Is that the kind of business you do? I didnt think there was anyone left in this industry that did transactional biz

That doesnt bother me in the least. We dont get any rev from online trades at WS, er WFA, as it is. 

Yum Kool Aid!

How is that ‘drinking the kool-Aid’?

There is money to be made in trading stocks, contrary to Etrade’s shankapotumus marketing campaign and the whole charge a fee and let someone else pick investments mentaility. I think the point was that your firm is cutting into your potential income, not that other firms aren’t doing the same.

[quote=Gordon Gekko]There is money to be made in trading stocks, contrary to Etrade’s shankapotumus marketing campaign and the whole charge a fee and let someone else pick investments mentaility. I think the point was that your firm is cutting into your potential income, not that other firms aren’t doing the same. [/quote]

Yup

True, but my point is that the whole online trading deal that started in the 90’s was supposed to the same thing, cut into our potential income- but I dont think it has in the least. Most ‘full service’ clients already know they have less costly online options but continue to seek advice. I just dont see ‘free trades’ as competition.

Chazzy,

I think the online mass marketing of investing has cut both ways.  It has created price competition for us and we all have lost business because of it.  On the other hand, it has “created” a huge number of investors so we have more business to get.  I was a broker before Al Gore invented the internet so I have seen both sides.  I’ll take the smaller piece of the much larger pie we have today.

I forgot to add that I would be p!ssed @ff if my own firm was the competition.

No biggy, the setups I trade are insulated. If Joe Shmoe, who’s more worried about paying a fee than net, he’s not a client I would want. Most of my business is transactional. How many trust, endowment or foundation accounts are going to give a crap about a few on-line free trades.

Just to pile on, Mercedes doesn’t complain that Toyota sells more cars. Ruth Chris never complains about Sizzler and A G Edwards never worried about Wall street.

Wells Fargo offering free-online-trades is no differenct in my opinion than firms like Schwab, TD Ameritrade, Fidelity, etc., who work with RIA firms but also have a separate retail division too.  I think its a conflict of interest myself but this conflicting business practice has been around so long I think most Advisors expect something like this these days but don’t have to like it.