If you’re planning to open an Individual Retirement Account, be sure to check out everything Robinhood
offers. The top brokerage company for IRA has a lot of resources that retirement savers will find appealing.
IRAs Offered: Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA
IRA Setup Fee: $0
IRA Annual Fee: $0
IRA Termination Fee: $0
Stocks and ETFs: $0
Robinhood IRA Promotion
1% IRA match and up to $200 in FREE stock with Robinhood.
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Robinhood Fees and Services
Robinhood started the trend towards ultra-low fees, and this company policy extends to Individual Retirement Accounts. IRAs are charged zero commissions on all trades of securities, which is pretty much unbeatable. There are no recurring account fees of any kind at Robinhood, which really sweetens the pot quite a bit.
An IRA at Robinhood can be managed on either the company’s website or mobile app, and trades can be placed on either platform. Every IRA is self-directed, and it’s really easy for small investors to get going here because Robinhood offers fractional-share trading starting at just $1.
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Free Robinhood IRA
1% IRA match and up to $200 in FREE stock with Robinhood.
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IRAs Offered: SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, Custodial IRA, Inherited IRA
IRA Setup Fee: $0
IRA Annual Fee: $0
IRA Termination Fee: $0
Charles Schwab Fees and Services
An IRA at Schwab can be opened under either the company’s brokerage or investment-advisory program. A self-directed IRA has no annual fees of any kind, and there are no commissions on most online trades of U.S.-listed securities.
A managed IRA could have an annual percent-based fee, depending on the exact setup chosen. Schwab’s robo program is free, although there’s a $5,000 minimum deposit requirement. This is less than the current annual contribution limit of $7,000, so a robo IRA can be opened and funded in a single year with a single contribution.
IRA customers who sign up for the full-service Wealth Management program can get personalized help on a wide variety of issues, including many that retirement savers typically need help with. These include:
- Individualized financial plan
- Asset preservation
- Tax-smart investing
- Estate planning
- Charitable giving
- Help with insurance
- And more...
Self-managed IRAs have less assistance, although they do get to trade the S&P 500 stocks in fractional shares. They also have access to foreign stocks, although these will come with commissions. For trading all of the available asset classes, Schwab has excellent software, which is free to use.
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Best IRA Firm Award
Free Charles Schwab IRA
$0 commissions + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
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Robinhood
| Investments | Commissions |
|---|
| Stocks and ETFs | $0 |
| Stocks and ETFs broker assisted | $10 |
| Listed Foreign Securities | $50 |
| Euroclear | $35 |
| Canadian Stocks | $35 |
| Options | $0 |
| Mutual funds | not offered |
| Treasury Bills, Notes, Municipal and Agency Bonds, Zeros & Strips | not offered |
| Robinhood Investments | stocks, options, cryptocurrencies, ETFs |
| Minimum deposit to open account | $0 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account |
| Fees | Robinhood fees |
| Promotion |
Robinhood promotions
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Charles Schwab
| Investments | Commissions |
|---|
| Stocks and ETFs | $0 |
| Options | $0.65 per contract |
| Mutual funds | $0/$49.95/$74.95 to buy, $0 to sell |
| Futures | $2.25 per contract |
| 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 | $0 |
| Commercial Paper and Foreign Bonds, Unit Investment Trusts | call for pricing |
| Investments |
stocks, bonds, mutual funds, futures, Treasury issues, options, CDs, insurance, ETFs,
forex, annuities, non-U.S. securities and ADRs, WEBs and Canadian foreign orders
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| Charles Schwab minimum deposit to open account | $0 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account |
| Fees | Charles Schwab fees |
| Promotion link | Charles Schwab promotions |
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Robinhood IRA clients will find much to like at the brokerage house. Perhaps the jewel in the crown at the brokerage firm is the now very famous 1% IRA match available on all IRA contributions. No employer is necessary for this generous bonus, which makes it an even sweeter deal. Contributions must remain in the IRA for at least five years to keep the match for certain. Transfers out of the retirement account in less than 5 years could lead to a recapture of the 1% match, depending on the balance of the IRA.
To bring this really nice program to an even higher level, Robinhood now gives its Gold clients a 3% match on IRA contributions. A Gold membership does cost $5 per month, although it comes with a lot of additional perks retirement account owners can benefit from, such as Morningstar research and Level II quotes.
A third program Robinhood has recently launched that its IRA customers can take advantage of is another match. This one applies to 401k rollovers and IRA transfers and is good for 1%. That 1% could really add up if the 401k balance is large. An old employer’s retirement plan worth $90,000 rolled into an IRA at Robinhood would get a $900 bonus. Matches on Rollover IRAs are subject to the same 5-year rule.
Once assets are in the IRA, the retirement account will be able to trade stocks, ETFs, and options. Robinhood does not permit IRAs to trade cryptocurrencies at this time.
Robinhood does permit IRAs to use its portfolio-builder tool. Every IRA has access to this useful service. It will suggest a basket of ETFs based on answers the IRA owner provides on an online questionnaire. Technically, this isn’t a robo service because Robinhood doesn’t provide any ongoing management or oversight on the account or investments. There is a $20 minimum investment amount to use the tool. It can be found by clicking on the Retirement tab at the top of the website and selecting the link to find investments.
Although ongoing portfolio management is not available at Robinhood, IRA customers will get ongoing investment education. The broker-dealer disseminates learning materials through multiple channels, and some of these resources focus on retirement topics. We found these articles especially helpful:
- How much should I save for retirement?
- What is the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Program?
- Three things to do before you start investing
There is no charge for any of these materials, and even guests can use them. Just head over to the Learn page on the broker’s website.
Free Robinhood IRA
1% IRA match and up to $200 in FREE stock with Robinhood.
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IRA clients of Schwab will be in very good hands, thanks to the company’s treasure trove of retirement resources. First is the large assortment of educational materials that Schwab publishes. These can be found at various locations on the website and mobile app. The website has the lion’s share of information, so it’s a good place to begin. Under the Learn tab in the top menu, there is a link to ‘Planning & Retirement.’ This hub has lots of articles that IRA investors will want to take a look at. Examples we found include:
- Preserving Family Wealth
- What Is a Roth IRA?
- Planning for Long-Term Care
Under the Products tab in the main menu, there is a link to a collection of calculators. They all lead the user step-by-step through a series of inputs that the software program will use to make a suggestion or estimate. Examples of calculators include:
- Preparing for retirement
- Saving for college
- Buying a house
- Estate planning
- Ready to build a portfolio
On the calculator page, there is a link to a complimentary financial plan focused on retirement. Obviously, this is a great service that self-directed IRA owners will definitely want to check out.
Then there is Schwab’s large nationwide network of branch locations. There are a few hundred locations, and both advisory and brokerage customers can take advantage of these offices. One-on-one planning from an investment advisor is available to advisory IRAs at these locations.
Brokerage clients who feel comfortable doing their own retirement planning in conjunction with Schwab’s educational materials already mentioned have their own resources. For example, Schwab has a long list (664 to be exact) of lifecycle mutual funds that are designed for retirement planning. It’s easy to find these securities using Schwab’s fund screener, and many of them have no load and no transaction fee.
Besides mutual funds, brokerage IRAs can trade bonds and other fixed-income securities, stocks, options, exchange-traded funds, and closed-end funds. The stock category includes both foreign and OTC stocks (these will have commissions).
Schwab’s website has a ladder tool that can be used to construct a bond ladder, a device that can be employed in a retirement plan. Brokered CDs can be used in the same manner. The tool is on the fixed-income page, which will be found under the Research tab at the top of the website.
Free Charles Schwab IRA
$0 commissions + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
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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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