zweig, Your Money and Your Brain

Jason Zweig, The Little Book of Safe Money

 

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