When I started investing, at age 19 decades ago, it cost about 2% to buy a stock and another 2% to sell it. Mutual funds could charge an 8 1/2% commission! Those high commissions led almost all investors to buy quality issues and hold them for years and even for generations. I knew old wealthy people who had stuff like ATT, GM and Standard Oil since the 1930s.
Free or ultra low priced commissions are among the worst things that ever happened to inexperienced investors. High portfolio turnover correlates with low portfolio performance according to many studies.
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