Evaluating Investments - Question 20

I have an investment account managed by the trust department of a major bank. Most of my assets are in municipal bonds, and the rest is in stocks that I've owned for many years. I cannot afford to sell them because of the capital gains taxes that I would have to pay. Should I maintain this account even though I have to pay approximately one percent on the value of my assets in this account annually, and also approximately one percent on any income I receive from this account?

If you are maintaining an investment account at the trust department of a bank and the account is being warehoused or stored, you may want to reevaluate the account's cost structure with the person handling your account at the bank. You may be in an excellent position to renegotiate your fee structure if there are no transactions within your account and your account is static. That same account in a brokerage firm would not be charged a set percentage fee just to store municipal bonds and securities.