After some extensive research and recent retirement, I decided on using Fidelity for all of my retirement investments. I was OK with their service for about 1 year, then things started to fall apart.
First, the national office wrote me and told me that they could not meet my investing needs and that I had 45 days to move my funds (nearly $2mm). When I questioned why, my local broker, Andrew, was also confused and tried to intercede. He went to the local office management and they also tried to see what happened. But they were given some marching orders and followed the script from the national office in deciding to request my move away from them.
The part that ended up really bothering me, at the local branch in Schaumburg, is that the two branch managers told me that if I had any further questions to follow-up with them. I had their first names only and politely asked for their contact information. BOTH of them promised to send me their contact information, but NEITHER follow through on their word.
I grew up in the country where your word counted for something. Evidently these two branch managers and the local office as a whole follows a different beat.
Sorry it didn't work out, but my switch to Schwab has been most rewarding. Sometimes when you think things went wrong - they really went right. Leaving Fidelity and joining Schwab was one of the best moves I have made in a long time.
Thanks - I guess.