Broker Account Transfer Fees: What It Costs to Switch Brokers

Switching is the Hotel California of investing. You can check out any time you like, but leaving costs $75.

- ACATS transfers run $75 to $100 per account; always ask the receiving broker to reimburse it - The fee is not the scandal; the unread schedule is - Expect about nine days: request submitted, old broker verifies, positions move, cash sweeps, cost basis trails behind - Partial transfers first if you are nervous: watch it land, then move the rest - Stop chasing promos every eighteen months; each move costs fees and paperwork

Before you open anywhere, BrokerMatch ($2.99 one-time) shows exit fees next to entrance promos, so the switch is planned, not painful.