Discount-brokerage firms trump wirehouses in customer satisfaction, survey says

In a customer service satisfaction survey of 17 brokerage firms, discount-brokerage firms scored better in terms of navigating clients through the market downturn last year, compared with larger, full-service brokers, according to Consumer Reports. The three firms that ranked the highest in terms of overall customer satisfaction were United Services Automobile Association of San Antonio, a financial services company that provides brokerage services to current and former members of the military; The Vanguard Group Inc. of Malvern, Pa.; and Edward D. Jones & Co. LP of St. Louis. The online survey, which was conducted by the Yonkers, N.Y.-based Consumer Reports National Testing and Research Center, involved nearly 9,000 online subscribers who were asked about their experiences with brokerage firms during the past year. The survey asked subscribers about their level of customer satisfaction with the firms based on overall fees charged, quality of advice and the service offered. Respondents could choose from a scale of responses, ranging from completely dissatisfied to completely satisfied. For the purpose of the study, a discount-brokerage firm was defined as one that provided lower-cost transactions and lower-cost management fees, said Chris Fichera, associate editor of Consumer Reports. Other firms that earned high rankings included The Charles Schwab Corp., Scottrade Inc., Fidelity Investments, TD Ameritrade Inc. and T. Rowe Price Group Inc. Those with the lowest rankings were Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. of New York, Ameriprise Financial Inc. of Minneapolis and Wachovia Securities LLC of St. Louis. Separate from the rankings, the survey asked questions about account service, ease of use of the website, telephone and personal service. “In some cases, the websites of the bigger investment banks weren’t quite as good as the websites of the newer or discount brokerages,” Mr. Fichera said. "We have not seen the survey and cannot comment," Teresa Dougherty, Wachovia spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail. Spokesmen for Merrill Lynch and Ameriprise Financial weren’t immediately available for comment.