Welp MagazineCharles Schwab provides all the necessary educational resources to help beginners navigate investing. Meanwhile, advanced tools and $0 Commissions will draw active traders.
Charles Schwab Broker stands out from other brokers due to its exceptional customer service, $0 trading commissions, and large selection of mutual fund options.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- There are three platforms available with no minimum or fees.
- Above-average mobile app.
- Extensive research.
- Large fund selection
- Commission-free options, stocks, and ETF trades
Cons
- Low default cash sweep fee
Full Review
Charles Schwab is a shining example
Charles Schwab’s comprehensive offerings are appealing to all investors. Active traders will appreciate the $0 minimum investment, while beginners will appreciate the $0 stock and options commission.
Extensive research. Schwab has high marks because of its research offerings. Schwab’s equity ratings are included, as well as analyses and commentary by the industry’s leading research firms.
Schwab’s fund selection includes funds with low expense rates and funds that have no transaction fees.
Charles Schwab fails to do the right thing
Schwab offers fractional shares for a limited number of S&P 500 stocks. These are the stocks most investors are interested in. However, there are many other brokers that offer fractional shares trading.
Charles Schwab is the best choice for:
- For investors who are just starting out.
- Advanced traders
- Investors searching for no-minimum index funds
- Premium research is important for investors.
Learn more about Exante rating.
Rating
Minimum Account: 5 stars
Schwab offers no minimum account requirement and access to over 500 funds. The minimum investment requirement is $100.
Stock trading costs: 5 of 5 stars
Schwab is like many brokers today and does not charge commissions for trading stock, options or ETFs. Schwab does charge $6.95 per OTC trade. This change may cause investors to reconsider trading penny stocks.
Options trades: 4 of 5 stars
Schwab does not charge per trade commissions for options. However, it does charge $0.65 each contract. This is a normal charge and is similar to other brokers.
Account fees are 4 out 5 stars
Schwab has one of the most affordable account fees — if they are even required. Schwab doesn’t charge any annual fees or inactivity fees. The fee for transferring assets from the account to another person is $25. For a complete transfer, it is $50.
5 out of 5 stars: 5 mutual funds with no transaction-fee
Schwab has access to over 7,100 non-transaction fee mutual fund options. Schwab also offers index funds and ETFs with low expense ratios within its own portfolio. Schwab has over 2,400 funds with expense ratios under 0.50%.
It’s also very easy to navigate. Schwab’s ETF Select List helps to narrow down the selections, featuring picks in select categories for the best fund (more information below). The list can also be sorted by feature, such as Morningstar category, expense ratio, benchmark index, and benchmark. You also have the Personalized portfolio Builder tool that will help you to create a diversified portfolio based your financial goals.
Tradable securities: 4 stars out of 5.
Charles Schwab stocks a variety of tradable security options including ETFs (equities that track the price of securities), bonds, options and futures.
Schwab Stock Slices provide fractional shares that allow investors to buy smaller amounts of stock, rather than buying the entire share price. You would have 10% of a share if you bought a $10 slice when a stock was $100. Investors can buy as many as 10 slices per slice for as low as $5. Single slices can be bought for as low as $5. This feature is available only for stocks belonging to S&P 500 companies. Fidelity Brokers and Interactive Brokers offer fractional trading. However, there are no restrictions on fractional share offerings.
Crypto trading: Charles Schwab clients cannot trade cryptocurrency directly at the moment. However, the broker can provide access to over-the–counter crypto-based products like Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
5 out Of 5 Stars – Trading platform
Schwab’s website provides basic trading functionality. The broker also offers many robust trading platforms. These are all free and available to all clients of trading services.
StreetSmart Edge, its most popular offering, is a customized platform that can be downloaded online or via cloud-based technology online. StreetSmart Central offers options trading through a series of programs. Mobile trading is available through the Schwab and StreetSmart Mobile apps.
StreetSmart.com as well as Schwab.com allow traders to access robust tools and research. Schwab.com is a good place to start trading. The other platforms have more advanced features.
StreetSmart Edge is easy to use and has a simple navigation system that can be customized to fit your trading style. Advanced features include the ability to trade multiple securities at once (and with a variety different order types) as well as tools to monitor and analyze your market exposure. There are many customization options on this platform, including the Balance Bar. This gives you an instant overview of your account and purchasing power. Additionally, you can create and edit multiple trading patterns.
Finally, you are able to quickly research a symbol, view streaming data and place an or order.
Schwab.com allows traders and investors to view their portfolios and markets, as well as access research and technical data. It includes an intuitive trade ticket to stock, ETF, or option orders. The current market information is also included.
Mobile app 5/5 stars
Schwab Mobile offers StreetSmart Mobile, and Schwab Mobile. Schwab’s mobile apps are generally well-rated. However StreetSmart Mobile is a bit less popular than Schwab Mobile.
Research and data: 5 of 5 stars
Schwab offers its own equity ratings and reports from MarketEdge, Recognia, Morningstar, MarketEdge, Recognia, and other sources. A variety of market commentary, research reports, and real-time news are available from Schwab, along with reports from MarketEdge, Recognia, Morningstar, and Recognia. The broker also offers a quarterly magazine that is free.
Schwab’s investment screening tools are easy-to-use and can be saved to your screens. The company’s expert team compiles select lists. They are published quarterly to give investors a pre-screened range of mutual funds. The fund list is broken down by category so you can easily view the company’s picks, such as large-cap stock mutual money.
Google Assistant integrates with the company — you can ask Google to find stock quotes, general market information, and more — and an Amazon Alexa skill provides similar information.
Customer support options: Rated 4.5 out 5 stars
There are many ways customers can get in touch with us. All contact methods are available 24 hours a day, including email, phone and live chat. There are over 90 Charles Schwab branches in the United States, some of which even open on Saturdays.
Charles Schwab might be right for me
Schwab has everything for investors. Stock traders will appreciate the $0 trading commissions as well as sophisticated platforms, research, and tools. Beginner investors and fund managers will both benefit from the extensive selection of cheap and low-minimum index funds and mutual funds. Schwab Intelligent portfolios, a financial advisor and robo-advisor offering, offers investment management.
