Robo-advisors have become popular in recent years by offering a compelling value proposition when compared to traditional financial advisors.

Most traditional financial advisors charge advisory fees of over 1% for managing assets. But what most clients don’t realize is those advisory fees are just one of the many fees they pay.

Mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, which feature in many client portfolios, also charge fees. Plus, many advisors pass on brokerage fees to clients when transactions are made to buy and sell.

When clients add up management fees, mutual fund expense ratios, brokerage fees and any other fees, such as hourly consulting fees, the total frequently exceeds 1.5% of assets managed each year.

Over time, this high fee hinders account growth. And that’s where robo-advisors can add value, by delivering a similar service at much lower cost.

Which Robo-Advisors Have Low Fees?

In addition to having low-fee services, Wealthfront offers automated tax-loss harvesting which it claims can boost annual returns by as much as 2%. Betterment rivals Wealthfront as an industry leader, and has a low-fee service plus offers access to human advice – Wealthfront does not.

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• Standout Feature
  Tax-loss harvesting expertise
• Management fee
  $0 for first $10,000 0.25% thereafter
• Account Minimum
  $500
• Get Started Now

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• Standout Feature
  Best Overall
• Management fee
  0.25% – 0.40%
• Account Minimum
  Starting at $0
• Open an Account

Betterment

In addition to low fees, Betterment stands out from other robo-advisors with an overall roboadvisor platform that is hard to match because it includes:

1. Tax loss harvesting
2. Access to human advice
3. Tax-coordinated portfolios
4. Retirement calculators
5. Socially responsible portfolios

Wealthfront

Wealthfront offers free account management up to $10,000 and charges a management fee of 0.25% thereafter.
It has a slightly low account balance minimum of just $500 though Betterment eclipses it by allowing clients sign up without imposing an account minimum.
Wealthfront shines brightest when it comes to tax-loss harvesting.

This free service automatically seeks to create more tax-efficient portfolios, which enhance returns by as much as 2% annually according to Wealthfront.

Wealthfront creates tax-optimized portfolios using a method called Direct Indexing on accounts over $100,000 by purchasing up to 1,001 individual securities and taking advantage of individual tax-loss harvesting opportunities.

Which Robo-Advisors
Charge No Fees?

Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and WiseBanyan have pioneered a no-management fee model. Schwab provides account management free but primarily selects its own proprietary Schwab funds for client portfolios and makes money from their expense ratios. WiseBanyan is truly free with no account management, custodial, trading or hidden fees but add-on optional services, such as tax-loss harvesting, are premium services which do incur charges.

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  Free Portfolio Management
• Management Fee
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• Account Minimum
  $5,000
• Open an Account

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  Free Portfolio Management
• Management Fee
  0.0%
• Account Minimum
  $0
• Open an Account

SoFi

SoFi is best known as a student lender but you may not know that it also has a free wealth management division.

If you’ve paid down most of your student or graduate loans and already saved with SoFi, investing in your future via its free robo-advisor is the next obvious step.

Schwab Intelligent Portfolios

For cost-conscious investors looking for a low-cost automated portfolio management solution, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and WiseBanyan stand out among robo-advisor firms.

Schwab is the runaway leader among robo-advisors when it comes to assets under management; they were the first robo-advisor to manage over $10 billion.

Users flocked to Schwab because it figured out how to offer portfolio management without charging account management fees.

Instead, Schwab selects its own proprietary Schwab funds for client portfolios and makes money from their expense ratios, which range from 0.08% to 0.24%.

WiseBanyan

WiseBanyan claims to be “the world’s first free financial advisor” and delivers on its claim by charging no management fees, no custodial fees, no trading fees and no hidden fees for its basic, automated portfolio management service.

Clients are billed up to 0.25% of assets under management, capped at $20 monthly, for optional products and services, such as tax-loss harvesting.

Best Robo-Advisors For Fee Transparency

Management fees are just one of the fees incurred by clients of portfolio management companies. The funds which make up your portfolio also have fees which are called investment expenses. These fees need to be added to management fees to arrive at the total fees charged, assuming custodial and brokerage or transaction fees are negligible.

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  Investment expenses included in management fee
• Management fee
  0.35%
• Account Minimum
  $10
• Get Started Now

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• Standout Feature
  Low Expense Ratios for their ETFs and funds
• Commissions
  $2 to $20 per trade
• Account Minimum
  $0
• Open an Account

FidelityGo

Fidelity Go offers a more attractive fee schedule than meets the eye at first glance.

While most casual observers will compare Fidelity Go’s fee of 0.35% for retirement accounts and 0.45% for taxable accounts with what appears to be lower fees at other robo-advisors, the eagle-eyed observer will spot that Fidelity Go includes investment expenses in its overall % figure.

So while other robo-advisors may quote a management fee of 0.25%, the total fees clients pay may be quite a bit higher when investment expenses are included, making Fidelity Go better value overall.

Vanguard Personal Advisor Services

Vanguard Personal Advisor Services is almost as hard to beat on overall fees as Fidelity Go. Vanguard charges just 0.30% but only investors with at least $50,000 can sign up to Vanguard’s robo-advisory service.

What makes Vanguard even more attractive is that it connects clients with more than $500,000 to live financial advisors too.

Robo-Advisors With Add-On Fees

Some robo-advisors have added fees in addition to the service fees charged for portfolio management.

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• Add-on Fees
  Commissions starting at $7.95
• Management fee
  0.50%
• Account Minimum
  $10,000
• Open an Account

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• Add-on Fees
  Trade fees > $50 per portfolio rebalance
• Management fee
  0.50%
• Account Minimum
  $100,000
• Open an Account

Future Advisor

A few robo-advisors charge additional service fees in addition to portfolio management fees. Among robo-advisors, FutureAdvisor has one of the higher fee schedules of 0.50% annually.

In addition to those fees, FutureAdvisor passes on transaction fees of between $7.95 – $24 per trade to clients. Most funds used in its portfolios are commission-free but those that aren’t are pricey to enter and exit.

Rebalance IRA

Rebalance IRA has perhaps the highest account balance hurdle of all robo-advisors. To open an account requires a minimum $100,000.

Once or twice a year Rebalance IRA rebalances client portfolios and trade fees, which can range from $50 to $70, to enter and exit positions are passed on to clients.

Robo-Advisors Fee Comparison By Account Balance

Robo-Advisor	$5,000	$10,000	$50,000	$100,000	Open Account
REVIEW 1 2 3 4 5	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	Open an Account
REVIEW 1 2 3 4 5	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	Open an Account
REVIEW 1 2 3 4 5	0.0%	0.0%	0.25%	0.25%	Open an Account
REVIEW 1 2 3 4 5	0.25%	0.25%	0.25%	0.25%	Open an Account
REVIEW 1 2 3 4 5	0.25%	0.25%	0.25%	0.25%	Open an Account
REVIEW 1 2 3 4 5	0.35%	0.35%	0.35%	0.35%	Open an Account
REVIEW 1 2 3 4 5	0.25%	0.25%	0.25%	0.25%	Open an Account
REVIEW 1 2 3 4 5	NA	NA	0.30%	0.30%	Open an Account
REVIEW 1 2 3 4 5	NA	0.50%	0.50%	0.50%	Open an Account
REVIEW 1 2 3 4 5	NA	NA	NA	0.50%	Open an Account
REVIEW 1 2 3 4 5	NA	NA	NA	0.89%	Open an Account

Discover the Best Robo Advisors

The article Best Robo Advisors For Fees 2020 was originally posted on Investormint

The top tier robo-advisor firms, Personal Capital, Betterment, and Wealthfront, did so well pioneering diversified, tax-efficient portfolios regularly rebalanced by technology-powered algorithms at low cost that a slew of copycats quickly emerged. Renowned firms like Schwab and Vanguard launched their own robo-advisory spinoffs, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and Vanguard Personal Advisor Services, respectively.

Even firms that traditionally focused elsewhere have joined the fray. SoFi, for example, established its reputation as a top tier lender, and launched a wealth management division to compete with robo-advisor firms. WiseBanyan innovated with a business model that provide automated portfolio management at no cost. Among the many robo-advisors, which offer the most competitive fees, best service, and best access to human advisors? We conducted independent research and share our findings below.

Best Robo-Advisors For Fees

Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and SoFi offer free and very low management fees, respectively, because their core businesses allow them make money in ways that pure robo-advisory firms cannot; SoFi is primarily a lender and so can offer low-cost, high-touch wealth management because its core business generates the bulk of revenues while Schwab makes money from the investment expenses charged by Schwab funds that make up client portfolios.

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  Free Portfolio Management
• Management Fee
  $0
• Account Minimum
  $5,000
• Open an Account

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• Standout Feature
  High Value Service at Low Cost
• Management fee
  0.0%
• Account Minimum
  $100
• Get Started Now

Although Betterment and Wealthfront pioneered the robo-advisory business model and offer compelling value propositions with low fees, tax-loss harvesting, and automatic rebalancing, Schwab has run away as the leader among consumers when it comes to assets under management; it was the first robo-advisor to manage over $10 billion. Schwab charges no management fees, offers the most extensive range of asset classes resulting in perhaps the most diversified portfolios among robo-advisory firms, and has a mobile app that is about as good as it gets.

SoFi may not yet be a household name when it comes to robo-advisory firms but if it applies its community-oriented, customer-focused model as well to wealth management as it has to lending, it soon will be. SoFi has a low $500 account minimum, and charges just 0.25% for a high level of service that includes more than just technology-powered portfolio management but access to live advisors too.

Schwab and SoFi both make money in innovative ways that allow them to compete fiercely on price with rivals, creating a win for consumers. Unlike pure robo-advisors that make money exclusively from managing portfolios, Schwab makes money from investment expenses charged to clients on funds held, a feature few robo-advisory firms can offer, other than perhaps Vanguard. And SoFi makes money from lending to borrowers, so it can offer wealth management with a highly personalized service with access to human financial advisors at low cost.

Best Robo-Advisors For Live Financial Advisors

Investors looking for a more personal touch beyond pure robo-advisory solutions may consider Personal Capital and Vanguard Personal Advisory Services, both of whom connect clients to human financial advisors.

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• Standout Feature
  Dedicated financial advisor assigned to each client
• Management fee
  0.49% - 0.89%
• Account Minimum
  $100,000
• Get Started Now

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• Standout Feature
  Live advisors accessible
• Management fee
  0.30%
• Account Minimum
  $50,000
• Open an Account

Personal Capital offers the best combination of robo-advisory services with dedicated financial advisors in our view because unlike most robo-advisors who provide clients no access to financial advisors, Personal Capital assigns a dedicated human financial advisor to each client. Clients investing over $100,000 are assigned two dedicated financial advisors.</p?

Although the minimum account balance of $100,000 at Personal Capital is higher than many robo-advisory firms, it’s low relative to the $500,000 account balance needed to get access to a dedicated financial advisor at Vanguard.

Vanguard does provide clients access to a team of financial advisors for amounts invested over $50,000, which is its account minimum.

Best Robo-Advisors For IRA Retirement Accounts

Fidelity Go and Betterment earn top marks for servicing IRA account holders. Fidelity makes it easy to rollover 401(k) accounts into IRA accounts and Betterment facilitates linking to third-party accounts to provide a holistic view of all financial accounts, which allows for more informed decision-making on IRA portfolio composition.

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  Investment expenses included in management fee
• Management fee
  0.35%
• Account Minimum
  $10
• Get Started Now

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  Best Overall
• Management fee
  0.25% – 0.40%
• Account Minimum
  Starting at $0
• Open an Account

Fidelity brokerage arm oversees more than $2 Trillion. Fidelity’s deep expertise overseeing retirement plans translates to Fidelity Go where rolling over assets from a 401(k) to an IRA is made simple.

Betterment serves IRA retirement account investors by providing them a holistic view of their entire financial situation. Rather than analyzing an isolated IRA portfolio independent of other assets, Betterment allows users to link third-party financial accounts as part of its RetireGuide service; this nudges clients to save more and provides a holistic view of all accounts together which allows for more insightful and informed investment decision-making.

Best Robo-Advisors For Tax-Loss Harvesting

Tax-loss harvesting is a feature offered by many robo-advisors that identifies assets that are in the red and can be sold to offset assets that are in the black, which if otherwise sold alone could increase tax liabilities.

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  Tax-loss harvesting expertise
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  $0 for first $10,000 0.25% thereafter
• Account Minimum
  $500
• Get Started Now

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• Standout Feature
  Dedicated financial advisor assigned to each client
• Management fee
  0.49% - 0.89%
• Account Minimum
  $100,000
• Get Started Now

Many investors hire a financial advisor to invest savings and hire a tax preparer for year-end tax filings and tax optimization. Financial advisors will often focus on maximizing portfolio returns without due consideration to tax consequences of buy and sell transactions, so investors often discover too late that their portfolios are not optimized for tax-efficient growth and returns.

Wealthfront strives to maximize not simply returns but the all-important after-tax returns. Wealthfront distinguishes itself many other robo-advisors by offering a tax-loss harvesting service called Direct Indexing whereby individual securities as opposed to exchange-traded funds are purchased. By purchasing up to 1,001 individual securities versus a single ETF or an index fund, Wealthfront can deliver tax-optimized portfolios better than many rivals.

Personal Capital has a best-in-class mobile app that allows users, even those who have not signed up for its financial advisory service, to connect non-Personal Capital bank, credit card and investment accounts to view budgeting, spending, cash flow and net worth. For advisory clients, Personal Capital’s robo-advisory service automatically optimizes for tax considerations via a tax-loss harvesting strategy.

Best Overall Best Robo-Advisors

Robo-Advisor	Management Fee	Account Minimum	Rating	Best for	Open Account
	0.25%-0.40%	$0	1 2 3 4 5	IRAs & Retirement Goals Tracking	Get Started
	0.49%-0.89%	$100,000	1 2 3 4 5	Dedicated Financial Advisors	Get Started
	0.25%	$500	1 2 3 4 5	Tax-optimized Investing	Get Started
	Free	$5,000	1 2 3 4 5	No Management Fee	Get Started
	0.35% (incl. Investment expenses)	$5,000	1 2 3 4 5	Retirement Focused Investors	Get Started
	0.30%	$50,000	1 2 3 4 5	Access to Live Advisors	Get Started
	0.50%	$10,000	1 2 3 4 5	401(k)s	Get Started
	0.25%	$500	1 2 3 4 5	Low Cost & Live Advisors	Get Started

The article Best Robo Advisors 2020 was originally posted on Investormint

Beyond fee considerations, customer support is perhaps the next most important consideration when selecting a retirement account provider. Robo-advisors have low fees but not all have the support network of financial advisors that higher fee, traditional brokers provide. Investment selection and account minimums are important factors to weigh too before making a decision on who to choose for your IRA account.

Best Robo-Advisors For IRAs

Which Robo-Advisors are best for IRA account management?

The trend towards lower fee, robo-advisory services is the future with the Millenial generation flocking to them in favor of traditional financial advisors, who will increasingly be replaced by these lower fee alternatives capable of providing comparable, if not superior, money management services.

Betterment, Wealthfront, Future Advisor and Personal Capital stand out as leading robo advisors. Large, established brokers like Fidelity have launched their own robo advisors (Fidelity Go) respectively.

Personal Capital has an attractive combination of low fees, accessible financial advisors, and supports traditional IRA accounts, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, as well as featuring among the best rollover IRA account providers.

The management fee charged by Personal Capital ranges from 0.49%-0.89%. Personal Capital also stands out from its peers with an excellent mobile app that allows you easily track your day-to-day spending, cash flow, portfolio holdings, and net worth.

Betterment has no minimum balance requirement and that enticement has attracted over 150,000 customers and $6.1 billion in assets under management. Betterment automatically rebalances portfolios using exchange-traded funds and caters to traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs, Roth IRAs and Rollovers IRAs.

Like many other robo-advisors, Betterment applies modern portfolio theory to assets: cash is automatically invested in a diversified portfolio and portfolios are rebalanced automatically each time an asset class moves more than 3% from its target percentage level.

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• Management fee
  0.25% – 0.40%
• Account Minimum
  Starting at $0
• Open an Account

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  Dedicated financial advisor assigned to each client
• Management fee
  0.49% - 0.89%
• Account Minimum
  $100,000
• Get Started Now

Best All-Round IRA Providers

Low fees are important but investors with complex financial circumstances may need additional customer support, and broader investment selections. If you are looking for the best IRA companies, the providers below have the best all-round service.

Retirement planning is personal and having an expert hold your hand through the process can offer a lot of value. Being able to walk into a local office to meet your financial advisor in person is comforting, particularly when markets fall. For this reason, Charles Schwab and Scottrade stand head and shoulders among their peers.

Schwab offers customer service 7 days a week and 24 hours per day. Both have local branch offices where you can meet and visit with your dedicated financial advisor. And both offer extensive retirement planning tools. Plus, both have very broad investment selections, the value of which should not be underestimated.

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• Commissions
  $4.95 per trade
• Avg. Fund-related fees
  0.26%
• Account Minimum
  $1,000
• Open an Account

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  Scottrade ELITE desktop-based platform
• Commissions
  Stocks: $6.95 per trade; Options: $6.95 + $0.70 per contract
• Account Minimum
  $2,500 for brokerage; $0 for IRAs
• Get Started Now

Best IRA Companies For Traders

Renowned billionaire investor, Warren Buffett, counsels that for most investors a diversified portfolio is the smartest choice. But for the handful of investors who can “buy the fear, and sell the greed” as Buffett says, as part of an active trading strategy, the following brokers offer excellent platforms.

TastyWorks offers one of the most competitive trading platforms when comparing transaction prices. Stock opening trades are just $5.00 irrespective of the number of shares traded. For options and futures traders, pricing is highly competitive when compared to industry peers, just $1.00 per contract for opening options trades, and $2.50 per contract for opening futures trades. TastyWorks supports Traditional IRA accounts and features among the best Roth IRA account providers too.

TradeKing offers a highly attractive $4.95 stock trade commission charge and an extensive range of tools on its trading platform. A minimum account balance of $2,500 is required at TradeKing and an annual $50 fee is charged for inactive accounts or those falling below the account minimum threshold level.

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  Closing trades for Stocks & ETFs and Options are commission-free
• Commissions
  $0 flat rate for stocks
• Account Balance Minimum
  $0
• Get Started

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• Promo
  Get up to $1,000 in commission-free trades
• Commissions
  Stock trade commissions: $4.95 flat rate; Options trade commissions: $4.95 + $0.65 per contract
• Account Minimum
  $0
• Get Started Now

Best Low Cost IRA Providers

Low expense ratios and a large selection of funds are offered by these IRA providers.

Vanguard established its reputation as the leading low-cost provider when it pioneered index fund investing and its 0.30% flat management fee for Vanguard Personal Advisor Services continues the low cost trend. While Vanguard continues to lead its industry peers on fee comparisons though it does fall short of Fidelity in its selection range of commission-fee ETFs and no-transaction-fee mutual funds.

Fidelity Go is the robo-advisor offering by Fidelity, charging 0.35%, including investment expenses – a pioneering fee schedule among robo advisors – on retirement assets. Fidelity has a broader range of mutual funds than Vanguard but many have a minimum investment criterion of $2,500. Investment minimums are waived with monthly auto-deposits of at least $200.

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• Standout Feature
  Investment expenses included in management fee
• Management fee
  0.35%
• Account Minimum
  $10
• Get Started Now

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• Standout Feature
  Live advisors accessible
• Management fee
  0.30%
• Account Minimum
  $50,000
• Open an Account

The article Best IRA Providers 2020 was originally posted on Investormint

As a new trader or investor, low transaction costs and fast execution speeds are two of the most important criteria to screen for when evaluating online stock brokers. A strong emphasis on customer support, an intuitive easy-to-use platform and extensive educational resources are especially valuable.

Overall Best Online Stock Brokers For New Traders

Stocks Brokers offering comprehensive educational resources and relatively low commissions are Charles Schwab.

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  Easy-to-Use, Powerful Trading Platform
• Commissions
  Stocks: $6.95 per trade
• Account Balance Minimum
  $1,000
• Open an Account

Choosing among the best online stock brokers means ranking brokers among the most important characteristics for new traders or investors:

• Knowledge Bank or Educational Content and Resources
• Customer Support to assist in order execution and general queries
• Affordable transaction costs
• Broad range of investments, including Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds, Options, Futures & Forex

Both Charles Schwab offer a diverse range of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Exchange-traded funds are index funds that offer exposure to various sectors, such as healthcare, finance, technology, currencies, and much more. Some ETFs are commission-free and some mutual funds have no transaction fees. If you are unsure, customer support can assist you in finding out.

Schwab provides an ETF Portfolio Builder tool which examines risk tolerance and creates a diversified ETF portfolio that is customized to each individual’s reward and risk preferences.

Schwab encourages investors to grow their portfolios steadily over time by waiving account minimums for monthly automatic deposits over $100.

Overall Best Online Stock Brokers When Opening An Account

Many brokers require a minimum amount before an account may be opened. These online stock brokers have no minimum balance requirement to open an account.

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  Low Account Balance Minimum
• Commissions
  Stocks: $6.95 per trade
• Account Balance Minimum
  $0
• Open an Account

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  Excellent Customer Support
• Commissions
  Stocks: $6.95 per trade
• Account Balance Minimum
  $500
• Open an Account

MerrillEdge offers a compelling value proposition to mutual fund investors, providing over 5,000 no-transaction fee funds. E*Trade offers approximately 1,300 no-transaction fee mutual funds by comparison.

For beginners, Merrill Edge and E*Trade come top of the list. Merrill is also more attractive due to it being cheaper by $3 per trade relative to ETrade. Plus, Merrill charges $49.95 to close accounts versus $60 at E*Trade.

Merrill also stands out for its heightened customer service focus with more than 2,000 offline outlets for customers to visit and meet face-to-face with Merrill Edge Financial Solutions Advisors.

For a taxable, non-qualified, account, ETrade does have a minimum $500 balance requirement, but for a qualified account, such as an IRA, the requirement is $0.

Other online stock brokers with no minimum deposit requirements, include:

• OptionsHouse
• Firstrade
• TradeKing
• Capital One Investing

Best Online Stock Brokers for Customer Service

Brokers offering phone, online chat, and in-person customer support are vital to new traders and investors. Below is a list of online stock brokers who excel at customer support.

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• Standout Feature
  Scottrade ELITE desktop-based platform
• Commissions
  Stocks: $6.95 per trade; Options: $6.95 + $0.70 per contract
• Account Minimum
  $2,500 for brokerage; $0 for IRAs
• Get Started Now

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• Standout Feature
  Research & Tools
• Commissions
  $7.95 per trade
• Account Balance Minimum
  $2,500 brokerage; $0 IRA
• Open an Account

ScottTrade and Fidelity stand out from their online stock broker peers by having an offline presence too. Each of their websites has information on where you can find the nearest local branch where you can speak to someone in person.

With increased customer service comes increased cost, and both ScottTrade and Fidelity have relatively high minimum account requirements for non-qualified accounts.

Their heightened focus on customer service extends to education, live webinars, virtual online chat features, and phone support.

Best Online Stock Brokers for Transaction Costs

Inactivity fees are one of the hidden expenses at many brokers. To avoid such hidden expenses and keep trading expenses low overall, consider the low-transaction cost brokers below.

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  Closing trades for Stocks & ETFs and Options are commission-free
• Commissions
  $0 flat rate for stocks
• Account Balance Minimum
  $0
• Get Started

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• Standout Feature
  Zero Commission Trading
• Commissions
  Stocks, ETFs, Crypto: $0
• Account Balance Minimum
  $0
• Open an Account

Robinhood has limited educational tools, screening analytics and research but the transaction costs cannot be beaten: $0 trade commissions, $0 account minimum and access to over 5,000 stocks and ETFs. Robinhood supports non-qualified, taxable accounts only.

TastyWorks is almost as compelling with just $5 stock opening trade. For more seasoned investors who wish to trade options, TastyWorks offers a compelling $0 commission on all closing trades. The charge for opening an options trade is just $1 per contract and for a futures opening trade it is $2.50 per contract.

Best Online Stock Brokers for Mutual Funds and ETFs

Brokers offering $0 transaction fees for mutual funds and low-cost ETFs are below.

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• Standout Feature
  Easy-to-Use, Powerful Trading Platform
• Commissions
  Stocks: $6.95 per trade
• Account Balance Minimum
  $1,000
• Open an Account

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• Standout Feature
  Low Expense Ratios for their ETFs and funds
• Commissions
  $2 to $20 per trade
• Account Minimum
  $0
• Open an Account

Vanguard made its reputation as a provider of low-cost mutual funds while Schwab pioneered affordable online investing. Vanguard is the default choice for many beginner investors but both Schwab and Vanguard have their merits. Both Vanguard and Schwab offer zero commission ETFs and zero commission mutual funds.

Typically, only mutual funds on a stock brokers list are available for trading with that broker. If you find a mutual fund that is not on the list, some brokers will not add it, and others like Schwab may charge a hefty fee, as high as $76.

Schwab offers its Mutual Fund OneSource Platform to investors with capital  amounts as low as $100. Schwab also offers a choice of about 200 commission-free ETFs. The per trade rate at Schwab is $4.95.

Vanguard has a high hurdle of $1,000 to invest in many of its funds. Commission-based ETFs will cost money at the rate of $7 per first 25 trades and $20 thereafter for balances under $50k. Vanguard has no minimum requirement to open an account and offers over 50 commission-free ETFs, fewer than Schwab.

The article Best Online Stock Brokers For New Traders 2020 was originally posted on Investormint

Options trading can vary from simple strategies, such as Covered Calls to complex strategies, such as Ratio Put Backspreads, Iron Butterflies, and Combination Spreads. Some brokers offer platforms that facilitate order executions of options strategies but fail to understand the nuances and true risks of options trading strategies. For experienced options traders, the lack of understanding among brokers can translate to restrictive risk policies. We’ve narrowed the universe of brokers in this section to the shortlist who stand above their peers when it comes to options trading.

While it’s usually in the interests of the trader and the broker to lean towards more conservative than aggressive risk management, it’s best to select an options broker who fully understands the wide gamut of options strategies available. Beyond transaction costs, fast and accurate order execution and a deep understanding of options strategies are pivotal to selecting an options broker.

Overall Best Options Trading Brokers

These options brokers combine powerful platforms, tools, education, and order execution with competitive transaction costs.

For fast order execution, highly knowledgeable staff who can answer a broad range of options trading questions, extensive learning resources, highly flexible platforms customizable to specific options trading strategies and competitive costs, both thinkorswim® and tastyworks feature as the best overall options trading brokers.

For real-time quotes, accurate options chains that have been adjusted for splits and dividends, free options strategy tools, risk graphs and customizable screeners, thinkorswim® and tastyworks rate highly. Where thinkorswim® stands out is the broader range of tools; for advanced options traders, it’s hard to beat thinkorswim®.

The pricing at thinkorswim® is $6.95 + $0.75 per contract fee for internet transactions and $19.99 for options assignments and options exercises. tastyworks charges active traders $5 flat rate for stocks + $1.00 to buy options (all closing trades are commissions free).

Another important consideration for options traders is the cost of margin.

Best Low-Cost Options Brokers

These options brokers compete on price while still offering powerful trading platforms.

• InvestorMint Rating

  • 1
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• Standout Feature
  Closing trades for Stocks & ETFs and Options are commission-free
• Commissions
  $0 flat rate for stocks
• Account Balance Minimum
  $0
• Get Started

• InvestorMint Rating

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• Standout Feature
  Flat Rate Pricing
• Commissions
  Options: $3 plus $0.15 per contract
• Account Balance Minimum
  $500
• Open an Account

Base rates and confusing tiers are a thing of the past with TastyWorks. The fee to open an options trade is $1 per contract. All options trades incur a clearing fee of $0.10 per contract, but other than that TastyWorks has a $0 per contract commission cost on all closing trades.

If you prefer flat rate pricing, eOption is the best choice for an options broker. EOption charges a fixed base rate of $3 plus $0.15 per contract. Keep in mind that eOption does have an inactivity fee of $50 unless an account has been traded at least twice over the prior 12 month period or if the balance falls below $10,000. Platform and data fees can also add up, and at EOption they can rise above $200 monthly. The margin rates at eOptions are among the most competitive in the industry with a base rate of 5.50% up to $49,000 and as low as 3.00% for amounts over $1,000,000.

Best Options Trading Platforms & Tools

These brokers offer options traders powerful trading platforms at competitive prices.

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• Standout Feature
  Professional-grade Platform
• Commissions
  Stocks: $5 per trade
• Account Balance Minimum
  $5,000
• Open an Account

TradeStation provides an award-winning trading platform with a plethora of tools for experienced options traders to design, test and analyze customized options trading strategies. The tools are powerful and not targeted to the somewhat inactive options trader. Instead, they target experienced, active and advanced options traders. TradeStation has an expensive monthly fee of $99.95, though it is waived for account balances north of $100,000 or for active traders who execute orders of at least 5,000 shares or 50 options contracts.

Best Options Trading Platforms for Research

These brokers offer options traders advanced research capabilities.

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• Standout Feature
  Easy-to-Use, Powerful Trading Platform
• Commissions
  Stocks: $6.95 per trade
• Account Balance Minimum
  $1,000
• Open an Account

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• Standout Feature
  Research & Tools
• Commissions
  $7.95 per trade
• Account Balance Minimum
  $2,500 brokerage; $0 IRA
• Open an Account

For options traders who don’t need the professional grade suite of tools and trading platform offered by competitors such as thinkorswim® yet are keen to perform in depth research prior to executing trades, Charles Schwab and Fidelity offer attractive solutions.

The options trading platform, owned by Schwab, has extensive research capabilities, particularly in its Toolbox, which includes its trademarked IdeaHub, Strategy Scan, Dragon, Trading Patterns and Pricer tools among other features. Schwab also provides beginners a platform called StreetSmart.com and StreetSmart Edge for advanced traders, as well as live and recorded webinars, and regular options market commentary.

Fidelity stands above its peers when it comes to research capability with world class offerings from providers such as S&P Capital IQ. The full suite of research at Fidelity is available to customers. Fidelity, along with Schwab, has physical locations too, which allow them host educational seminars and visit one-on-one with company representatives to better understand options trading.

The article Best Online Options Trading Brokers 2020 was originally posted on Investormint

As an active trader, two considerations above all are most important when selecting a broker:

• Transaction Costs
• Execution Speed

Secondary, but also important, considerations include:

• Research Tools
• Screening Tools
• Strategy Tools
• Educational Webinars & Resources
• Customer support responsiveness and knowledge
• Wealth advisors

Based on those criteria, we have summarized the best online trading platforms for day trading as follows:

Best Online Trading Platforms For Day Trading

Best For	Online Broker	Special	Commission Costs	Rating
Options Trading		$0 on closing trades	$5 for stocks $1 for options	1 2 3 4 5
Options Trading	thinkorswim®	Trade Free for 60 Days	$6.95 stocks $0.75 options	1 2 3 4 5
Options Trading		50 commission-free trades	$4.95	1 2 3 4 5
Options Trading		20% off trade commissions	$4.99-9.99	1 2 3 4 5
Stock Trading		$100-500 Cash bonus	$4.95	1 2 3 4 5
Low Margin		N/A	$3	1 2 3 4 5
Stock & Options Trading		$1,000 in commission-free trades	$4.95	1 2 3 4 5
Low Margin		Balance limits	$0.005 per share minimum. 0.5% of trade value	1 2 3 4 5

Best online brokers for day trading

These are the best overall trading platforms based on price, executions and tools.

tastyworks is a diamond in the rough when it comes to online trading platforms. tastyworks features $0 commissions cost on all closing trades, which is a huge win for price sensitive customers.

thinkorswim® is a highly powerful platform for day traders who wish to customize screeners and chart studies to personal trading preferences.

• InvestorMint Rating

  • 1
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• Standout Feature
  Closing trades for Stocks & ETFs and Options are commission-free
• Commissions
  $0 flat rate for stocks
• Account Balance Minimum
  $0
• Get Started

thinkorswim®

• InvestorMint Rating

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• Standout Feature
  Sophisticated Virtual Trading Platform
• Commissions
  Stocks: $0 per trade
• Account Balance Minimum
  $0
• Get Started

Interactive Brokers targets clients with at least $10,000 and has a $10 monthly commission minimum. It also facilitates trading on a wide range of securities, including forex, futures and precious metals.

OptionsHouse has no minimum balance requirement but does not offer forex trading. It does have a good combination of advanced trading tools and low commissions.

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• Standout Feature
  Low Margin Rates and Commissions
• Commissions
  Stocks: $1 Minimum & $0.005 per share
• Account Balance Minimum
  $10,000
• Open an Account

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• Standout Feature
  Customer Service and Local Branches
• Commissions
  $4.95 for stock trades; $4.95 + $0.50 per contract for options trades
• Account Balance Minimum
  $0
• Open an Account

What Are The Best Trading Platforms?

Streetsmart.com and StreetSmart Edge from Charles Schwab are also top trading platforms with stellar charting. Minimum balance requirements are not an issue with either broker.

Best Online Options Trading Brokers

These brokers offer great execution, research tools at competitive prices.

• InvestorMint Rating

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• Standout Feature
  Closing trades for Stocks & ETFs and Options are commission-free
• Commissions
  $0 flat rate for stocks
• Account Balance Minimum
  $0
• Get Started

thinkorswim®

• InvestorMint Rating

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• Standout Feature
  Sophisticated Virtual Trading Platform
• Commissions
  Stocks: $0 per trade
• Account Balance Minimum
  $0
• Get Started

Options traders know that when selling call and put options, they can avoid closing transaction costs when the options expire.

However, buying call and put options almost always results in closing transaction costs unless the options are exercised.

tastyworks exploits the fact that expiring sold options have no closing transaction cost by advertising a $0 commission on all closing trades.

Their pricing is highly competitive, rivaling and even beating that of thinkorswim®.

thinkorswim® pioneered fast execution, outstanding support, and competitive pricing in options trading, and remains true to its roots with extensive customizable research tools and charts.

Online Brokers with Low Margin Rates

These brokers are offer competitive margin rates.

• InvestorMint Rating

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• Standout Feature
  Low Margin Rates and Commissions
• Commissions
  Stocks: $1 Minimum & $0.005 per share
• Account Balance Minimum
  $10,000
• Open an Account

• InvestorMint Rating

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• Standout Feature
  Flat Rate Pricing
• Commissions
  Options: $3 plus $0.15 per contract
• Account Balance Minimum
  $500
• Open an Account

The best online broker for competitive margin rates is Interactive Brokers, by far.

Margin is attractive to traders seeking to amplify rates of return by borrowing capital at low rates. Depending on the capital traded, different rates apply, and can be viewe quickly via Interactive Brokers’ website calculator.

EOption may be a better online broker for traders wishing to avoid Interactive Brokers minimum monthly fees.

EOption charges a $50 inactivity fee when balances fall below $10,000, or fewer than two trades have been placed in the prior 12 month period.

Best Online Day Trading Platforms Spotlight

• InvestorMint Rating

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• Standout Feature
  Low Margin Rates and Commissions
• Commissions
  Stocks: $1 Minimum & $0.005 per share
• Account Balance Minimum
  $10,000
• Open an Account

• InvestorMint Rating

  • 1
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  • 5
• Standout Feature
  Flat Rate Pricing
• Commissions
  Options: $3 plus $0.15 per contract
• Account Balance Minimum
  $500
• Open an Account

The article Best Online Trading Platforms For Day Traders 2020 was originally posted on Investormint