After an entire morning of online stock trading reviews, we have to admit we still got excited to take a look at the prominent Schwab brokerage firm. Upon entry to the website, we were indeed impressed. The site looked professional, yet unintimidating, and we liked how many resources were listed. See what we found during our review below.
What's New?
- Flat online equity trades as low as $9.95
- No account service fees
- Online trading seminars and workshops
Star Reviews Favorite Feature:
Schwab Equity Ratings® -Schwab covers more stocks than most major brokerage firms and their stock picking identifier successfully marks stocks that will outperform and underperform in the market; rated #1 for five-year performance by Barron’s.
About Schwab Active Trader:
Schwab Active Trader is the online stock trading website of Charles Schwab, a well-known and long-standing stock brokerage and investments firm. In 1996, Schwab launched its first online stock trading website, which over the years evolved into today's Schwab Active Trader. While Schwab is not the cheapest online stock trading website around, the tools it provides and the level of service offered are definitely of a higher caliber than many of the other online stock trading websites on the Internet.
Navigating the Schwab Website:
We liked how easy the Schwab website was to navigate, with easy-access to online trading demos, simulation tools and other helpful online stock trading resources. The site was pretty fluid, which made for simple browsing. However, we noticed how some of their pages seemed to take awhile to load, leaving us refreshing our browser every once in awhile. We enjoyed how clear, important information like ‘Get Started,’ ‘Account Types,’ and ‘Contact Us’ was and appreciated the Search box at the top of the page. You shouldn’t run into too many problems navigating this site.
Getting Started with Schwab:
We liked how the Schwab ‘Get Started’ tab was readily available for us. Once clicked, we got to choose from a plethora of options like ‘Open an Account,’ ‘Transfer funds,’ ‘401(k) rollover’, and ‘New to Investing?’ Our team likes choices and Schwab delivered. Ok, so we wanted to open an account to begin making some profit! The brokerage account application only takes about 15 minutes to complete, which is fairly short. We liked the ‘Online Sign-up Checklist’ that prepped us for the process, clueing us in on what documents to pull out. You may then begin the Schwab One® Brokerage Account application by filling out your customer profile, selecting which account features you’re interested in, transfer funds to your account and sign all agreements. You’ll be on your way to investing in no time!
The Schwab Active Trader Process:
The Schwab trading experience should be a breeze and if you run into any issues, there are plenty of online demos and workshops available to lend you a hand. The advanced trading platform, StreetSmart Pro® is one of the most professional stock trading platforms we’ve come across as it provides you live, streaming market data in one, customizable display view function.
Our team likes to stay on top of our game, so we appreciated the interactive technical charts that unearth trading opportunities quickly and efficiently. You can also filter and scan stock and option markets for securities in specific market segments. If you like to keep an eye on market activity, check out the Nasdaq Level II quotes. All tools like High’s & Low’s, Print Ticker, and Charts are grouped in an easy-to-select column.
Schwab Features:
- Custom watch lists.
- Live order status.
- Interactive technical charts.
- Risk management tools.
Schwab Fees:
Basic Individual Account
- $12.95 per trade - Household Assets less than 1,000,000
- $9.95 per trade - Household Assets more than 1,000,000
Special Incentives:
- Open and fund a Schwab account and get 50 free trades.
Customer Support:
We appreciated how comprehensive the Schwab ‘Contact Us’ page was. Their customer support is offered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which we loved! They offer customer service via a client priority access telephone number and email, as well as through online guides and tours. When we called Schwab customer support, the representative was very polished and professional. You could tell you were dealing with an esteemed company just by speaking with their customer service reps.
Email support was also prompt and professional. We received a response within one business day and the rep who contacted us was, again, very helpful and accommodating. If you should need it, there is also a postal address. On most every page on the Schwab website, we found helpful guidelines and resources answering many investment and brokerage questions.
Upside:
High caliber service and customer support, advanced trading tools and resources, flat online equity trades.
Downside:
You cannot open a Schwab account with less than $1,000, high commission fees.
Summary:
Charles Schwab knows finance and Schwab Active Trader is no exception. We thoroughly loved how professional and clean their website interface was, as well as retaining a user-friendly feel. There are plenty of account options, from brokerage accounts to retirement accounts. We like how well-known this company is, getting recognized for its market watch tools and simple, yet comprehensive trading platform. While rates are high and they tend to cater to a more affluent crowd, if you are serious about saving and making a profit, this could be the right stock trading service for you. Customer support was right on point, offering friendly and efficient answers to our inquiries. We really liked this online stock trading service.