…like Zecco, Muriel Siebert and WallStreet*e, charge you to keep your IRA with them—to the tune of $30 a year. Siebert waives the fee for accounts with assets over $10,000.

Seems hardly fair, but clearly, their strategy is to seek frequent traders or those with large accounts.

Fees for Paper Statements and Confirmations

If you’re comfortable with online trading, chances are, you’re comfortable with online confirmations and statements.

But what if your Internet service is down, or your email software mistakes your stock confirmation for spam and bounces it?

At firms like TD Ameritrade, Scottrade and TradeKing, you’ll have to pay for the peace of mind of getting paper statements and confirmations.

Each paper statement or confirmation mailed will set you back between $1 and $2.50 at these firms.

Annual Maintenance Fees

Beware the investor who has less than $50,000 and doesn’t trade frequently. That must be the watchword of some discount brokers.

Whether to discourage small investors or just to make more money, some discounters are now charging annual maintenance fees for accounts below a certain asset value.

Wells Fargo charges a monthly $25 maintenance fee for accounts below $25,000. Bank of America customers pay $50 twice a year, unless they have a checking account with the bank or assets of at least $50,000.

And even Vanguard Brokerage Services, part of the company known for its uber low-fee mutual funds, levies a $30 annual fee on accounts of less than $100,000.

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Fees to Transfer Your Account Elsewhere

They may not be giving you the tools or products you want. They may be charging fees or commissions that are too high. They may not even answer the phone when you call.

But discount brokers don’t want to lose your business, and many will tack on a fee just to discourage you from going elsewhere.

Schwab, Wells Fargo, Zecco and TD Ameritrade all charge fees to transfer your account elsewhere, to the tune of $50 to $75 for a full account transfer (less for a partial transfer).

But there is a silver lining: Other brokers have seized on this trend as an opportunity to gain more business. Muriel Seibert, SoGoTrade and Scottrade will all reimburse you up to $100 of fees charged by other brokers when you transfer an account to their firms.

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