When you hit up the Charles Schwab website, you wouldn’t assume from looking at it that it’s a beginner-friendly online brokerage, since it looks like a big company’s website. It turns out, it’s both: a big company, and a great option for beginner stock traders looking for a discount brokerage.
So if you’re looking to dip your toe into the waters of buying and selling stocks, mutual funds, ETFs and more on your own? You might have just found the right platform.
So… Charles Schwab? Seriously?
If it seems weird to feature a company that has brick-and-mortar locations in a fintech series, well… yeah, it does. However, Charles Schwab is like the OG of discount brokerages: They started offering discount ways to buy and sell stocks in 1975.
Were you even alive in 1975? I sure wasn’t.
Since then, and thanks to the Internet, their discount offerings have gotten even better, and they have a solid discount brokerage that offers you the option of buying stocks, mutual funds, ETFs and more online or by phone.
And yes, since it is part of a (much) bigger company, I’ll be straight with you and say the website isn’t the most streamlined thing I’ve ever seen. However, there are still benefits of going with a big, established company for your discount brokerage – but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Here’s how it works
To open an account with Charles Schwab’s online brokerage, you’ll need a few pieces of information about yourself, and Internet access. You’ll also need at least $1,000 to get started – that’s their minimum account opening amount.
[postquote]
However, pro tip: They’ve been known to waive that minimum account opening amount if you set up automatic $100 contributions to your brokerage account on a regular basis.
(That minimum is also waived as a result of opening a High-Yield Investor Checking Account, which automatically includes a linked Schwab brokerage account with zero minimum balance.)
Great, but how much does it cost?
Once you’ve cleared that $1,000 account minimum (or figured out a way around it) their prices are actually pretty competitive. You’ll pay $8.95 per trade of stocks and mutual funds (with the exception of no-load no-transaction-fee mutual funds which do not require commission). If you’re into the ETF game, they have over 200 ETFs that are free to buy and sell.
That’s right, free.
With that mix of price points, it makes Charles Schwab an attractive option for people who want to easily diversify their portfolio using ETFs, and amp up their investments by buying and selling stocks and mutual funds at a reasonable price. But even that’s not the real win when it comes to using Charles Schwab’s discount brokerage.
What makes it so great?
Well, when you compare Charles Schwab’s online brokerage to some other options, it’s not the cheapest. However, it is excellent for beginners, and is one of two brokerages NerdWallet specifically recommends as a good fit for beginner investors.
It scored that recommendation thanks to two main features. One, Charles Schwab is a big company, so it offers 24/7 customer support, and all the amenities you’d expect from a corporation.
Two, if you’re more comfortable working with humans than robots, you can do that too, and place your stock trade orders with a real live human on the phone. It’ll cost you more – $13.95 over $8.95 – but if that’s your jam, maybe it’s worth the extra $5 for you.
The final word?
Listen, not all of us are willing to dive in with both feet to the wild world of fintech. If the idea of your money being secure with a company whose offices you could actually walk into if you wanted to seems like a massive bonus? No judgement, and Charles Schwab offers you the best of both worlds.
You get all the benefits of an online brokerage, and all the support (and trust) of a big corporation. So if you’re ready to buy and sell stocks and stuff on your own? Go forth and trade, my friend.
Have something to add to this story? Comment below or join the discussion on Facebook.
Header image: Shutterstock
*This piece is meant only to expand awareness of available financial tools and products and should not be considered an official endorsement of the product or its outcomes by GenFKD.
**This piece was further edited after initial publication for accuracy and clarity.
