Bank Ratings :: First Commonwealth Bank

First Commonwealth Bank: How To Know If Commonwealth Is Best For You

If you live in the Pennsylvania region, you have no doubt heard of First Commonwealth Bank, as it is one of the larger banks in the state. First commonwealth is only located in Pennsylvania, so if you are outside of here, you are out of luck.

Unlike many smaller banks, however, they offer just about any financial service you might require, whether it be retirement or investment planning, a home or car loan, personal and corporate banking, etc. the list is endless.

One of the things they are particularly known for is their retirement and investing planning sectors, and many people do take advantage of these. Here, you can either have somebody manage your money for you with a CD, IRA, mutual fund, annuity, or you can choose your own investments, which I’d recommend.

Nothing against investment planners, but often times they are people who really have a lot of head knowledge when it comes to the stock market, but often times don’t practice what they preach. There have been many cases of an investment advisor telling their client to invest in a particular company that they themselves weren’t investing in, only to see the stock plummet in the near future.

You want to be very careful when dealing with an investment advisor from First Commonwealth Bank, as they get a commission every time you make a transaction, and therefore you don’t want to jump aboard every time they call you with the latest hot stock tip.

I would recommend, if you do plan on getting investment advice from someone at first commonwealth, that you request a copy of their portfolio, and see what they are investing in. if they are successfully making money in the market, and have been for some time, you can feel more confident about listening to them, but if not, you definitely should keep looking.

Obviously, first commonwealth bank offers many high quality services that you can take advantage of, and investment planning is just one of them, and if you plan on using the investment planning, let this be a word of caution.