The quiet cost of inactivity fees — and how to spot them before they hit

Sample Asset Wire story. Fee schedules differ by firm; verify against your own broker’s current fee schedule.

Inactivity or “account maintenance” fees often trigger after a stretch with no trades, no login, or balances below a threshold. The trigger is in the fine print, not the marketing hero.

A simple checklist: search your PDF statements for “inactivity,” “maintenance,” “low balance,” and “paper statement.” Note the date and amount. Compare to the firm’s published fee schedule.

Closing, consolidating, or meeting a waiver threshold are household decisions — not trading advice. The point of Asset Wire is noticing the rule before the debit surprises you.