Wondering if it’s possible to setup a new brokerage account without paying a commission? Yes it is! From my research for the best stock broker promotions, I’ve noticed a trend.
Many brokers offer free trades when signing up. Granted this isn’t the same as our list of commission free ETFs brokers offer. Though if you have a large amount of cash to invest initially, this could help minimize your transaction fees.
If you pick a broker that offers both, you’ll want to initially invest in stocks/funds/ETFs that are considered free trades. Then, to maximize your free trades, once the initial free trade promotion ends use the commission free ETFs to make your other purchases.
It’s critical you minimize your transaction fees! Otherwise they can eat into your returns, and unlike investment returns, is a known cost. The less you pay in transaction fees, the bigger your possible return of investment.
Permanent commission free for all trades is no longer an option. Zecco at one point offered this as an option, but soon abandoned it.
With the current round of free trade promotions, discount brokerages either place a limited time on their offer, limit the amount of trades, or both. These seven free trade promotions are in no particular order.
- optionsXpress – 50 Free Trades
- TD Ameritrade – Free Trades for 60 days
- OptionsHouse Trade Free for 60 Days Offer
- TradeStation – Trade FREE For 60 Days
- 200 Commission-Free Trades From Fidelity
- E*Trade Trade Free For 60 Days
- tradeMONSTER 30 Days Commission Free
optionsXpress – 50 Free Trades
To get the 50 free trades with optionsXpress, you’ll need to open a new account and deposit or transfer at least $5,000 into it. This promotion has a cash value of up to $750 and the offer ends June 30th, 2013.
TD Ameritrade – Free Trades for 60 days
TD Ameritrade offers up to $600 in cash, with their 60 days of free trading. Visit their web site for more details. You must deposit at least $25,000, to gain access to the 60 days free trading. TD Ameritrade only allows up to 500 trades and the deposit must come from an external non-TD Ameritrade account. Offer ends on September 30th, 2013 and is only valid for new customers.
OptionsHouse Trade – Free for 60 Days Offer
To qualify for this promotion, just open a new account with OptionsHouse and deposit $5,000. The promo ends December 31st, 2013. New OptionsHouse accounts receive 100 commission-free trades for stock or option trades executed within 60 days of funding the new account. You will not receive any cash for unused free trades.
TradeStation – Trade FREE For 60 Days
Open a new TradeStation brokerage account, and trade commission free for 60 days! TradeStation has a $5,000 account minimum requirement.The commission free trades are valued up to $500.
Fidelity – 200 Commission-Free Trades
Good News! Whether you’re a new or existing Fidelity customer, you can get in on this offer. In order to get the free trades, you have to specify the Fidelity account. The trades must be performed within 90 days and the amount of free trades depends upon the amount of your deposit. This offer expires on December 31st, 2013.
| Deposit | Free Trades |
|---|---|
| $50,000 – $99,999 | 100 |
| $100,000+ | 200 |
E*Trade – Trade FREE For 60 Days
With this offer, it’s also possible to get up to $500 in cash. See the link below for more information about the cash bonus. This E*Trade promotion is only available to new customers when you open an account with a least $10,000. Once you’ve made the deposit, you’ll get 500 commission-free trades. The trades can be used for stock or option trades.
The trades must be executed within 60 days. The E*Trade promotion is available until December 31st, 2013.
tradeMONSTER – 30 Days Commission Free
Only new customers can apply to this tradeMONSTER promo. tradeMONSTER has no minimum deposit and you have 30 days to trade commission free once the account is opened. Make sure you enter promo code CJ30FREE when signing up!
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Best Free Stock Trading Promotions is from Investor Junkie Copyright © Empowering Media, Inc.