Charles Schwab vs Wellstrade: Commissions, Fees and Investments 2012
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- Stocks and ETFs: $8.95
- Stocks and ETFs broker assisted: $33.95
- Stocks and ETFs phone trades: $13.95
- Options: $8.95 plus $0.75 per contract
- Mutual funds: $49.95. Mutual Fund OneSource® Funds - free
- CDs, Corporate Bonds, Municipal Bonds, Government Agencies, Zero-Coupon Treasuries, including STRIPS and Mortgage-Backed Securities: $1 per bond, $10 minimum, $250 maximum
- Preferred Stocks and REITs: $8.95
- Commercial Paper and Foreign Bonds, Unit Investment Trusts: call for pricing
- Investment products: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, futures, treasury issues, options, CDs, insurance, ETFs,
annuities, non-U.S. securities and ADRs, WEBs and Canadian foreign orders
- Minimum to open Charles Schwab account: $1,000
- All Charles Schwab fees
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- Stocks and ETFs: $19.95
- Stocks and ETFs (broker assisted): $45
- 100 commission-free online trades per year and waived fees when linked to a Wells Fargo PMA Package (basically checking account).
PMA package has no monthly service fee for each month the statement-ending balances in qualifying accounts total $25,000. Otherwise it's $30/month.
- Options: $9.95 + $1 per contract
- Mutual funds: $35
- Auction of Treasury Bills, Notes and Bonds: $50 per transaction
- Investment products: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, treasury bills, ETFs
- Minimum to open Wellstrade account: $1,000
- All Wellstrade fees
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- Traditional banking features: credit cards and checking accounts
- Around 300 offices for personal visits, deposits and 24/7 support
- Great, varied research
- Rich selection of investment products
- Low minimum balance requirement: $1,000
- Excellent customer service
- Free dividend reinvestment
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- Possibility to trade for free
- Good banking services
- Very good independent research
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- High commissions on stocks, options, mutual funds and ETFs
- Average trading tools
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- Extremely high commissions if not in PMA program
- For stocks below $1/share commission is greater of $34.95 or 3.5% of principal
- Additional 1.5 cents per share will be charged for more than 1,000 shares
- Understaffed, incompetent customer service
- Terrible trading tools
- Horrible executions; randomly altered limit orders
- High margin rates
- $60 annual account maintenance fee
- $30 annual IRA fee
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Charles Schwab versus Wellstrade: Comparison Summary
Charles Schwab (Charles Schwab Review)
offers much more reasonable commissions on stocks and ETFs than
Wellstrade (Wellstrade Review):
$8.95 versus $19.95. Both brokerage houses don't have surcharges on extended hours trades and large orders. Wellstrade, however,
charges the greater of $34.95 or 3.5% of principal on stocks under $1 per share and a big surcharge on orders with over 1,000 shares.
While Charles Schwab does not have account maintenance and inactivity fees, Wellstrade charges $50 annually for regular accounts.
With Charles Schwab investors get decent banking services, wide selection of investment products and great customer service.
But its trading tools and website need redesign and capabilities upgrade.
Wellstrade is best known for its banking services (provided by the parent company Wells Fargo Bank) and good investment research.
The company, unfortunately, has the worst trading tools of all brokers we reviewed, terrible customer service and
high margins rates.
Unlike Wellstrade, Charles Schwab doesn't have IRA fees. The company, however, was not included in our list of
Best IRA Accounts in 2012.
Neither one of these brokerage companies is right for beginner investors. They don't offer
access to an online community,
where customers could ask questions and learn from more experienced investors. Newbies are better off with one of our
Best Brokers for Beginners suggestions.
Because of steep commissions at Charles Schwab and, especially, at Wellstrade,
we don't recommend opening investment account at these brokerage houses.
We suggest researching other, much lower priced discount online brokers in our
Top 5 Brokerage Firms article.
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