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Charles Schwab offers low fees, robust research tools and a broad investment menu. But you can’t trade cryptocurrency through Schwab. And you won’t find many high-yield savings accounts to store cash you don’t want to invest. Charles Schwab competitors provide all this and more.
As with Schwab, you can open an Ally Invest brokerage account with $0. You can also trade commission-free stocks and ETFs. Ally provides sophisticated research tools like streaming charts, watchlists, profit-loss graphs and probability calculators. Options traders would be satisfied with Ally's $0.50 per-contract fee, which is lower than Schwab's $0.65 per-contract fee. In addition, Ally Bank offers a wide range of financial products. Its online savings account currently pays an annual percentage yield (APY) of 0.50% compared to 0.05% earned on the Schwab Bank High-Yield Investor Savings Account.
Like Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments is a full-service brokerage that offers commission-free stocks, ETFs and options. At Fidelity, you can also find thousands of funds that don't charge expense ratios. Active traders can benefit from a wealth of research tools that include stock screeners with more than 100 criteria. Passive investors can take advantage of Fidelity Go, which combines a robo-advisor with an investment team's expertise. Fidelity Go charges no management fee on account balances of $10,000 or less.
SoFi Invest is a Charles Schwab alternative that offers commission-free stock and ETF trades. Beginners may be interested in its automated investing account. This automated account is a robo-advisor that uses computer technology to build and manage a personalized portfolio for you. These portfolios invest in ETFs from large investment management companies like BlackRock and Vanguard. Charles Schwab's Intelligent Portfolios are similar but invest only in Schwab funds. You may find more diversification at SoFi. For example, SoFi offers cryptocurrency while Schwab doesn't.
Robinhood is a broker known for low fees and an intuitive app. You can trade stocks, ETFs and options with no commissions. Plus, Robinhood doesn't charge a per-contract fee on options, which is quite rare for brokerages. Schwab charges $0.65 per contract — the industry standard. Robinhood also offers a savings account that pays a 0.30% interest rate on uninvested cash. However, you won't find the same powerful research tools and investment menu that Schwab offers.
Interactive Brokers lets you invest in more than 100 markets compared to Schwab's 12 markets. Like Schwab, Interactive Brokers also provides advanced research tools, including a risk navigator and portfolio builder. Its IBKR Lite platform, designed for beginners, charges no commissions on stock and ETF trades. But beyond this Lite platform, Interactive Brokers is known for tools that may be complex for inexperienced traders.
Charles Schwab is one of the largest and most well-known brokers around. But it may not be the best for everyone. Here are some benefits and drawbacks to consider.
Pros
Several investment types to choose from
Powerful research tools
Low fees
Cons
No access to cryptocurrency
Few savings options to choose from
Large broker-assisted fees
Transfer your brokerage account
If you’re switching brokers, the process may vary depending on your current broker and which one you’re moving to. Charles Schwab charges $50 to transfer all funds to another broker and $25 for a partial transfer. Charles Schwab engages in the Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS). So expect to go through the following process.
Get a statement from your broker that has information like your account number and current assets.
Open the same type of account with your new broker. For example, an individual brokerage account should go to another individual brokerage account.
Fill out a transfer initiation or ACAT form with your current broker.
Your current broker validates your form or notifies you of the next steps within three business days.
Your old broker completes the process and moves funds within six business days.
Note: Some brokers don’t accept the proprietary funds of others. So you may not be able to transfer mutual funds or ETFs managed by your old broker.
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Javier Simon is a freelance investing writer at Finder. He is a certified educator in personal finance (CEPF) with a bachelor's degree in multimedia journalism from SUNY Plattsburgh. He's been featured on NerdWallet, Bankrate, SmartAsset and other major finance websites. He loves writing content that helps people understand complex financial concepts, so they can make better financial decisions. When he's not writing and researching investing concepts, he likes going to rock concerts and the movies.
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