U.S. Bancorp Advisors Overview
If you’ve been using U.S. Bank for checking and savings accounts, it may be time to consider what it offers
in the area of securities trading. Through U.S. Bancorp Advisors, the company offers self-directed, automated,
and advisor-managed investment accounts.
U.S. Bancorp Advisors offers self-directed brokerage and investment-advisory accounts through full-service and online channels. Full-service programs generally cost more but provide access to financial advisors. The company also offers Wealth Connect, a team-based advisory service that works with clients by phone or video.
Online accounts offer a smaller selection of services but generally cost less. A lower-cost account can be opened in either self-directed or automated mode. Automated Investor is the company’s robo-advisor program. This review will focus primarily on the lower-cost online programs.
Is U.S. Bank Brokerage Safe?
Brokerage and investment-advisory services are currently provided by U.S. Bancorp Advisors, LLC. The firm is registered with the SEC as both a broker-dealer and an investment adviser and is a member of FINRA and SIPC. Its CRD number is 14455, its SEC broker-dealer number is 8-30706, and its SEC investment-adviser number is 801-70084.
The former U.S. Bancorp Investments firm used different regulatory identification numbers. Customers can review the current firm’s registration history and disclosures through FINRA BrokerCheck and the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database.
U.S. Bancorp Advisors is also a member of SIPC. SIPC protection is limited to $500,000 for each separate account capacity, including a maximum of $250,000 for cash. SIPC may protect missing securities and cash if a member brokerage firm fails. It does not protect against market losses.
U.S. Bancorp Automated Investor
The first option available to clients is Automated Investor. This is the company’s robo-advisor program. It uses an algorithm to manage portfolios that generally invest in exchange-traded funds with relatively low expense ratios. There is no dedicated human financial planner assigned to the account. The program charges an annual advisory fee of 0.24% and requires at least $1,000 to open an account. This is less than the minimum required by many of the company’s full-service advisory programs.
There are no separate commissions charged on ETF trades inside an Automated Investor account. However, the 0.24% advisory fee is not necessarily the account’s entire cost. Investors may also pay the internal expense ratios of the ETFs, along with other charges that may apply in certain situations. Automatic portfolio rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting are included without a separate service charge.
Examples of ETFs used in the program include:
Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets – VEA
iShares Russell Mid-Cap – IWR
SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond – SPAB
Cash dividends and other income received in an Automated Investor account may be used when the portfolio is rebalanced. The income is not necessarily reinvested in the same ETF that paid it. Uninvested cash may also be placed in eligible money market funds through the account’s sweep arrangement.
Automated Investor is available for eligible individual investment and retirement accounts and can also support joint accounts. Nonretirement brokerage accounts may be able to add beneficiaries through a transfer-on-death registration; beneficiary designations are not limited only to IRAs.
U.S. Bank Self-Directed Investing
U.S. Bancorp Advisors customers who feel comfortable managing their own investments can access a much larger selection of ETFs than the robo-advisor offers. There is no minimum amount required to open a self-directed account. In addition to ETFs listed on U.S. exchanges, the firm offers other investment vehicles, including:
- Stocks
- Mutual funds, including more than 10,000 choices
- Option contracts
- Closed-end funds
- Bonds and other fixed-income securities
Online trades of stocks, ETFs, closed-end funds, and no-load mutual funds have $0 commissions. Options cost $4.95 per order plus $1.00 per contract. Mutual funds with sales loads are subject to the charges disclosed in their prospectuses. A trade placed by phone with a Brokerage Service Associate costs an additional $25. Other regulatory and account-service fees may apply.
The previous program that offered only 100 free equity trades per year is no longer the standard pricing arrangement. Eligible online stock and ETF trades now receive $0 commissions without requiring a U.S. Bank Smartly Checking account. A Smartly Checking account is required only for certain Smart Rewards promotions. Under the current promotion, eligible Smart Rewards members can receive $50 after adding $1,000 to $9,999 in qualifying new assets or $100 after adding at least $10,000, subject to the offer’s holding periods and other terms.
A self-directed account no longer has a $50 annual account fee. U.S. Bancorp Advisors currently advertises no annual fee for these accounts. Transfer, wire, insufficient-funds, safekeeping, foreign-security, and other service fees may still apply.
Self-directed accounts can be opened as individual, joint, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, or custodial accounts. Self-directed investing is currently limited to existing clients of U.S. Bank or U.S. Bancorp Advisors.
FDIC-Sweep Program
Uninvested cash in an eligible self-directed brokerage account is automatically swept into one or more interest-bearing deposit accounts at U.S. Bank. Because all swept deposits are held at U.S. Bank, FDIC coverage is generally limited to $250,000 for each depositor in each eligible ownership category. Deposits held directly at U.S. Bank or through another intermediary in the same ownership category are combined when the FDIC limit is calculated. Cash above the applicable limit may therefore be uninsured.
Interest is earned on cash held through the sweep program. Rates are tiered according to the amount of cash in the individual brokerage account and may change as often as daily. The brokerage sweep rate may be lower than rates available through direct bank deposits, money market funds, or other cash alternatives.
Automated Investor uses a different sweep arrangement involving eligible money market mutual funds. Money market funds are securities and are not protected by FDIC insurance.
Margin
Eligible self-directed brokerage accounts with U.S. Bancorp Advisors can apply for margin trading. Margin rates are based on the broker’s call money rate plus an additional percentage determined by the average debit balance.
Debit balances below $100,000 are charged the call money rate plus 2.25%. Balances from $100,000 through $499,999 are charged the call money rate plus 2.00%, while balances of $500,000 or more are charged the call money rate plus 1.75%. Not every account type or security is eligible for margin.
Digital Tools
U.S. Bancorp Advisors customers can manage their accounts through the U.S. Bank website and mobile app. The company’s next-generation investing platform places eligible banking and investment accounts on one consolidated dashboard.
Available tools include market news, investment insights, research reports, screeners, interactive charts, account balances, holdings, transaction histories, and open-order information. Customers can also trade stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and options through eligible digital accounts.
Additional Services
Fractional Shares: Only whole shares of stocks and ETFs can be traded inside a self-directed account. Mutual funds can be purchased in whole-dollar amounts.
DRIP Availability: U.S. Bancorp Advisors offers automatic dividend reinvestment for eligible stocks and funds.
Initial Public Offerings: There is no IPO service.
Extended Hours Trading: Only the regular market session is available.
Periodic Mutual Fund Investing: It is possible to establish recurring mutual-fund purchases inside an eligible self-directed account.
U.S. Bank Investments Review Judgment
U.S. Bancorp Advisors now has a more competitive self-directed investing service than it previously offered. Self-directed accounts have no opening minimum, no annual account fee, and $0 commissions on online trades of stocks, ETFs, closed-end funds, and no-load mutual funds. Options and some other products and services still have fees.
Automated Investor also remains competitively priced with its 0.24% annual advisory fee, although customers must invest at least $1,000 and still pay the internal expenses of the ETFs. The FDIC sweep uses U.S. Bank rather than a network of unrelated banks, so customers with large cash balances must monitor their total U.S. Bank deposits carefully. Overall, the company’s online investment services now provide better value than the previous pricing structure.
Updated on 6/18/2026.
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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