I’ve been with Scottrade since early 2010, back when I first excitedly (and naively) opened my brokerage account.
Wasn’t totally sure what to expect at first. And I went into investing without much thought. In fact, I spent more time researching brokerages than I did investing/stocks. Rookie mistake.
But I knew I had to make some changes in my life. And I had a high degree of confidence that investing in businesses was the right path.
I started off investing in random stocks that seemed like “good ideas”. Truth be told, I had no idea what I was doing.
Fortunately, I quickly realized the error of my ways, and I sold out of everything. I took some time to extensively research what I was getting into. Knowledge is power. And I absorbed as much as I could before getting started again.
The stock market has been good to me since. I’ve put my capital to work with high-quality dividend growth stocks, eventually amassing the portfolio I now control.
Scottrade has also been good to me. They’ve answered questions when I’ve had them. Their customer service has been excellent. And they’ve faithfully and accurately executed everything I’ve asked for. There were never any questions or concerns over the safety or security of my assets. And so I’ve been able to otherwise go about my life.
However, things change. And so we must sometimes change, too.
Scottrade announced some time ago that they were being acquired by TD Ameritrade.
As a long-term and fairly lethargic investor, this news didn’t really cause me any trouble. TD Ameritrade is a reputable firm, just like Scottrade. And as a shareholder in Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) (which owns part of TD Ameritrade), I felt pretty comfortable with the idea of using a product I own a slice of.
However, I also felt that I would be remiss if I didn’t at least explore what options I might have and what benefits might come my way if I were to want to move the account elsewhere. After all, it was going to be moved to a different platform one way or another.
After some research, I found out that Charles Schwab is currently (as of this writing – that may change, so check directly with Charles Schwab) offering something really unique.
They’re offering one year of free equity trades for every year of tenure earned with Scottrade.
Since I’ve been with Scottrade for over seven years, I’m going to get free trades until almost 2025.
Moreover, Charles Schwab is now cheaper (for equity trades) than both Scottrade and TD Ameritrade (if/when I ever have to pay for trades again), and it offers a high-quality platform backed up by renowned customer service.
So it’s really a win-win across the board.
I’ve recommended many readers over to Scottrade over the years. That’s because I walk the walk. I personally used them and thoroughly enjoyed the service they brought to the table. My experience was nothing less than excellent. I’m not going to recommend a brokerage I don’t personally use.
But with current Scottrade customers having no choice other than to eventually migrate to a new platform (which will be TD Ameritrade if you do nothing), it probably behooves one to investigate the best available options today.
In the interest of being forthright, I just wanted to share this offer with any readers out there who have been with Scottrade for many years, as a substantial windfall of free trades could be available. Of course, I cannot and will not guarantee the accuracy of this offer as it pertains to any individual, so checking directly with Charles Schwab is recommended.
Another great (and free) platform I’ve personally used and recommended over the years is Personal Capital. Definitely check that out, too. I wouldn’t recommend it if I didn’t find a lot of value in it. You should be able to link your Schwab (or any other) brokerage account seamlessly.
ETA: You can find details on Charles Schwab’s offer (for as long as it exists) here.
Full Disclosure: I’m long TD.
Thanks for reading.
Image courtesy of: Charles Schwab.
P.S. If you’re interested in achieving FIRE, take a look at some amazing resources that I’ve personally used on my way to becoming financially free at 33!
I assume this offer doesn’t extend to those already with TD Ameritrade?
Seeking,
As stated in the article, this is about moving over from Scottrade to Schwab. I’m not sure about any other offers Schwab may or may not be offering.
Cheers.
I just joined Charles Schwab from TD Ameritrade. The offer still holds as of 03/06/2018. The only place where free trades are not included is options.
Really Cool! free trade all the way to 2025. I am going to try to see if Scottrade will give me some free trades or match the price. wish me luck! 😀
FV,
If you’ve been with Scottrade for a while, it’s definitely worth checking into. But I wouldn’t call them about “matching” anything, as they’re already cheaper than Scottrade.
Best regards!
Hi Jason,
Thanks for the article. I am looking for another brokerage and already have large sized accounts at: TD Ameritrade, E-trade, Scottrade, Charles Schwab and Fidelity.
Merill Lynch is on my radar. I’m not a fan of Trade King. Do you know of any other online low cost brokerages that I should be looking into as well?
Best regards,
Mike
Mike,
I think you’ve pretty much experienced all of the more high-quality options available.
Also not a fan of TradeKing. Didn’t have a good experience there at all.
Cheers!
Tradeking is no more, it has been taken over by Ally.
Lobo,
Interesting info. Thanks!
Cheers.
Awesome info, thanks. Is there much of a hassle involved with switching brokers? I’ve only been a Scottrade customer.
MDS,
It’s not a hassle at all. It took all of about one minute to enter in the information so that Schwab could pull over the account. I did everything online. Literally took 60 seconds. It then takes about a week or so for the transfer to be finalized.
Best wishes.
does it transfer over the stock the same way it appears in your portfolio or do you have to rebuy the stock?
BMcG,
I didn’t have any troubles with the transfer. But I would contact Schwab directly if you have questions/concerns.
Cheers!
No just need to be patient.
Free is a great price for trades. I don’t have a ST account so can’t take advantage. For my money, Interactive Brokers offers the best deal. I usually pay less than 3 dollars for an equity trade and they have great options pricing.
FV,
Less than $3 is definitely an attractive price point!
I personally have never found the fees to be onerous, mostly because I’ve never traded that much. I’ve always tried to wait until I have a sizable amount of capital before striking, so it never made that much of a difference for me. Plus, I’ve referred people and received free trades that way. If I’ve spent over $1,500 in commission fees over my entire lifetime, I’d be highly surprised. And since I doubt I’ll still be investing much past 2025, that’s probably a pretty good number to look at in terms of total commissions paid forever. That all said, free is certainly even better. 🙂
Cheers!
Now I wish I was a Scottrade customer. Unfortunately, I’m with Capital One Investing and so the offer does not apply. I like the idea of investing in partial shares, but I’m sure that my investment goals will outgrow the cost and benefits of using Capital One Investing. Right now, I use their advantage account (no longer available to new customers), so I get 12 trades for $12 per month. I also make use automatic investment feature.
I actually considered Charles Schwab before, and may well again in the future. But, since I’m just starting out, the benefits of the automatic investing and fractional shares are still too much to pass up with Capital One Investing.
Thanks for the information though. It’s good to know.
DP,
Hey, you have to work with what best suits you and your needs. This works for me, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that will translate well to everyone else. 🙂
Thanks for dropping by.
Best regards.
Hey Jason, this is intriguing. I did go over to their website, but it has no mention of this offer. Do you recommend calling them ? I mean is there anything in writing that you got from them about this ? How did u find out about this offer…
I am a current scottrade customer for almost 9 years running, so this really makes me sit up and take notice 🙂
Desi Guy,
Yeah, I don’t know of any offer like this publicly offered on their website. It’s just something I’m passing along. I called to see what I could get elsewhere. I recommend doing the same.
I received an email guaranteeing it for me (meaning it’s now in writing), but my account is sizable and I’ve been with Scottrade for a long time. YMMV.
Best wishes.
Look what i found – http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/nn/tradeoffer.html
Desi Guy,
Yeah, there you go. I guess the onus is on people to do a little research sometimes. I’m just passing along the good word. 🙂
Cheers.
Wow, thanks for the link. I’ve been with Scottrade since 2003 and TD Ameritrade’s site is horrible. Time to jump on this.
Bryon,
This offer is amazing. And Schwab has been tremendous for me since the moment I switched. Hope the same for you. 🙂
Cheers!
Just contacted Schwab. The account specialist with whom I chatted knew nothing of such a promotion…nor does their “new account promos” page mention it.
Danny,
As I mentioned in the article, I can’t guarantee that this offer will be extended to anyone else. It could be regional. I have no idea if/when it expires. Moreover, my account is rather substantial. And I’ve been with Scottrade for a long time.
Passing along this information does nothing for me. I just thought some readers would benefit from it. My offer is in writing, so I know it’s not something someone over the phone made up.
Sorry it didn’t work for you. You may want to check with your local branch. Or perhaps higher up the chain. If not, better offers could be elsewhere.
Best regards.
I just contacted Schwab and they did confirm the deal for current Scottrade customers. I am working on making the switch today.
MDS,
Best of luck!
Cheers.
Jason,
On a related subject, you once wrote an article on DM about possibly owning assets in multiple brokerages. I believe this was when you gave Trade King a try and it didn’t work out for you. I don’t believe you ever came to a resolution. Because of the 250k FDIC insurance, do you still think it’s necessary to diversify brokerages or are you 100% okay with keeping 100% of your stock assets in one place such as Charles Schwab?
-Lino Patti
Long time Follower, First Time Commenter
Lino,
Thanks for dropping by!
It’s not FDIC insurance I wrote about; it’s SIPC:
http://www.sipc.org/for-investors/what-sipc-protects
And it’s not $250k; it’s $500k (including $250k in cash).
I moved those assets from TradeKing to Fidelity after I realized I didn’t enjoy working with the former. I shared that somewhere. Perhaps social media. So there was always going to be a resolution, be it with TradeKing or elsewhere. I still like the idea of spreading assets around, as I tend to err on the side of caution. I’ll likely have 4-5 brokerage accounts open before I’m all done (depending on how much I give away by then).
Best wishes!
Merill Edge offers 30 free trades per month with min $50k-100k in securities/cash. Get 100 free trades for securities/cash balance of 100k or more.
If you’re not with Scotttrade, you can still get free trades.
Curtis,
I believe that starts to occur as you hit the Platinum Preferred Rewards they offer. That itself requires a checking account with B of A. If you already run your money through B of A, that could work out pretty nicely, although I’ve heard mixed things about Merrill Edge. This Schwab offer works better for me, but ME could certainly work for other investors. Whatever suits your needs is what you should go with. 🙂
Cheers!
Hi, Jason
As per my conversation with Customer Service yesterday (I just happened to be checking them out when I saw your post) it doesn’t require a checking account. Can be a stand alone brokerage account with ME.
I can’t speak to their service, but I was only offering it as another option for those who don’t qualify for the Scottrade offer (a sweet deal for you, indeed)
Take care!
Curtis,
Preferred Rewards requires a checking account, per their website:
http://info.bankofamerica.com/preferred-rewards/
You can certainly have a ME account on a standalone basis, but I was referring to the free trades (which requires Platinum status in their Preferred Rewards program).
Cheers.
Not that it’s necessarily a differentiator, but Merrill Edge does offer Morningstar’s analyst reports for free. I like it as an easy way to see the 1/3/5/10 year growth rates as well as monitor 5 year changes in share count, etc. in one place. To a lesser extent, I like to see their view on the company’s moat, as compared to my own assessment. The free trades for 2 years have been great also! Cheers Jason.
Jason,
I would have gone with Merrill a while ago, but the subpar reviews and the need to have a checking account with B of A (for the free trades) kept me away. I gave TK the benefit of the doubt (they had similar reviews), and I later regretted that. I’d always be willing to pay a few bucks more for a much better experience, as much of my savings has come about through major life changes (brokerage fees are a drop in the bucket). That said, if I can get a top-notch experience AND free trades, well, I’m all over it. 🙂
Cheers!
Been with them for years , with checking -Free checks, Every ATM fee refunded.
Have zero complaints. No charge deposit by check.
Mason,
Glad you enjoy working with them. So far, so good here. 🙂
Best regards.
I made the switch about 2 months ago and got 10 years free trading on all my accounts. Its an unbelievable deal. I am really happy with Schwab. Their custom services is top notch and i really like their research reports.
PS. I am really enjoying your videos on how you value stocks. Its great to watch how you do it as opposed to just reading about a stock you highlight. Awesome idea.
Frank
Frank,
That’s awesome to hear, man. Great move over there. I think it’s a great deal. You’re getting one of the best platforms out there for a steal. By the time you’ll even be eligible to pay fees again, they’ll probably be negligible. They just keep dropping anyway.
Appreciate the support on the videos. I’m still working them out. I’m shooting them in basically one shot, but I’m still nailing down my mannerisms (avoiding the umms, etc.). It’s a lot of fun for me. If you can’t tell, I could talk that stuff all day long. 🙂
Cheers!
You record videos? Would be interested in seeing the videos on valuation as well. Are these on YouTube?
Seeking,
I’m recording videos that go over over select undervalued dividend growth stocks (sourced from the weekly series). These videos are over at Daily Trade Alert. If you follow me on social media, I announce/share these videos whenever they’re live.
The most recent video is here:
http://dailytradealert.com/2017/06/28/this-dividend-growth-stock-appears-19-undervalued/
Hope you enjoy!
Best regards.
HI Jason
I think its great when you can get the same or better products or services for a lower cost. I put this under the 2 thumbs up way up. Good for you for making the move that will benefit you. I will have to take a look at Charles Schwab, I am currently using TD Ameritrade and have no complaints. but if I can make a move that will be a benefit for me and wife I am in. thanks for the update. Also enjoy watching your video it was really good.
Cheer
Michael
Michael,
It’s a no-brainer. Win-win.
Glad you’re enjoying the videos. It looks like we may do an extra one for July. I’m having a lot of fun with them. Hope we can continue them. 🙂
Best regards.
Jason do you do the promotional brokerage offers for cash? If you deposit a certain amount of assets (stocks or cash etc) you get a bonus. I did one with tdameritrade $1000 cash (for $250,000 deposit) and one with capital one for $600 and another with Merrill for $1000. Have to keep the money in for a year to keep the bonus. I just withdraw dividends so no issue. It is a dividend booster.
Lobo,
Well, this is basically what I did. It was a promotional offer to bring assets over. The only way to eventually know the “cash” value is to add up all the trades between now and the end of the offer, then look at what that would have cost otherwise elsewhere (if I were paying for the trades). I made my first free trade today, so I’m already in the green. 🙂
Best regards.
J –
This had to be a no-brainer, free trades for 8 years… just WOW. They made your decision for you : )
-Lanny
Lanny,
No-brainer, indeed! 🙂
Thanks for dropping by.
Best wishes!
Free trade until 2025? wow, what deal. So you could deploy your dividend right way and execute small orders every weeks 🙂
Best Regards,
FJ,
Yeah, exactly. You could do just that. Buy one share at a time, if you wanted. Not a bad deal. 🙂
Cheers!
Wow that’s a fantastic deal, I just checked to see if I could do the same with my version of the freedom fun and couldn’t find anything for me. Shame as it would have given me the next 14 years of free trades 🙂 Great find for you though, happy investing!
DD,
That sucks, man. It’s just for Scottrade customers right now (as far as I know). But you never know what might pop up in the future. 🙂
Cheers!
Schwab was my broker for several years, until I started trading options regularly. Their pricing isn’t good for options, but I liked everything else about the platform. Great research tools.
IH,
Don’t know anything about their options pricing (I don’t use options), but I agree on the research. Far more robust than what Scottrade has. I’m now getting more for (far) less, so it was a no-brainer.
Just hoping a few other readers can benefit. 🙂
Best regards.
This sounds like an amazing deal to move. I just read the fine print and saw this, “Schwab reserves the right to terminate or change the offer at any time without notice.” I will call them up and ask. I have an open legacy account with Scottrade since 2004. This seems like a deal too good to pass up.
Keith,
Yeah, I can’t imagine they’ll keep the offer up for long. That’s why I’m passing along the good word. 🙂
Best of luck with the move over!
Cheers.
Thanks for passing along this tip. I was unaware of it before, but I switched from Scottrade to Schwab this week and look forward to ten years of commission free trading (which Schwab has confirmed).
Jim,
That’s fantastic. Really glad to hear it worked out. Just doing what I can to help people, as always. 🙂
Best regards!
Jason…I need to add to my comment made a few days ago. I stated that I searched the Schwab website and chatted with an agent, who knew nothing of a special deal for Scottrade customers.
On Friday I visited a Schwab office and asked the same question, and they confirmed that there is such a deal. It is not being advertised and is only available on a “word-of-mouth” basis…that is, it won’t appear on the site. But…the parameters are as you stated in the article…one year of free trades per year of being a Scottrade customer. There is apparently no particular amount of securities that need to be transferred from Scottrade to Schwab, but the office agent suggested that I fill out the transfer forms and bring them to the office to insure that they could enter an appropriate promo code. (The agent didn’t really know much about the deal when I asked, but he called someone up the line who filled him in.)
So…thank you…it seems to be a real deal, 10 years worth of trades for me!
Danny,
10 years of free trades sounds good to me. Can’t do much better than that, considering the platform/experience. It’s a fantastic deal.
Cheers!
That’s a great deal. I am with Fidelity so I can’t take advangage. However, last year Scotttrade was offering a significant cash bonus for new customers. I thought about it – then called to see if Fidelity would match it to keep me – they did. Moral of the story is to always ask. I really didnt want to learn a new system and have been very happy at Fidelity.
Here are a couple of other points. 1 – brokers still make some money when you trade, the spread between the ask and bid. 2 – Some online brokers often charge fairly high fees to close accounts($50 each account). I think this is why they offer large signups to compensate you for charges from your old broker.
Thanks for the link.
Jay,
Definitely. It never hurts to ask. If Scottrade weren’t already dissolving into something new (meaning my account was going to move one way or another), it would have been worth it to see what else they could do. As it sits, they’ve been pretty generous. I’ve referred plenty of people (only because I believed in it and personally used it) and built up a sizable account – and they always treated me right. I think I ended up with 100 or so free trades for little things here and there, plus the referrals and everything else. In the end, I did pretty well to keep costs down. This new move just reinforces that further. Scottrade didn’t charge me anything to close my account, just for reference.
I also like Fidelity. That’s where my other account currently sits. They’re pretty great.
Thanks for dropping by!
Best regards.
I just moved 3 our accounts to Shwab – got free trades till July 2029 on all of them !!! Still waiting to see all 3 to be moved but just realized that on 10th one of the positions should pay dividends, wondering what will happen if account in the middle of transfer ?
MoneyOCD,
That’s great! Free trades for 12 years is a fantastic offer. Glad it worked out for you.
Your old account should continue to sweep any ongoing dividends it collects, etc. If you have any questions about how that works, I’d recommend contacting them directly.
Best wishes.
Hey since I sent in the paperwork to switch, I’ve been contacted by the Scottrade branch manager who told me he’d match the free trade offer and give me 1500.00 to spend in my individual account. Does anybody think I should still switch to Schwab or go back with ST? I buy and hold, and this sounded like an interesting counteroffer.
Joe,
If Scottrade is willing to do you one better, go for it. You’ll just want to make sure that offer carries over when TD Ameritrade finalizes the acquisition, which should be pretty soon.
Best of luck!
Cheers.
Thanks for sharing this! Looks like the promotion is still good and it worked for me for 8 yrs of free trades. I actually gave Scottrade a call and asked if they could match or beat this promotion. They said that they have very little negotiating power now that they are being acquired. They told me that they could provide free trades for one year and $100. They actually said that in my situation, it would probably be best if I switched to Schwab haha. It’s interesting, because TD Ameritrade is offering a promotion of free trades for 60 days and cash bonus up to $600 if you switch to them (even if you are switching from Scottrade). I guess it pays to not be passive and let your account automatically roll into TD’s platform.
Conrad,
Hey, glad to hear it worked out for you! 🙂
Yeah, Scottrade has almost no bargaining power now. But that’s okay. Schwab’s platform is arguably better, and it’s tough to beat eight years of free trades.
Cheers!
Will Schwab reimburse you for the fee paid to Scottrade to transfer the account out, $75, in addition to giving you the free trades?
Thomas4,
Any reimbursement of any fees that may be incurred would really have to be discussed between you and Schwab. I’m only passing along an offer (which may not last much longer).
Cheers!
I agree. I have been with Scottrade for as long as I can remember. It was the acquisition of Ameritrade that made me move my money out. After seeing how they ask too many personal questions about how much you make, how much own property and liquid assets. Too nosy for my taste.
Silverwolf,
Best of luck with the new platform. Moving over to Schwab has been a phenomenal experience for me! 🙂
Cheers.
I have been with Scottrade for more than 10 years. It is nice to have a firm with an office near buy where I don’t have to drive 25 miles to get to. I like their people in the Dayton office and the service has been very good. With TD being the new owner I am told not much will change but have better research engines. I do like the cheaper trade cost of Swab but not much else I see is different.
R. Alward,
Sounds like you thought it through and made the best choice for your needs. 🙂
Thanks for dropping by!
Cheers.
Thanks for the article. Nothing but goodness so far. Schwab gave me free trades for 6 years. Reimbursed $75 ACAT fee that Scottrade charged. Schwab’s ATM card is much better for my international travels. I highly recommend the transfer to all Scottrade clients. Thanks to you again, I would have never known.
GB,
Happy to help. It’s an amazing offer that I felt I just had to share with everyone. It’s truly a no-brainer, especially if you plan to live/move abroad. 🙂
Best wishes.
Hi,
I have a couple questions and wonder if you could help. I have been with Scottrade for nearly 10 years and have been really happy with them. Specifically their FRIP program which really is different than a typical DRIP. TD has said they are not going to offer the FRIP to clients after the conversion. I am wondering what others are doing who relied on the FRIP program to automate their dividend reinvestment.
Also, when you converted to Schwab, and they moved over your portfolio, does it also transfer each individual position of each stock you purchased? For example, if you own 20 shares of Apple, but purchased 5 shares in 2015, 10 shares in 2016, and 5 shares in 2017 does it transfer each position? I am wondering because of tax reasons when you eventually sell it was all tracked in Scottrade and I would hate to have to figure that out prior to a Schwab conversion.
Lastly, and sorry for all the questions. Are you happy with your decision with Schwab or if you had to do it over again would you have chosen a different brokerage?
Thanks for the help
Rick,
The transfer was seamless. But I’d really recommend calling Schwab if you have so many concerns. They’ll give you all the details.
Positions transfer over as they exist.
If I could do it all over again, I’d do it in a heartbeat. It’s been tremendous for me. It’s a dream of a deal.
Best regards.
Did the transfer and now will have eight years of free trades thanks to you. As soon as I used their streetsmart platform I could see why trades are free it’s a hot mess. Talked with Schwab about it and their passing my ideas a along. Easy fix just use TOS platform and trade thru Schwab.
Johnny,
Eight years of free trades. Gotta love it. Happy to hear I was able to help! 🙂
Best regards.
Wondering how you use schwab to monitor when each position you own will pay dividends and how much you will expect to receive? I have been looking around their brokerage website but do not see that option. Thanks.
Rick,
I’m not sure if/where Schwab will record the exact dates upon which you will be paid, although they do track your expected income from each security, as well as the entire portfolio, via your statements. I personally don’t really care too much about what stock pays on what exact day. All I care about is my annual and monthly dividend income against annual and monthly expenses. Whether it’s a Coke or Chevron dividend that comes in a particular day and pays a particular bill doesn’t matter to me.
Cheers!
Outstanding news! Been with Scottrade for years and feeling so-so about switch to Ameritrade. Will definitely follow-up with Schwab. Basically, free trades for many years! Thanks.
David,
Schwab has been fantastic. And this offer came at just the right time for me, due to their amazing policy of refunding foreign ATM withdrawal fees. Adding in free trades on top of that is just pure bliss.
Cheers!
I loved the platforms of Scottrade, dont like Thinkorswimg. I am closing the TD accounts.
Already have one in Schwab and Merril, looking for one that has something similar to “Streaming quotes”
or “ScottradeElite”, any suggestions ?
Feipe,
Wish I could help you. Perhaps someone else can chime in.
I don’t actively trade. So streaming quotes mean zilch to me. I simply slowly accumulate high-quality stocks at good prices. 🙂
Cheers!
Jason,
Just wanted to thank you for pointing out the Scottrade/Schwab offer.
Like you, I was a very happy Scottrade customer and was disappointed by the TD Ameritrade takeover.
Schwab has been great, and the free commissions are wonderful–it’s hard to believe that the offer exists!
Anyhow, I doubt that I would have heard of it if I hadn’t stumbled across your interesting writing.
So, many thanks!
Samuel,
It’s my pleasure! 🙂
No affiliate relationship here with Schwab. I’m sharing because I think it’s an outstanding offer that will surely benefit others. Scottrade was great for a long time. But Schwab has been even better, with the free trades being no small part of that.
Best regards.
Hello, the company i worked with for 10 years give or take had Schwab as their IRA investment choice. 10 years and only a couple thousand to show for it. I moved over to Morgan Stanley and suddenly over the same period of time I have doubled my IRA value. Im glad for you as a fellow saver and conscientious person aware of the need to keep yourself safe in your future years. But I was not impressed by them or the service from their agent at all..
Thank you for letting me post my experience.
Bram,
I’m not sure what you’re referencing. It sounds like you had some actively-managed Schwab product/fund, which is not at all what this is discussing.
I’m discussing the self-directed brokerage account for individual investors, not an investment product/fund.
Cheers!
Hi, I just wanted to pass along some relevant information. When you switch brokerage accounts, always bargain. Everything is negotiable. You can negotiate cash, free trades, and reimbursement of all fees. Your negotiation power depends on your account size. I’ve negotiated good deals at Schwab, TD Ameritrade, Scottrade (now part of TD), and Fidelity. Last year due to the Scottrade merger, I made around $20,000 in cash bonuses and received unlimited free trades. I had accounts at TD Ameritrade, had them transferred to Scottrade to take advantage of some offers, and then was transferred back as part of the merger. They made the offers knowing full well there’d be no change at the end of the process. When Schwab found out that I was considering moving my account, they matched all of the offers without me doing anything. If you have thick skin, you can try transferring accounts every year. My accounts are large enough such that the bonuses are substantial.
This pays way better than optimizing credit card offers for a lot less work.
Ty,
That’s awesome work!
If you can get it, get it. No doubt about it. I’m pretty happy with the deal I’ve got going on at Schwab. The free trades and ATM fee reimbursements (on my withdrawals abroad) saves me a ton of money every month. But when that deal expires, I’ll surely be seeing what else I can get. The account will be significantly larger by then, which only serves to improve my bargaining power. 🙂
Enjoy those benefits!
Cheers.
A few of the things I really like about Schwab:
1. Free ATM withdrawals anywhere in the world, and genuinely free because if the bank that owns the ATM charges a fee, Schwab reimburses it (always within 24 hours in my personal experience).
2. Free domestic and international wire transfers, i.e., the $25 fee is waived every time. There’s a minimum balance for this benefit, but I’m not sure what it is. I just know that all my wire transfers to Malaysia and Thailand are always waived.
3. Superb customer service. Every single time. I do my best to never have to deal with real people– I like handling things online. But I’ve consistently received excellent customer service every time I’ve called Schwab about ANYTHING.
(My main account is an international brokerage as I live in Hong Kong, but I also have traditional and Roth IRAs with Schwab).
(I also LOVE Interactive Brokers, but for different reasons).
Mark,
I’m right there with you. Schwab is great.
I will say, though, that the ATM fees get refunded once per month. Usually occurs right at the end of the month. At least, that’s how it’s worked for me for as long as I’ve had my account. I love that feature because I make routine withdrawals abroad.
Cheers!