Charles Schwab Review: Low Fees and 24/7 Customer Service
Find out if Charles Schwab is the broker for you.Charles Schwab is a full-service investment company, providing clients with the products, services and financial planning resources they need to build and manage their investments. Among its offerings — which also include banking products, Charles Schwab wealth management and retirement accounts like the Charles Schwab Roth IRA — is its brokerage service. The company has over 11 million active brokerage accounts and claims more total assets than any publicly traded investment services firm in America.
As with any other broker, Charles Schwab excels in some areas but falls short in others. Keep reading this Charles Schwab investment firm review if you’re considering opening a brokerage account with the firm.
| Charles Schwab Brokerage Account Pros and Cons | |
| Pros | Cons |
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| Information accurate as of Aug. 28, 2018. | |
What You Need to Know About Charles Schwab
A Charles Schwab brokerage account will allow you to trade stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other financial products while gaining access to online courses, 24/7 customer support and a network of 1,200 financial consultants at over 345 branches.
Whom Charles Schwab Is Best For:
- Beginners who want access to support and educational tools
- Experienced traders who want access to advanced research and tools
- Investors looking for low-cost trading
Read: The Best Investment Brokers
Best Features of Charles Schwab
With a Charles Schwab brokerage account, there are no fees to open or maintain your account, and most trades cost only $4.95. You’ll also gain access to financial professionals and investment tools that can help you meet your investing goals.
See: The Best Online Stock Brokers for Beginners
Charles Schwab Fees
There is no fee to open an account with Charles Schwab and there are no maintenance fees, but a $1,000 minimum deposit is required. This requirement is waived with automatic $100 monthly deposits. The fee for most trades is $4.95, which is on the low end compared to other top brokers, but the cost to trade varies by investment product.
Take a look at the fees for each type of investment:
| Charles Schwab’s Cost to Trade | |
| Investment Type | Cost |
| Stock trade | $4.95 |
| Options trade | $4.95 plus 65 cents per contract |
| Futures | $1.50 per contract |
| Bonds | $1 |
| No-transaction-fee mutual funds | $0 |
| Transaction-fee mutual funds | Up to $76 |
| Information accurate as of Aug. 28, 2018. | |
Charles Schwab Resources and Tools
Charles Schwab brokerage customers have access to a number of helpful resources including:
- Online education courses and seminars providing instruction on investing strategies
- Schwab mobile app to easily manage your account no matter where you are
- 24/7 customer phone service and in-person support at over 300 local branches
Charles Schwab also offers robo-advising through Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, which builds, monitors and automatically rebalances your portfolio.
Read This: The Best Robo-Advisors
Should You Invest With Charles Schwab?
Whether you’re a new investor looking to learn more about the best strategies or an experienced trader who wants access to more advanced tools, Charles Schwab has resources available to fit your needs. The investment firm also has relatively low trading fees. However, keep in mind that there is a $1,000 minimum deposit, so this would not be a good fit for those looking to invest smaller amounts of money. You might also be able to find better promotions or offers for new account holders at other brokers.
Click to see 15 stocks for beginners to try in 2018.
This content is not provided by the companies mentioned. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by Charles Schwab.
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