Overview of WeBull Financial
Although Webull Financial is known as an ultra-low-cost broker, it does manage to deliver some pretty good services. But are they enough to pull you away from your current brokerage firm? Here’s the answer:
WeBull Pricing and Minimum Deposit
| Investments | Commissions |
|---|
| Stocks and ETFs | $0 |
| Options | $0 |
| Crypto | markup of 100 basis points on both sides |
| Mutual funds | not offered |
| Treasury Bills, Notes, Municipal and Agency Bonds, Zeros & Strips | not offered |
| Investments | stocks, options, cryptocurrencies, ETFs |
| Minimum deposit to open account | $0 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account |
| Fees | WeBull fees |
| Promotion |
WeBull promotions
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Bulls Rave About...
Best commission schedule. All assets have $0 commission at Webull.
Good mobile app. Webull’s mobile app is a major highlight.
Crypto trading. Webull has a growing list of crypto-currencies to trade.
Bears Rave About...
Many services don’t exist. Webull is a pretty young company and did not have a chance yet to develop some investment
services.
Limited research. Webull has a small selection of investment research resources.
Several assets can’t be traded. Webull has a small selection of tradable investments.
Customer Service
Webull recently posted its phone number on its website, a huge improvement from last year, when its customers had no idea what its phone number was. It also has an email address for service inquiries. It’s customerservices@webull.us. In a test e-mail, it took less than 24 hours for us to receive a response.
Missing at Webull is a network of branch locations. On the mobile app, there is a self-help section. For instance, we found icons to download statements, transfer funds, add a beneficiary, and transfer stocks.
Available Securities
Once upon a time, Webull didn’t offer trading in options. Today it does. This addition improves
things in this category. The other available investments are stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, and closed-end funds.
Penny stocks priced above 1¢ can also be traded. This too is an improvement over the broker’s previous policy. Over-the-counter equities are still off limits, however.
Also missing at Webull are precious metals, futures, forex, bonds, and mutual funds.
Account Types
Besides the addition to the products mentioned above, Webull has also added Individual Retirement Accounts to its taxable accounts. Clearly, this broker-dealer is growing, and that’s a great thing. A taxable account can be setup with margin.
The firm still doesn’t have a 529 plan, a solo 401k, UGMA/UTMA accounts, or Coverdell Education Savings Accounts.
Commission Schedule
Now we come to the $64 million question, or perhaps we should say the $0 question: what does Webull charge for its services?
Stock and fund trades are $0. Option trades have the same base charge, and believe it or not, there are no per-contract fees.
The broker doesn’t charge anything to open or close an account; and there’s no minimum balance requirement, another great feature.
On the flip side, the brokerage house does have lots of charges for wire transfers (anywhere from $8 to $45). The Automated Clearing House system is free, but a returned ACH is $30.
Margin rates are very low: they range from 6.49% for very large debits to 9.49% for balances under
$25k.
Promotion
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Platform
Webull has one platform. It is able to function in a web browser or as a desktop platform. In either case, the layout and tools are the same. The software functions on both Mac and Windows.
During our investigation, we found several nice tools. Perhaps the biggest highlight is a
simulated-trading mode. In the far left-hand column, there is a list of icons. The dollar sign with
a circle around it is for paper trading. This is where you can learn the program without risking
real money.
Charts on the platform have 11 indicators. While this isn’t a large number, hopefully Webull will add more in the future. Some of the current studies include Alligator and Pivot Points. Each indicator has an explanation, and there are millions of colors to choose from.
Drawing tools make an appearance, too. There are 14 of these, including Fibonacci gadgets and trend
lines. Colors can be changed, but there aren’t as many choices as indicators have.
There are 8 graph styles. Base line and hollow candles are a couple of examples.
A watchlist is integrated in the platform. It’s easy to create new ones and move stocks from one
list to another. A watchlist can be displayed either in the traditional list format or in a grid
format, which presents a small graph with each stock.
A “Trade” icon in the far left-hand column creates a grid-view of 3 stocks with an order ticket
underneath each one. At the top of each column is a small graph. It has the same tools that a
full-size graph offers. Beneath the graph is a window of time & sales data. And below this is the
order ticket.
The platform’s trade ticket offers several important features. Extended hours can be selected.
Besides market and limit orders, there are also stop, stop loss, stop limit, and take-profit
varieties. On the downside, there are only 2 time-in-force options: day and GTC.
Mobile App
If you’re away from your desk, Webull offers a mobile app. Not long ago, this was the only platform the company offered. It was more advanced than its desktop cousin for some time, and some features remain so.
For example, the mobile app has a community section where customers can sign up for trading
competitions, read comments about stocks and contests, and make posts as well. Various bonuses are
posted on the mobile platform that don’t appear on the computer platform.
Another nice feature on the mobile app that we didn’t find on the PC platform is an IPO center. Here, users can browse through previous IPO’s Webull has participated in. Current offerings are shown along with a sign-up button.
Other features not found on the desktop platform that do make an appearance on the mobile app
include account statements, tax documents, an ACH transfer tool, beneficiary preferences, a stock
transfer tool, and a currency converter.
The app’s graphing system has some nice highlights that we need to mention. A chart can be shown in
horizontal mode. There are 12 drawing tools, which is a large number for a mobile platform. In the
technical realm, we counted 10 studies, a decent number for a mobile app.
There are two order tickets on the app. One displays horizontally next to a chart. It is generated
by clicking on a “Trade” button that sits underneath a chart in horizontal mode. Market and limit
orders are displayed. For the latter type, buy orders are populated at the ask price and sell orders
at the bid price.
The vertical trade ticket offers more order types. Stop and OTO (one triggers the others) are available. For the latter type, up to 6 secondary orders can be attached. Limit orders can have any limit price, which is one advantage over the horizontal ticket. Other advantages include extended-hours trading and take-profit and stop-loss choices.
Options Trading
With the addition of options trading, Webull’s software hasn’t changed much. On the mobile app, there is an “Options” icon on a stock’s profile. Tapping on this produces option chains.
On the computer platform, it’s a little hard to find. At the bottom of a chart, there is a double up-arrow. Clicking on this expands an options chain window. Next to the up-arrow is an expand icon if you want to replace the chart with chains. To the far-left side, a yellow icon is displayed next to the word “Options” to indicate real-time data is turned on for derivative prices.
During our testing of both platforms, we found it fairly easy to place option orders. Clicking on a bid or ask price (or tapping on one on the mobile platform) automatically populates a trade ticket. Here, the break-even point of the trade is shown along with maximum gain and loss numbers.
Webull now also offers multi-leg strategies.
Security Analysis
Before you jump into the deep end with real money and start placing trades, you may want to thoroughly educate yourself with the broker’s learning materials. For general education, there’s not a whole lot. We did find a glossary on its site along with a helpful list of FAQs.
For security research, the computer platform and mobile app both offer screeners. There are a few
search criteria on the desktop platform’s screener. Strangely, geographic region is one of them,
although Webull doesn’t offer trading in any of the results. Other choices include EPS, market cap,
and technical indicators. Somewhat oddly, the mobile app has more search criteria. Both platforms
offer pre-defined screens.
A markets section on both the platform and mobile app present data on important economic sectors, most active stocks, cryptocurrency rates, market indexes, net flows on major exchanges, upcoming IPOs, precious metals prices, and more.
On the mobile app, there is an economic calendar. Sections include stocks with ex-dividend dates, earnings releases, and economic data to be released by the government.
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Other Services
Webull has a pre-market trading service that starts at 4 o’clock in the morning, EST, and runs to
the opening bell. After the market closes, another session begins and runs until 8 o’clock in the
evening. These are the best trading hours offered at online brokers right now. Only Interactive Brokers matches these hours,
and only on its non-free pricing plan.
There is no DRIP service at Webull right now, and obviously, no periodic mutual fund investing.
Fractional shares of stocks and ETFs are now available.
Recommendation
Mutual Fund Investors: Webull won’t work. But Fidelity and TD Ameritrade would.
Individual Retirement Accounts: Webull currently offers Roth, traditional, and rollover IRA’s.
Missing are several other types, including Minor, SIMPLE, SEP, and Inherited. For missing account types we would suggest
TD Ameritrade.
Beginners: Webull is easy to learn and use even for those new to investing.
Active Stock and ETF Trading: Webull’s commission schedule and software make it a good choice for traders.
Long-Term Investors and Retirement Savers: TD Ameritrade customers get target-date mutual funds,
portfolio management services (including a robo option), solo 401(k)’s, and more IRA’s than Webull
customers.
Small Accounts: Small investors will do well at Webull.
Awards
WeBull Review Summary
Webull has made tremendous progress in multiple areas during the past year. It is the fastest
growing broker in the country. Its future looks bright.
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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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