Did someone say ‘Commission-Free Stock Trades’? How do you go about locating such a deal? Several brokerages offer free online stock trades. These include Zecco, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo. Although, the minimum balance has lately risen to receive truly commission free stock trades. But this pressure is evident when Fidelity dropped its equity trading costs down to $7.95 per stock trade.
Why Consider Fidelity Over Commission Free Stock Trades?
Free stock trades are not yet here for everyone. Although, companies that used to market completely on low commission fee structures are being undercut. Take for instance Sharebuilder.com. The entire premise of the name of their website revolves on building shares. Why would I want to pay $4 weekly or semi-weekly when Fidelity is now offering commission-free ETF trading in 25 iShares?
Just set an account up at Fidelity for automatic investing into iShares and you won’t have to pay a dime of commissions over the course of a year. The great thing about it is a $2500 account minimum too! When you setup your account, don’t forget to add the Fidelity American Express Rebate Card – 2% unlimited rebate on ALL purchases placed right into your eligible Fidelity account. No more hassling about which credit card to use at the gas station, grocery store, or hardware store. Keeping it simple!
Also, as you’ll see below, for the typical person, Fidelity’s offer is amazing! All of those brokerages offering commission-free stock trades require a minimum $25,000 in cumulative account balances. If people have $25,000 left over in this economy, then I’m not sure they should be trying to day trade stocks, because they may not have $25,000 for long. Then all of the companies listed below have some sort of fees they will hit you with if you drop below $25K (read their super finely printed mammoth disclaimers on the bottom of their websites)! Instead, setup automatic investing into iShares ETF’s and you’ll be well on your way to creating a diversified portfolio.
- 10 free trades a month
- Must have a $25,000 account minimum to qualify.
- 30 free trades a month
- Must have a $25,000 account minimum to qualify (can be spread out across CD’s, savings, checking and brokerage.
- 100 free trades a year
- Must have a $25,000 account minimum to qualify (can be spread out across CD’s, savings, checking and brokerage.
Bank of America’s commission free stock trades of 30 per month on the same account balance minimum appears to be a leading competitor among these three, but again these offerings are difficult for most to achieve.