Wells Fargo Advisors Commissions and Fees
For Wells Fargo's wealth management account fees, see Wells Fargo Advisors Review article.
Wells Fargo Brokerage Commissions
| Investments | Commissions |
|---|
| Stocks and ETFs | $0 |
| Stocks and ETFs (broker assisted) | $25 |
| Options | $0 + $0.65 per contract |
| Options (broker assisted) | $25 + $0.65 per contract |
| Mutual funds | No-load, no-transaction-fee funds: $0. No-load transaction-fee funds: $35. Load funds: refer to prospectus |
| Auction of Treasury Bills, Notes and Bonds | $0 |
| New-issue CDs and retail notes | price includes selling concession |
| Other secondary fixed-income transactions | $1 per bond, $250 maximum |
| Investments | stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, Treasury securities, CDs, money market mutual funds, ETFs |
| Minimum deposit to open an account | $0 |
Wells Fargo Margin Rates
|
Debit Balance
|
WellsTrade Margin Rates
|
|
under $24,999.99
|
12.5%
|
|
$25,000 - $49,999.99
|
12%
|
|
$50,000 – $99,999.99
|
11.5%
|
|
$100,000 - $249,999.99
|
11.25%
|
|
$250,000 - $499,999.99
|
10.5%
|
|
$500,000 - $999,999.99
|
10%
|
|
$1,000,000 - $4,999,999.99
|
9.5%
|
|
$5,000,000 - $9,999,999.99
|
9%
|
|
above $10,000,000
|
8.5%
|
WellsTrade Fees and Trading Commissions
WellsTrade charges $0 for online stock and ETF trades, and options cost $0.65 per contract.
There is no minimum opening deposit for a WellsTrade self-directed brokerage account, and self-directed accounts do not have inactivity fees.
WellsTrade Inactivity Fee
WellsTrade does not charge an inactivity fee on its self-directed brokerage accounts.
WellsTrade Account Fees
Fee
|
Amount
|
Trading Fees
|
|
U. S. Treasury Auctions
|
$0
|
Foreign Financial Transactions Fee
|
Variable
|
No Load Mutual Fund Transaction Fee
|
$35 online, $60 for agent-assisted
|
|
|
IRA Fees
|
|
IRA Termination Fee
|
$49.95
|
Minimum Balance Fee
|
|
Household Annual Fee
OR
IRA Custodial Fee
(for IRA only households)
|
$30 per household
You can avoid this fee with one of the following as of June 30 each year for all accounts in your WellsTrade household:
- Enrollment in only electronic delivery for all documents (excluding tax documents/Form 1099)
- Linkage to Portfolio by Wells Fargo program
- $250,000 or more in household balances
- SEP IRA only households
- Wells Fargo Private Bank accounts
Fee will be charged in September of each year.
|
Transfer Fees
|
|
Outgoing Account Transfer
|
$49.95 |
Outgoing Domestic Wire Transfer
|
$30
|
Outgoing International Wire Transfer
|
$40
|
|
|
Cash Management Fees
|
|
Returned Items (insufficient funds)
|
$35 (retail and business)
|
| Deposited / Cash Item Chargeback |
$12
|
|
|
Physical Securities Fees
|
|
Safekeeping Fee
|
$150 per position
|
Physical Certificate Issuance/ Presentment for Safekeeping
|
$500 per security (minimum)
|
Rejection of Ineligible Certificates Presented for Deposits
|
$75
|
Replace Certificate Lost by Client
|
$100 + out-of-pocket expenses
|
|
|
Miscellaneous Fees
|
|
| Returned Items (insufficient funds) | $35 (retail and business)
| Deposited / Cash Item Chargeback
| $12
| Foreign Financial Transactions Fee
| Variable | Outside Investment
| $250 per position annual charge
| Deposit / Withdrawal at Custodian
| $250 for outbound transactions | Account Research / Document Retrieval
| $15 per hour, $5 per document (minimum one-hour charge) | Overnight / Delivery of Checks from Margin Dept
| $15
| Account / Global Depository Receipt Fee
| Variable |
WellsTrade Review
Read full
WellsTrade Review.
A Look at WellsTrade
WellsTrade is not one of the biggest brokerage firms in the country, although it does offer a respectable lineup of investment services in several areas. Can Wells Fargo’s discount broker stack up well against the firm you use now? Let’s dig into the details.
Investments and Accounts
WellsTrade gives investors a choice between self-directed accounts and managed accounts. On the managed side, there is a robo-advisory program called Intuitive Investor®. It charges a 0.35% annual advisory fee and uses cost-effective ETFs. Clients who link a Wells Fargo Prime Checking account pay 0.30%, while clients who link a Premier Checking or Private Bank Interest Checking account pay 0.25%. The minimum opening investment is $500, and financial advisors are available by phone if you need help.
Wells Fargo Advisors also offers a traditional advisory service with a dedicated financial advisor who can meet with clients at a branch or by phone. Fees depend on assets under management and the type of relationship selected. You can compare these costs with what leading
financial advisors in your area charge.
Investors who want to direct their own portfolios can open self-directed brokerage accounts. Available account types include standard taxable brokerage accounts, Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, and Coverdell education savings accounts.
Self-directed traders at WellsTrade can access a moderate selection of investment products. These include:
- Fixed-income securities
- Stocks
- Options
- ETFs
- Closed-end funds
- Mutual funds
Unlike managed accounts, self-directed accounts do not have recurring advisory fees, and there are no minimum balance requirements.
Cash Management Features
WellsTrade is part of Wells Fargo, but that does not automatically mean the account comes with a full bank-style toolkit. In reality, its cash-management features are somewhat limited.
WellsTrade does not provide a debit card or check-writing privileges.
Even so, WellsTrade accounts come with Brokerage Cash Services, which can make money movement easier. Clients can use a single sign-on with Wells Fargo accounts, transfer funds between accounts, deposit checks through the mobile app, make teller deposits at Wells Fargo branches, and use Zelle®.
Website Trading
WellsTrade’s website provides a basic trading setup. We found the site fairly simple to use, partly because the overall feature set is limited.
A useful starting point on the site is the search bar in the upper-right corner. Entering a ticker symbol brings up a drop-down menu with a small price chart and links to option chains, alerts, detailed quotes, and a trade button.
The broker’s order ticket supports four order types:
- Market
- Limit
- Stop
- Stop limit
There is an all-or-none option and two time-in-force choices (day and GTC). Options and mutual funds have their own order tickets with the relevant fields (accessible via tabs on the stock trade ticket).
Charting on the WellsTrade website does not expand to full screen, which is a drawback. However, there are seven chart styles, including dot and candlestick charts, along with several drawing tools and a limited set of technical indicators. For securities with sufficient history, up to 30 years of price data can be displayed.
Option chains on the WellsTrade site display calls and puts only. Multi-leg option strategies and advanced options analytics are not available, although volume and open interest are shown.
Mobile App
The WellsTrade mobile app supports the same order types and time-in-force options as the website. Watchlists and alerts are available, but charting tools are limited, with no drawing tools or technical indicators.
One nice advantage is that options and mutual funds can be traded through the WellsTrade app, which not every broker offers. The app also includes some useful money-movement tools, such as mobile check deposit.
Some tools that are missing and could improve the experience include streaming video news, more advanced charting, and broader security research.
Other Software
Anyone looking for a downloadable desktop platform or a more advanced browser-based trading workstation will not find one at WellsTrade. Clients are limited to the website and mobile app, and both are fairly basic.
Updated on 4/20/2026.
Arthur Chachuna is a professional personal finance blogger, and the owner of Brokerage-Review.com.
He has been an avid investor for 25 years, and has a background in both applied math and programming.
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