Good Brokers With Special Offers
When choosing a stock broker, many investors often select those brokers that are willing to offer them a lot of perks and benefits. Some brokers have resorted to providing special offers to entice new customers. Many of these offers are services that you can receive completely free of charge. Some will give away free trades, others will offer free subscriptions, and some will even offer free smart phones. Tremendous opportunities abound in the world of stock investing right now, so we'd like to update you on a few things going on with some online brokerages we follow. And since getting something for nothing is always a good thing, we’ve run down a list of brokers that offer a wide variety of special offers all aimed at getting you to become a customer. All the brokers below are solid discount brokers that offer great features that go beyond the special offers that they have available.
TradeKing
- TradeKing rewards loyal customers with $50 every time they refer a friend who signs up and begins actively trading.
- Switching to TradeKing is not only easy; it’s free (up to $150). TradeKing will pay your transfer fees up to $150 when you switch.
- All TradeKing account holders get free access to a huge library of free online educational and trading tools.
- TradeKing allows you to place orders even when the market is closed: pre-market orders can be made as early as 8:00 am ET and as late as 9:30 am ET, and post-market orders from 4:00 pm ET until 5:0pm ET.
- Get free access to award winning customer service via telephone, email and live chat.
| Stock Trades | Options Base | Options Contract | Minimum Deposit | Broker Assisted | Fund Trades |
| $4.95 | $4.95 | $0.65 | $0.00 | $4.95 | $14.95 (no load) |
Firstrade
- Firstrade will refund all transfer fees charged by another broker when you transfer your account to Firstrade.
- Referring friends and relatives will net account holders a $50 referral fee PLUS 5 free trades per month.
- Funding your account by wire transfer is quick, but often costly. Firstrade will refund your wire transfer fees up to $25 when you fund your account.
- Receive a free one year subscription to SafeCentral, a revolutionary new secure trading browser, by switching to Firstrade.
- Firstrade offers free dividend reinvestment for all account holders, both new and existing.
| Stock Trades | Options Base | Options Contract | Minimum Deposit | Broker Assisted | Fund Trades |
| $6.95 | $6.95 | $0.75 | $0.00 | $26.95 | $0.00 - $9.95 |
OptionsHouse
- OptionsHouse has a variety of special offers that are available to new account holders. But check the fine print to see which promotions can be used in conjunction with other available offers.
- New accounts funded with at least $1,000 are eligible to receive a full one year subscription of the Wall Street Journal for free.
- If you fund your new broker account with $3,000, you can get your first 100 trades completely commission free.
- New to investing? Account holders that open a new account with OptionsHouse and fund their accounts with $1,000 will earn 60 days of free investment coaching.
- Refer a friend and net $50 or 10 free trades.
- Account transfer fees are 100% refundable, up to $100.
| Stock Trades | Options Base | Options Contract | Minimum Deposit | Broker Assisted | Fund Trades |
| $3.95 | $8.50 | $0.15 | $0.00 | $3.95 | $9.95 |
E*Trade - Trade Free For 60 Days & Get Up To $500
- E*Trade offers new customers the chance to trade completely commission free for up to 60 days after opening a Power E*Trade account and funding it with $2,000.
- Power E*Trade customers can also receive $500 in deposits by funding their account within 45 days of opening the account.
- E*Trade account holders have access to a bevy of free educational tools, free unlimited streaming quotes, and independent research.
- E*Trade customers who choose to sign up for Mobile Pro can get a free BlackBerry smart phone with the purchase of a 2 year plan.
- Traders who choose to open a traditional banking account with E*Trade will never have to worry about ATM fees again, thanks to an unlimited ATM fee refund program.
| Stock Trades | Options Base | Options Contract | Minimum Deposit | Broker Assisted | Fund Trades |
| $9.99 | $9.99 | $0.75 | $500.00 | $45.00 | $0.00 - $19.99 |
Zecco
- Zecco offers customers 10 free trades per month as long as you open your account with at least $25,000 or make at least 25 trades per month.
- Both new and existing customers can get their taxes done for free (at least their schedule D) with a free trial of the GainsKeeper application.
- Getting started in forex trading? Try it out with $50,000 of virtual cash by signing up with Zecco.
- All brokerage accounts have access to a knowledgeable community of investors as well as high powered social media tools.
| Stock Trades | Options Base | Options Contract | Minimum Deposit | Broker Assisted | Fund Trades |
| $4.50 | $4.50 | $0.50 | $0.00 | $19.99 | $10.00 |
OptionsXpress
- optionsXpress offers new customers $100 cash for opening a new account.
- All OptionsXpress account holders have free unlimited access to the Education Center.
- Transferring your broker account to OptionsXpress is not only simple; it’s free through the use of the Automated Customer Account Transfer system.
- Traders have access to a powerful and useful virtual trading platform.
- Receive free access to interactive trading tools and unlimited independent research.
- Free OX mobile app allows account holders to use their smart phones to manage their brokerage accounts and make online trades from anywhere.
| Stock Trades | Options Base | Options Contract | Minimum Deposit | Broker Assisted | Fund Trades |
| $9.95 | $0.00 | $1.50 | $0.00 | $9.95 | $9.95 + LOAD FEE |
ShareBuilder
- New account holders are treated to the first 30 days on the house thanks to the waiver of the $12 maintenance fee.
- Transfer your existing account to Sharebuilder and net a $100 bonus as Sharebuilder's way of saying thanks.
- Gain free access to the eBook “The Essential Guide to Stock Market Investing”.
- Lower your trading commissions to only $4 per trade by using the Automatic Investing feature.
- Account holders have free unlimited access to a wide range of educational and trading tools all designed to make your trading easier and more profitable.
| Stock Trades | Options Base | Options Contract | Minimum Deposit | Fund Trades |
| $9.95 | $9.95 | $1.25 | $0.00 | $0.00 - $19.95 |
Get Extra Perks and Special Offers From Your Broker
There is a lot of competition in the marketplace today for loyal customers, and the investment broker industry is no different. Brokers are having to compete for fewer and fewer investors and are having to come up with new and different ideas for attracting new accounts and keeping existing investors. They're doing it by making sure that they offer a quality service at a good price, and by offering some extras as well. Some brokers offer free trades while others may waive fees or give away subscriptions to financial publications. Others may even present you with the latest hot gadget around.
So what can you expect if you are a new customer looking for a new broker?
- Zero cost transactions and trades. More and more brokers are offering free trades in the form of waiving their commissions on a variety of market orders. Some brokers offer a period of unlimited trading for free while other brokers offer a specified number of free trades. But, whichever the broker chooses to offer, it equals a great deal for new investors.
- Free subscriptions. When it comes to keeping up with the markets, any investor will appreciate having access to a wide variety of publications. But maintaining several subscriptions can become quite expensive. Brokers realize this and have started offering free subscriptions to some of the top names in investment and financial news. Free subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal, Kiplingers, SmartMoney and many more are available from brokers if you know where to look.
- Free Smart Phones. As more and more brokers move toward offering mobile apps, these brokers are drawing in their next-generation investors by offering free BlackBerrys and/or iPhones. Of course, the monthly contract is yours to purchase, but getting a free $600 phone is nothing to sneeze at.
But, as with all other financial endeavors, keep in mind that the freebies are only a small portion of the decision-making process when it comes to choosing a broker. Every investor is different and every investor’s needs are different. Investors that are new to the game need access to a wide variety of free stock trading educational articles, tools and interactive webinars and seminars that will help them learn about the ins and outs of investing. More experienced and more frequent traders require less hand holding, which ultimately leads to lower commission rates. And all investors need a slick, intuitive and responsive trading platform in which to execute their trades. Smart investors will choose a broker that meets their needs as well as offer plenty of great bonuses.
Brokers understand that investors are in the game to make money. They also understand that saving money on essentials is almost as important as making money on their trades. To be as competitive as possible, many brokers have begun to offer some of these essentials for free or at a greatly reduced price in order to secure new investors and to retain established ones. These perks are a way to thank their customers.
So, the next time you are in the market for a new investment broker, take a look at a few brokers that offer both outstanding features as well as special bonuses to their customers.
{ 0 comments… add one now }