Comparing account types

TOLEDO, Ohio (WUPW) - It's difficult to judge the value you're getting from your investment company, without first understanding your financial plan.

Different methods of growing your money will have different fees associated with them.

Take a standard brokerage account. Many say its best to have it managed.

This means your representative, or a third party manager is monitoring your account, at their discretion, for your benefit.

Your charge is a percentage of the value of the account, usually about two percent annually.

The benefit of this compensation method is, it should drive your advisor to grow your account. The more money you have there, the more he or she will get.

Generally, a managed, or "fee-based" account should be restricted to $30,000 or more.

The other method is a transaction-based account. A commission is assessed every time you buy or sell.

The advantage to this type of account is that you can be involved in every decision - every trade that is made. Plus, you may purchase a combination of stocks you plan to hold for 10 years or more and your only charged the up-front cost and when you sell.

Talk to your financial consultant about which type of account sounds right for you. You might even want a portion of funds in each.