5 Advantages & 5 Things to Beware of Investing in Multiple Brokerage Accounts

By Chika

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Last Updated: February 5, 2022

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If you want to start investing in the stock market, your first step is setting up a brokerage account.

A brokerage account can be thought of as the medium through which you can participate in the stock market as a trader or investor. 

A brokerage account is comparable to a regular checking or savings account in that you can transfer money in and out of it, and there is no limit to the number of accounts you can open.

Brokers can also execute trades on your behalf, and many of the best brokerage firms also provide tailored services and market data to assist you in making financial decisions.

Is it, however, wiser to have a single brokerage account where you deposit all of your money?

Or should you diversify your investment portfolio by opening various accounts with different financial institutions?

This article examines if it is worth owning multiple brokerage accounts, and when it would be appropriate to do so. 

 

5 Things to Beware of If You’re Thinking About Having Multiple Brokerage Accounts

1. Your investments are likely the same

When you own too many brokerage accounts, chances are that you own the same investments.

Far too often, investors may think that they are diversifying by having four to five different brokerage accounts, but in reality, the investments they own at each brokerage are the same or very similar.

When your investments across many brokerage accounts are identical, you aren't truly building a more diverse portfolio, and you may be affecting the overall performance of your portfolio.

 

2. More difficult to manage

Having numerous brokerage accounts also implies extra work for you because it is considerably more difficult to maintain on an ongoing basis, particularly in terms of rebalancing and risk reduction.

When you wish to adjust your portfolio allocations to avoid taking on greater risk when the market moves, you rebalance.

The more brokerage accounts you have, the more communication you will receive, in the form of statements and emails. Juggling so many accounts may also make it more difficult to keep track of your portfolio and overall asset allocation (stocks and bonds).

Want to learn more about investing? Read this next: The Top 5 Most Common Stock Investing Strategies Adopted By Successful Investors

 

3. May miss out on tax savings

You may also miss the threshold to take advantage of some tax-saving investment strategies like tax-loss harvesting if you divide funds over many brokerage accounts (which is when you only pay taxes on your net profit).

For example, some brokerages require clients to have a minimum of $50,000 or more before their automatic tax-loss harvesting kicks in.

 

4. Pay more management fees

When you have multiple brokerages, you incur more expenses in terms of management fees and commissions.

Though these amounts may be paltry, when accumulated they add up to big amounts which eat away at your profit. 

Some brokerage accounts may additionally charge a membership fee or require a minimum deposit to invest. Additional fees may reduce the amount of money you have available to invest.

A bigger balance not only helps you grow your money thanks to compound interest (which grows as your balance grows), but it can also save you money on fees.

 

5. Risk of identity theft

Theft of identity is one of the most common issues that persons with multiple brokerage accounts confront. When you register accounts with different brokerage firms, you also give them access to your personal information.

The risk of personal data theft grows when your sensitive information is exposed in this way. Many people lose money and their reputation as a result of identity theft. If a person decides to have several accounts, he or she must first assure the security of his or her data.

 

Bonus: Not for people with memory loss issues

Avoid having several brokerage accounts if you suffer from memory loss or frequently forget things.

You might wonder how someone might forget about their money, yet it does happen.

When customers open many brokerage accounts and invest a substantial portion of their cash in one while diversifying small portions in others, they frequently overlook one or two smaller ones.

 

5 Times When You Might Want More Than One Brokerage

There are times when it would make sense to own multiple brokerage accounts. Let's examine such scenarios.

 

1. Diversification 

Not all brokerages provide the same types of investing options.

One may, for example, provide more worldwide exposure, while another may provide esoteric investments not available elsewhere. Fees may vary slightly as well. This is something to look into.

Even so, when considering the additional work involved in keeping numerous accounts, such tiny differences may not be enough to persuade the average investor.

If you wish to get exposure to certain sorts of investments or asset classes that your present brokerage firm doesn't provide, you should create a new account with one that does. This allows you to diversify your investment across different asset classes with the potential of hedging your portfolio and reducing potential losses. 

 

2. Better research and education

Having access to multiple brokerage accounts increases your access to financial research and educational materials.

Several brokerages have tons of information on investing, trading and offer real-time market analysis. This source of information could prove useful to the investors making them make better investment decisions.

Having accounts with multiple brokerages means that they can compare the information and make more informed investment decisions. 

 

3. Lower margin costs

A margin is a loan secured by the equities or securities in your brokerage account.

The firm charges interest on the margin amount when you trade with it. When money is deposited into your account, whether from the sale of a stock or the addition of money, interest is deducted.

You can open a second account with a firm that offers cheaper margin loans if you have an account with a firm that offers better research products for your long-term investments. It will assist you in making a large income in a short time.

 

4. Keep niche accounts separate

Some investors have several brokerage accounts to keep their retirement funds and active trading accounts separate, while others prefer to keep their niche accounts with companies that specialize in them.

Some investors may see benefits in estate planning or simply want to take advantage of multiple sign-up perks. Other investors may find it more convenient to track their taxable and tax-sheltered portfolios such as a 401(k) plan or IRA in separate accounts. 

An investor may open an account with one investment company for taxable investments and another for tax-sheltered investments. When you have multiple financial goals, then using multiple brokerages may just be right for you to effectively track your milestone achievements. 

 

5. Enjoy benefits

Each big brokerage firm has its own set of benefits, which is one of the reasons why there are so many popular options.

Additionally, having numerous brokerage accounts allows you to take advantage of multiple brokers' features and offers.

Some brokers may give you a bonus just for signing up and depositing money into your account. For example, those who have a brokerage account with Charles Schwab enjoy a bonus when a someone signs on registers in the platform with their referral link. 

Other brokerages provide a variety of other services, such as one-on-one financial advising or a Robo-advisor that automates rebalancing and tax optimization.

Investors who like to be hands-off can utilize these passive tactics for the majority of their investments, but they can also use an active trading account to learn more about the stock market.

 

The Bottom Line

There's absolutely nothing wrong with having multiple brokerage accounts.

In some situations, being open to having more than one account can create opportunities that a single account wouldn't allow you to seize. The downside of multiple accounts is that they can be more difficult to keep track of and manage than a single account would be.

It's therefore important to look closely at your own particular goals for your investing strategy and then decide how many brokerage accounts would be the ideal number to help you achieve those goals.

 

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One comment on “5 Advantages & 5 Things to Beware of Investing in Multiple Brokerage Accounts”

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