JPM Investing Pricing and Minimum Deposit
| Investments | Commissions |
|---|
| Stocks and ETFs | $0 |
| Options | $0.65 per contract |
| Mutual funds | $0 |
| U.S. treasury bills, notes and bonds | $0 |
|
New Issues (corporate bonds, municipal bonds, government agency bonds,
brokered CDS)
|
$0 |
|
Secondary Markets (corporate bonds, municipal bonds, government agency bonds, brokered CDS)
|
$10.00 / Trade + $1.00 / Bond Over
10 Bonds ($250 Maximum)
|
| Investments | stocks, mutual funds, options, bonds, ETFs |
| J.P. Morgan Chase minimum deposit to open account | $0 for cash account, margin accounts are not offered |
| Fees | Chase brokerage fees |
JP Morgan Brokerage Review
Through both Self-Directed and Automated accounts, J.P. Morgan Investing offers low-cost brokerage
services that attempt to rival competing securities firms. Sometimes J.P. Morgan Investing succeeds
but other times it fails. Here’s the rundown:
Bulls Rave About
Zero commissions. It’s not just stocks and ETFs here. All mutual funds have no transaction fees.
Robo option. With low minimums and fees.
Account linking. One login is all it takes.
Bears Rave About
Lack of cash management tools. Surprising, given the broker’s relationship with the J.P. Morgan family of companies.
No option spreads. Only calls and puts can be traded.
Elementary software.
Definitely time for an upgrade.
Investment Choices
J.P. Morgan Investing offers two account types: Self-Directed and Automated. The latter choice is the broker’s robo service. It costs 35 basis points per annum and has a $500 minimum starting balance. The 0.35% fee could actually be lower as some ETFs return management fees to the robo account.
There are no commissions on the automated trades of ETFs. Just answer a few questions on an online questionnaire and it’s off to the races. The broker will automatically set up the account with a portfolio of ETFs. There’s nothing left for the account owner to do except make deposits.
The only ETFs available inside a robo account are J.P. Morgan funds. The broker-dealer acknowledges this to be a conflict of interest in its fine print.
The do-it-yourself accounts have no minimum deposit requirement and cost nothing. They also offer a lot more investment vehicles (with no conflict of interest). Besides exchange traded funds, there are mutual funds, stocks, options, and bonds.
Most trades inside a self-directed account will have no commissions, although there are a few exceptions. Option trades have a per-contract fee of 65 cents, while some bonds on the secondary market will cost $1 per bond with a $10 minimum commission. All mutual funds available through J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing have no loads and no transaction fees.
There are no flat annual fees on either account system (robo or self-directed). A joint or individual account can be opened in either management mode.
J.P. Morgan Investing does not offer annuities, futures, forex, cryptocurrencies, or foreign assets.
Some account types are also missing, including trusts and custodial accounts.
Retirement Choices
Besides taxable accounts, J.P. Morgan also offers Individual Retirement Accounts. Currently, there are only two types available: Roth and traditional. There are no small business plans, like SEP or SIMPLE accounts. Minor IRAs and Inherited IRAs are missing in action as well.
An IRA at J.P. Morgan Investing can be set up as a robo account. In this situation, the account will have a glide path that automatically updates and becomes less aggressive as the target date approaches. The broker’s software program will automatically sell stocks ETFs and buy fixed-income ETFs, and this makes the portfolio less risky over time.
Self-directed investors will find target-date mutual funds from several fund families, including Fidelity and T. Rowe Price. On the mutual fund screener page, there is a tile for target-date funds. During our research, we clicked on this tile and received a list of 202 target-date funds.
J.P. Morgan Investing charges $75 to close an IRA.
Margin Borrowing
J.P. Morgan Investing does offer margin accounts. Their margin rates are tiered:
|
Debit Balance
|
JP Morgan Margin Rates
|
|
$0.01 - $4,999
|
13.25%
|
|
$5,000 - $9,999
|
13.25%
|
|
$10,000 - $24,999
|
13.25%
|
|
$25,000 - $49,999
|
13%
|
|
$50,000 - $99,999
|
12.5%
|
|
$100,000 - $499,999
|
12.25%
|
|
$500,000 - $999,999
|
11.5%
|
|
$1,000,001 - $3,000,000
|
11%
|
Banking Tools
Another weak point for J.P. Morgan Investing is, quite surprisingly, in the realm of cash management. Although the financial conglomerate is well known for its banking products, a J.P. Morgan Investing account comes with no cash management tools at all. Neither checkwriting nor a debit card of any kind is available, and this puts J.P. Morgan Investing at a major disadvantage compared to what’s available from most brokerage houses today.
The J.P. Morgan Investing website, which is the same site that Chase Bank customers use, does have an ACH transfer tool. It can set up repeat transfers, one of the few highlights in this category.
Thanks to the relationship between Chase Bank and J.P. Morgan Investing, a checking or savings account with the banking arm can easily be linked on the website. In fact, this is done automatically, so there’s nothing for the account owner to do. The downside is that these deposit accounts aren’t overly competitive when compared to what some brokerage firms are offering today in the realm of cash management. The Chase Bank accounts, for example, have fees, which most brokerage houses have eliminated.
Website
Speaking of the website, we found it easy to use, although there are no significant trading tools to report on.
The Accounts tab is a good place to start if you have multiple accounts with the company. Deposit accounts, credit cards, and brokerage accounts will be listed here. On this tab, we found all sorts of information, like accumulated credit card rewards points and COVID-19 protocols with the company.
The Investments tab is where all the brokerage action is at. Clicking on the tab will produce a drop-down window with lots of choices. Underneath the Trade section, there are several order tickets.
The order ticket for equities offers just 4 trade types (market, limit, stop, and stop limit). Limit orders have 5 duration choices, including on the open or close.
Charts on the J.P. Morgan Investing site are pretty simple. On a security’s profile, a chart has only one format (line) and no tools at all. Thirty years of price history can be displayed, though.
On a chart next to the timeframe choices, there is an expand icon. Clicking on this generates a new page with several widgets. These include technical indicators (about 50), drawing tools (about 10), and exactly 8 plot styles. Dot is the most unusual.
The website has a watchlist, but alerts are missing in action.
Mobile App
As with the website, J.P. Morgan Investing uses the same mobile app that Chase Bank customers use. This creates a great convenience because multiple accounts can be accessed with a single login. Touch ID is available on Apple devices.
After logging into the app, there are two tabs: one for business and the other for personal. Business accounts, if any, will obviously be found on the business side, and personal accounts will be on the personal side. Since all J.P. Morgan Investing accounts are personal, that’s where we need to go.
On the personal side, there are lots of useful tools. Zelle transfers are available (from bank accounts only). There is also a mobile check deposit tool. It, too, is restricted to just bank accounts with Chase.
On to actual investment tools, the order form is the exact same one that appears on the website with the same duration options and order types. Asset profiles have the same information from the website profiles with the same format, graphics, etc.
A chart cannot be displayed horizontally, which we consider a major blunder. Nevertheless, charting tools can still be used on a mobile graph.
The watchlist from the website will also be found on the mobile app, synced with the same positions. It’s possible to edit the watchlist on the mobile app and change the view.
Options Trading
Call and put contracts can fairly easily be traded either on the website or the mobile app. We do emphasize calls and puts. Multi-leg strategies are not integrated on either platform, and it’s not possible to build custom trades. J.P. Morgan Investing’s software only permits single-leg orders.
J.P. Morgan Investing also does not have any advanced derivative tools. During our investigation, we did not find profit-loss diagrams, an options screener, a volatility calculator, Greek values, or any other professional-level option widgets.
To trade a call or put contract on the website, click on the Investments tab in the top menu and then select Options underneath the Trade section. This will pull up the options trade ticket. Enter the ticker symbol and then fill in the parameters, such as buy to open or sell to open, depending on which side you want to be on.
On the website, it’s also possible to pull up option chains on a security’s profile. Just click on the Options chain link (it appears in the upper-right portion of the screen). Clicking on a bid, ask, or mid price will produce a drop-down menu for order entry or exit.
On the mobile app, there is no Investments tab, so the second method just described is the way contracts are traded. Tap instead of click. The format is the same.
JP Morgan Commissions and Fees
Every new account with JP Morgan Chase comes with $0 commissions on stocks, mutual funds, and ETF’s. Options are
$0.65 per contract.
JP Morgan Chase charges nothing for U.S. Treasury bills, notes, and bonds. For primary issues of corporate bonds, munis, brokered CD’s, and government agency debt, there is a markup/markdown, but no commissions. On the secondary market, it’s $1 per bond with a $10 minimum and $250 maximum.
JP Morgan Self-Directed Investing and JP Morgan Automated Investing both charge $75 to transfer an
account or to close a retirement account. There are no annual fees at Self Directed account, but
Automated Investing account has an annual management fee of 0.35% of the entire balance.
Customer Support
J.P. Morgan Investing robo and self-directed clients can reach a customer service associate over the phone during the week from 8:00 am until 9:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time. The phone number is (800) 392-5749.
Although there are some branch locations that service J.P. Morgan Wealth Management accounts, these offices do not work with J.P. Morgan Investing accounts. They could answer general questions about investing with the financial conglomerate, but that would be the extent of the service.
On the J.P. Morgan Investing website, there is an internal messaging widget, which obviously creates a method to reach out to the broker 24 hours a day. The mobile app has the same tool. There is no chat feature, however, on either platform.
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Mutual and Exchange Traded Funds
Both the website and the mobile app have screeners for ETFs and mutual funds. The search criteria are the same. Examples include:
- Morningstar style boxes and ratings
- Fees and management
- Return history
- 30-day SEC yield
- Fund family
- Socially-responsible fund
Scrolling through the results is easy on either platform. Results can be sorted by the original criteria chosen and by several other pre-installed choices. These include net expense ratio and fund category.
Profiles for funds have a decent amount of information on them. Mutual fund profiles have graphs that can be toggled between NAV history and growth of $10,000.
Morningstar style boxes and ratings are both shown. There are no other ratings, however, from groups like Lipper. And we found no research reports, either.
Return histories, both unadjusted and load-adjusted, are shown in bar-chart format. And other details, like expense ratio and dividend yield, are displayed.
Portfolio composition is broken down into a pie chart with details on geography and top 10 holdings.
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing customers have access to 3,043 mutual funds, all of which have zero load and zero transaction fee.
Research and Education
Although security profiles don’t have as much information on them as we would like to see, J.P. Morgan Investing does have a noticeable emphasis on investment education. Both the website and mobile app have lots of articles and market news on a variety of topics. These materials will be found on the website underneath the Research section of the Investments tab. On the mobile app, there is a Research tab at the top, near the Portfolio tab.
Articles we found during our investigation include:
- What can investors do about rising inflation?
- The Fed has spoken – but what did investors hear?
- A recession in the near-term is possible, but not probable. Here’s why.
- How to think about market volatility
- Is it better for married couples to file taxes jointly or separately?
There are also videos (with transcripts) on a variety of topics. These include issues like retirement and how to avoid financial fraud. There are also videos on general education, like:
- How to diversify
- What are IRAs and 401(k)s?
- What's the stock market?
J.P. Morgan Investing sends out several e-newsletters. It’s easy to sign up on the enrollment page.
Miscellaneous Services
Fractional Shares: Securities (excluding mutual funds) can only be traded in whole shares in self-directed accounts.
DRIP Availability: Dividend reinvesting is available free of charge.
Initial Public Offerings: IPOs will not be found at J.P. Morgan Investing.
Extended Hours Trading: Only the regular market hours are available.
Periodic Mutual Fund Investing: Recurring purchases of mutual fund shares can be set up on autopilot inside a J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing account.
Our Recommendations
Long-Term Investors and Retirement Savers: J.P. Morgan Investing has a decent selection of
target-date mutual funds. But with only two IRA options, it seems to fall flat. We would go with
Charles Schwab, who has
all of the Chase has and much more.
Beginning Investors: A J.P. Morgan Automated Investing account would be a good choice for
new investors. For self-directed trading, there are several other options out there that we think
would be better, including
Firstrade.
Small Accounts: For self-directed trading, J.P. Morgan Investing is attractive due to the
lack of fees.
Mutual Funds: With roughly 3,000 mutual funds, J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing underperforms
Firstrade, who has over
11,000 total funds, most have no load and all have no transaction fee.
Active ETF and Stock Trading: Without a decent trading platform, J.P. Morgan Investing doesn’t
quite seem up to the task. We like Webull
much better, who has an advanced desktop program and fractional-share trading (plus no-fee option
trades).
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Visit Webull Website
JP Morgan Chase Brokerage Review Recap
J.P. Morgan Investing has done a decent job rolling out low-cost brokerage accounts in
both automated and self-directed varieties. Nevertheless, we expect much more from such a large
financial conglomerate, who underperforms smaller companies by a large margin in many areas.
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.
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