E*Trade Assets Under Management
One of the smaller firms in the large-size category is E*Trade Financial, which incorporates both brokerage and
banking activities. The company has 4,200 employees and 30 branch locations.
E*Trade has been acquired by Morgan Stanley and is no longer an independent company. Morgan Stanley does not publicly
disclose current E*Trade assets under management and number of customers information.
The last known E*Trade details are:
| Assets under management (retail) |
$420 billion |
| Assets under management (corporate) |
$380 billion |
| Revenue |
$2.86 billion |
| Number of customers |
5.5 million |
| Number of corporate services accounts |
2 million |
| Review |
E*Trade review |
E*Trade is a mid-size broker with $420 billion in assets under management.
However, it is extremely small when comparing total assets under management to
Charles Schwab, who has
$9.93 trillion in AUM and over 37 million customers.
Charles Schwab Website
Visit Schwab Website
Review of E*Trade Brokerage
With few weaknesses and many strengths, E*Trade is head and shoulders above many of its competitors. This article will analyze the company in vital categories and see how it compares to other brokers in the investment world.
Bulls Point to...
Very good pricing. With new $0 equity commissions, E*Trade is hard (but not impossible) to beat.
Excellent trading tools. With two mobile apps, a browser platform, a desktop program, and even more, E*Trade’s software is top notch.
Good customer service. With many ways to reach a company associate, E*Trade customers have plenty of reason to stay put.
Bears Point to...
Unnecessary IRA fees. E*Trade has some unusual $25 IRA charges that other brokers don’t have.
Some investments aren’t available.
Robo-advisory services aren’t free.
Lacks a few technologies that other brokerage firms do have.
Customer Service
E*Trade offers customer service 24/7, at least through certain channels. Phone and chat service are staffed around the clock. The broker’s network of branch locations provides more limited hours, which may vary from office to office. Typically, the brick-and-mortar sites are open during the weekday.
Although E*Trade’s website doesn’t have a robo chat function, we did find a human chat service; and during our trial of it, we received quick and competent help.
And speaking of the website, there is a great self-help section on it. In the top-right corner, a “Customer Service” link makes an appearance. Clicking on it produces a new page filled with all sorts of tools. There is a branch locator, a tax center, a button for live chat, a document upload tool, and several links for all sorts of account updates. These include DRIP preferences, margin and options upgrades, checkbook reorders (more on that later), and an electronic form to send a wire.
Although E*Trade operates 30 brick-and-mortar locations, these do tend to be concentrated in America’s larger states.
Managed Account Services
Although E*Trade is better known for its self-directed services, it does provide managed accounts. At the bottom end of the price range is a robo-advisory service that costs just 0.30% annually. This package does come with a $500 account minimum, which shouldn’t be too much for most investors.
The robo service begins with an online questionnaire. E*Trade promises just 5 minutes to complete it. The broker’s software analyzes answers and recommends an ETF portfolio ranging from conservative up to aggressive growth.
E*Trade does not manage its own ETF’s, so there are no E*Trade ETF’s in the program. Taxable accounts can use tax-sensitive funds.
In addition to its digital-advisory program, E*Trade also has traditional human advisors who can trade
more than just ETF’s. Stocks and mutual funds are on tap, and we really like the ability to work with a
real person one-on-one. Prices start at 0.90% with a $25,000 investment. You can compare to these
rates to what the best priced
financial advisors in your area charge.
Investment Vehicles
In addition to low-cost ETF’s, self-directed traders can buy and sell over 2,000 ETF’s—the entire U.S. space. Also available are mutual funds, closed-end funds, futures contracts, stocks, fixed-income products, and options. And yes, futures include bitcoin futures.
E*Trade does not offer precious metals, warrants, foreign equities,
cryptocurrencies, forex, or contracts for difference.
Research & Education
During our inspection of E*Trade’s resources, we found a good selection of learning materials. The broker’s website has articles and videos on a wide range of topics, including how to sell covered calls and the basics of technical analysis.
E*Trade offers screeners for options, stocks, mutual funds, ETF’s, bonds, and CD’s. We found them easy to use with lots of search criteria. For bonds, these include coupon rate, maturity date, CUSIP number, and market price.
Security profiles on the E*Trade site don’t disappoint, either. They offer analyst recommendations from TipRanks and others. Reports in pdf format can be downloaded at no cost. Recommendations from StreetInsider are shown as well.
Trading activity of top executives is shown on stock profiles, and this can be a good indication of what the future holds for a stock. News articles are shown from sources like Dow Jones and PR Newswire.
Pricing
And what does E*Trade charge for its services? As it turns out, not much. E*Trade was at the front of the pack in the recent brokerage price war, which saw ETF and stock commissions drop all the way to $0. There is no base charge for option trades at E*Trade, either. The brokerage firm does charge $0.65 per contract. Active traders (defined as 30 trades or more per quarter) pay just $0.50.
Futures contracts are $1.50 per contract per side; although bitcoin contracts are a higher $2.50. Primary and secondary trades of U.S. Treasury debt are free. New issues of other bonds include a markup in the price. Non-Treasury bonds on the secondary market are $1 each with a $250 max and $10 minimum.
Paper statements are $2 each for taxable accounts. The broker sends them out for free for large accounts ($10,000 in assets minimum).
Brokerage accounts have no annual fees or closeout fees. E*Trade doesn’t impose a minimum balance, either.
Mobile Apps
E*Trade customers can do a lot with two mobile apps. One is a trading app aptly called Power. While it is designed with trading in mind, the basic app also has some good trading tools. Combined, the two offer trading in stocks, options, futures, ETF’s, closed-end funds, and mutual funds.
The order ticket on Power comes with several order types, including trailing stop and trailing stop limit. E*Trade provides 8 time-in-force choices, one of the largest we have seen on a mobile app. They include FOK (fill or kill) and OPG (on the open).
Bloomberg TV streams free of charge on both apps. The basic one has mobile check deposit, bill pay, and funds transfer. Surprisingly, Level II quotes are on the basic app, not Power; and alerts and a watch list make mobile trading even better.
Updated on 5/12/2025.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
|