No free lunch? No one told online discount brokers. Wells Fargo recently began offering 100 free trades a year -- on stocks, exchange-traded funds and no-load mutual funds -- through its WellsTrade online brokerage. To qualify, you need $25,000 in a Wells Fargo account or loan balance -- and that can include 10% of your mortgage. Last fall, Bank of America started offering 360 free online stock trades a year for qualifying customers. Zecco.com offers 40 freebies a month.
Commissions should never be the deciding factor, though, when you're choosing a broker. Some may nickel-and-dime you elsewhere -- by charging account-inactivity fees, for example. Others might stand out in ways that are more important to you.
Qualifying mutual fund investors will find Wells Fargo's offer attractive because it extends to the more than 2,000 no-load funds it offers. Transaction fees can run $75 at Fidelity.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
If you're not a big trader and tend to stow cash in your account, you'd do better with a more generous rate than with free trades. Zecco pays about 1% on default cash accounts, while Fidelity pays up to 3.6% on balances less than $100,000. (Some brokers will transfer cash to a higher-yielding money-market account if you ask.)
If the market's recent turmoil convinced you that speed and reliability are paramount, stick with E*Trade, whose Web site remained lightning-fast when stocks tanked, while Wells Fargo and others slowed significantly. Says analyst Chris Musto, of site-tracker Keynote: "It doesn't matter if you're not charged commission if you can't complete the trade."
-
How to Make the Most of Your Charitable Giving on a BudgetMaximizing the charitable donations you plan to make this year can help your financial plan stay on track and help give the most to the causes you care about.
-
3 Steps to See You and Your Heirs Through a Wealth TransferBoth givers and receivers need to be seriously strategic about communicating, understanding tax efficiency and leveraging smart money moves.
-
What the Rich Know About Investing That You Don'tPeople like Warren Buffett become people like Warren Buffett by following basic rules and being disciplined. Here's how to accumulate real wealth.
-
How to Invest for Rising Data Integrity RiskAmid a broad assault on venerable institutions, President Trump has targeted agencies responsible for data critical to markets. How should investors respond?
-
What Tariffs Mean for Your Sector ExposureNew, higher and changing tariffs will ripple through the economy and into share prices for many quarters to come.
-
How to Invest for Fall Rate Cuts by the FedThe probability the Fed cuts interest rates by 25 basis points in October is now greater than 90%.
-
Are Buffett and Berkshire About to Bail on Kraft Heinz Stock?Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway own a lot of Kraft Heinz stock, so what happens when they decide to sell KHC?
-
How the Stock Market Performed in the First 6 Months of Trump's Second TermSix months after President Donald Trump's inauguration, take a look at how the stock market has performed.
-
Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged: What the Experts Are SayingFederal Reserve As widely expected, the Federal Open Market Committee took a 'wait-and-see' approach toward borrowing costs.
-
Fed Sees Fewer Rate Cuts in 2025: What the Experts Are Saying
Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve cut interest rates as expected, but the future path of borrowing costs became more opaque.
