Charles Schwab Reimbursing ACAT Transfer Fees
Officially, Charles Schwab does not reimburse an account transfer (ACAT) fee for moving
a brokerage or IRA account from another brokerage company. However,
if you open a
Charles Schwab account, and then contact a customer service asking if they will refund a transfer
fee if you move your account, they will almost always agree.
Free Charles Schwab Account
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Charles Schwab - Best Place to Open an IRA
At Charles Schwab customers get flat rate $0 commission on every internet equity trade, regardless of
their account balance or how many shares they buy or sell. This rate applies even to stocks priced under $1 (penny stocks). There are 4,051 NTF or no transaction
fee (commission free) mutual funds available at the firm, and clients pay $49.99 for funds not in the NTF program.
Charles Schwab Mutual Funds
There are over 13,000 mutual funds for investors to buy and sell at Charles Schwab. The broker has 4,051 funds that have no transaction fee.
Almost 2,000 of these also have no load. The firm's website has a very great screener than goes through all of these funds based on criteria the
user selects. These can include Morningstar rating, gross expense ratio, manager tenure, NAV return, and much more. Beyond the screener, Charles Schwab
also offers a wide selection of educational videos on mutual funds. Subjects include how to compare fund to a model portfolio, how to choose a fund,
and how to use the firm's Premier List of funds.
The minimum investment amount at Schwab for mutual funds are from $0 to $5 million. It depends on the specific fund. The required minimum
for a fund in an IRA also varies based on the particular product. Charles Schwab does not impose any fees for small balances in a fund. Transaction-fee
funds will set investors back $49.99. Regrettably, this charge is applied to both the sell and buy sides. If a no-transaction-fee fund is held for less
than 6 months, a short-term fee of $49.99 is charged.
IRAs
Charles Schwab charges no special fees for Individual Retirement Accounts. There are no setup fees, inactivity fees, or annual fees. An IRA can be
opened with any amount. There are several IRA types to choose from: Traditional, Roth, SIMPLE, SEP, Rollover, and Minor (in both Roth and Traditional
formats).
The Charles Schwab website has excellent IRA resources and tools. There are good videos on retirement topics, such as income during retirement, making
withdrawals from a retirement account, and retirement for beginners. Articles discuss choosing a retirement account for a small business, figuring the
minimum amount needed for retirement, and making withdrawals after age 70½. The broker also a selection of tools and calculators. A very useful one
is an IRA selection wizard. Another is a retirement planner, which determines the amount investors need to save each year to adequately prepare for
retirement.
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Charles Schwab Website/Trading Platform/Tools
Website
Charles Schwab's website is more advanced than the sites of all other stockbrokers. It is incredibly well-designed, has intuitive menus, and users can easily
find all the resources they need. There are many valuable functions. Users can reach out to customer service, research securities, plan for
education costs, and much more.
SnapTicket is a convenient trading ticket that appears at the bottom of the browser. Placing trades for stocks, ETFs, and options is fast and simple with SnapTicket. The tool displays vital information, such as volume and most recent trade price.
The website also has excellent tools for research and education. Among others, investors can find information on bond trading or retirement planning.
The broker has very useful information on IPO's and trading ideas.
Thinkorswim
Thinkorswim is Charles Schwab's crown jewel of trading platforms that has many useful features. For example, the platform has a practice trading system
called paperMoney where users can practice trading with a virtual currency. Along with stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and options, investors could also
trade on futures and forex markets which very few other brokers offer.
Charting tools on the platform are second to none. There are several drawing, technical, and pattern tools. Regression lines, evening star, and Fibonacci arcs are a few examples. A chart is
detachable, which allows it to fill the monitor.
Thinkorswim has a very professional feel to it, compared to Schwab's thinkorswim and most other broker platforms, which are simpler and have fewer features.
Mobile Trading
Charles Schwab customers can trade with phones, tablets, and now even watches. The broker offers three apps for phones and tablets. There is a standard
app, a Mobile Trader app, and a Thinkorswim app. They can be used on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. The broker also has an app for Apple Watch.
The regular app is also compatible with Windows 10. Available features include order placement, funds transfer, and mobile check deposit. The apps have
a high, 4-stars rating at Google Play and iTunes stores.
The Thinkorswim mobile app has outstanding trading tools. The charting tools are the best in the industry on a mobile platform. A paper trading system
is also available on the app.
Updated on 11/1/2024.
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