Is It Time to Move to a New Broker in 2024?

Investing money in a brokerage account is a great way to build your wealth. But you don't want to invest with just any broker -- you'll want to pick the right one.

If you already have your money invested somewhere, you may be tempted to stick with the status quo. And sometimes that makes sense. In other situations, though, a change could potentially help you improve your financial situation so you end up with more money in your account in the end.

So, how do you know if it's time to move to a new broker in 2024? Ask yourself these three questions to help you decide if a switch would be best for your personal finances.

1. Is your broker charging you any fees?

There are a number of potential fees your broker could charge you including:

• Commissions for executing trades: This is what you'd pay when you buy and sell.
• Transaction fees: You might pay these when buying mutual funds.
• Management/advisory fees: You'd pay this if your investments are managed by an individual broker or by a robo-advisor that uses an algorithm to invest.
• Account fees for certain accounts: Such as for a solo 401(k).
• Inactivity fees: You could be charged if you don't make a certain number of trades.

There are plenty of brokerage firms that won't charge you any money for using their services, buying assets, or maintaining accounts with them. If you are being charged fees, you should likely look into switching to a brokerage firm that won't eat into your returns by taking part of your money.

2. Do you have a good selection of investments you're interested in?

Some brokers offer a wide selection of ETFs, while others may provide more access to mutual funds. Some, but not all, also allow you to trade other assets, like cryptocurrencies. You'll want to be sure that the brokerage firm you are working with provides many choices for the kinds of investments you are interested in.

For example, many of the best brokerage firms for mutual funds charge no transaction fees, offer tons of no-load mutual funds to choose from, and give you access to great fund screeners that make it easy to find the funds you're looking for.

If you find yourself frustrated by your investment selection with your broker, definitely make a switch. You don't want to be unable to follow through on your investment strategy because your broker doesn't make the assets you want available to you.

3. Are you comfortable with the trading platform?

Some brokerage firms, like Charles Schwab, offer an amazing desktop trading platform that has tons of features including advanced charting tools. These features can be great for active traders, but could be overwhelming to the beginner who just wants to buy a few shares of an ETF.

Others, like Robinhood, are well-known for having a simple intuitive mobile trading platform that just about anyone can use to quickly and simply trade stocks and other assets.

If you find your current brokerage firm's trading platform lacks features you need, or isn't comfortable for you to use, why not switch to a broker that offers a better platform that meets your needs?

If you spot any of these signs, start researching a new brokerage firm today. There is no reason to settle for less when it comes to successfully investing the money you worked so hard to put aside for your future.