If you use a full-service broker, it also will tell you how reasonable your broker's fees are when compared with competitors.

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"I had a full-service broker because I thought that was the way you were supposed to do it, " says Koza, now 51.

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Whether you are a do-it-yourself investor with an online brokerage account, or you get investment recommendations from a broker at a full-service brokerage firm, you'll typically receive an account statement monthly, or at least quarterly, and a trade confirmation every time you buy or sell a security.

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CSFB, says that, within two years, the technology of the online brokers will enable them to deliver customers just as much and perhaps more than an average broker at a traditional full-service firm.

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