Disclosure: This article is written for entertainment purposes only and should not be construed as financial or any other type of professional advice.
Since the beginning of 2017, several brokerage firms have changed their pricing structure and fees. I’ve been working on updating various articles and pages. But I thought a recap of these pricing changes could be beneficial. Here are notable updates to commissions and other fees, including the elimination of transaction fees for online trades:
Fidelity lowered its online trading fees for stocks and ETFs to $0.00, down from $4.95. Here is a link to the firm’s schedule of commissions and trading fees.
Schwab reduced its online stock and ETF trading fees to $0.00, also down from $4.95. At the same time, the firm announced lower expenses on its market-cap index funds. For more information, view its pricing guide and information on its low-cost index funds.
E*Trade lowered its standard online equity trading fees to $0.00. Here’s a breakdown of fees.
TD Ameritrade reduced its online equity trading fees to $0.00 as indicated here.
Ally Invest is now offering robo portfolios, starting at a minimum of $100 with a cash buffer rather than management fees of 0.30% of assets under management (AUM).
Betterment eliminated its $1/month fee on low account balances; before, you needed to make an automatic deposit of $100 or more in order to avoid this charge. Today, the charge for basic services is 0.25% of assets under management (up to $2 million). Premium services with unlimited access to CFPs via phone are 0.40% AUM and require a minimum account balance of $100,000.
With several changes happening in a short time frame, I’ve realized that I need to encourage investors to check the latest on the pricing at each online brokerage and investment advisory firm before investing.
Have you noticed lots of pricing changes? Do they benefit you?
