<prompt> Human: I read a post titled a personal anecdote for why you should use VanguardSchwabFidelity and decided to open my IRA through one of them. Im thinking about 3-fund lazy portfolio allocation, up to 5.5K contribution a year. Which one is the best choice among three firms? Heres a 3-fund portfolio from Vanguard, Fidelity, and Schwab for a comparison: The only difference I see is the expense ratios which vary from 0.04 to 0.22. How important is it? What else matters when choosing the brokerage firm?In case it matters: Im 26, making 55K a year. I have 401k from work which Im contributing the 6 max for 50 employer match.  <response>: It would be more fair and simple if you made an apples to apples comparison of the three. Youre stacking up total international vs developed and total US vs SP 500. All three companies you mention do offer equivalents for the funds youve listed. 