E*Trade Review 2024: Should you sign up with this broker?

Is E*TRADE Safe to Trade With

E*TRADE is regulated in the US, which means it must adhere to certain standards of conduct and be financially sound.

E*TRADE is regulated by:

• FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority)
• NFA (National Futures Association)
• SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation)

Twice a year, E*TRADE publishes a Statement of Financial Condition; this is so that you can see how the company is doing and make sure your deposits are safe.

Due to its high level of regulation, you can rest assured you are dealing with a broker that isn’t going to disappear with your money. That said, you still want to make sure the broker has a quality trading platform, competitive trading fees. We’ll get to those next.

E*TRADE also offers quality data and information security. To keep information and assets secure, it utilizes the following tools:

• encryption and network defenses
• two-factor authentication
• security alerts.

They also offer fraud protection, covering your losses if your account is used without authorization.

One potential red flag of E*TRADE is that they have many negative reviews on TrustPilot — only averaging a score of 1.2 out of 5. Complaints include incompetent support and difficulty making withdrawals.

E*TRADE Trading Fees and Product Offerings

E*TRADE is a no-fee broker, meaning it typically doesn’t charge commissions on most trades. However, there are a few exceptions.

The following are the commissions for typical trades in the available assets classes:

• Stocks: $0
• ETFs: $0
• Mutual funds: $0
• Options trades: $0.65 per contract.
  • $0.50 per contract if you do 30 or more trades per quarter
• Futures: $1.50 per contract
  • $2.50 per contract for cryptocurrency futures
• Bonds: $1 (minimum $10 commission, maximum is $250)

That list also covers the products available for trade with E*TRADE. Options and futures are also subject to additional fees. An additional fee of about $0.01 is charged per option.

For futures, regulatory and clearing fees range between $0.40 and $2.27 per contract, depending on the contract being traded. These fees are charged by the exchanges and National Futures Association (NFA), so they are not levied by the broker itself.

If you call customer support needing personal assistance with a trade, the fee for the trade is $25, plus any applicable commissions and fees. If you want to trade over the counter (OTC) stocks, then there is a $6.95 commission per trade, or $4.95 per trade if you execute more than 30 trades in a quarter.

If you trade using margin or leverage, you will pay interest on your debit balance. This is called the margin rate, and E*TRADE’s are quite high. For comparison, Interactive Brokers charges under 7%. Below is a comprehensive list of the rates that E*TRADE charges:

These rates are shown as yearly interest rates.

Despite the high fees, E*TRADE offers convenience in that you’re able to trade all US stocks, ETFs, futures, options, bonds, and mutual funds from a single account. You can also enjoy commission-free trading on stocks and ETFs.

E*TRADE’s Trading Platform and Mobile App Review

The trading platform is how you place your trades with E*TRADE. Two trading platforms are offered; one is very simple, while the other offers advanced trading and analysis tools.

E*TRADE offers two trading platforms:

• Power E*TRADE for desktop and mobile – This is a more advanced platform with loads of analytical and research tools. This platform is suited to more experienced traders who crave access to more features.
• E*TRADE for desktop and mobile – This is a simpler platform, offering some research tools and simple order types to buy and sell. This is suited to novice traders who are seeking to familiarize themselves with E*TRADE.

Power E*TRADE Platform

Power E*TRADE is the firm’s flagship trading platform. The innovative web-based platform offers over 100 technical analyses and 30 drawing tools for your trading activity.

It also allows you to:

• Overlay technical patterns on the chart
• Display your risk-reward, breakevens, and more
• Analyze the stock market for irregular stock activity, such as high-volume stock and options trading.

It offers interactive charts, a news feed, volume data, and plenty of other useful information on a single screen.

The E*TRADE platform is simpler than the Power platform. Portfolio analysis, quotations, and instructional information are available to assist you in developing portfolios. These are also available in the Power platform.

You can use basic screening tools to find assets such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or ETFs. You can also enhance your trading strategies with free TipRanks, Thomson Reuters, and other data sources.

These are available on the Power platform as well. However, as you can see, the layout shown below is less complex than the Power platform, which is more interactive and customizable.

E*TRADE MOBILE PLATFORMS

The broker provides two mobile apps:

• E*TRADE Mobile app
• Power E*TRADE app

With E*TRADE’s apps, you get all the web version features as well as apps to trade stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds, and multi-leg options. You can also access Bloomberg TV, research, and news.

E*TRADE mobile app

E*TRADE offers more than 150 technical indicators on Power E*TRADE and E*TRADE platforms.

Among these available indicators, you’ll find:

• RSI
• Stochastic
• MACD
• Bollinger Bands
• Moving Averages, and many more.

E*TRADE Account Types

E*TRADE has plenty of account types — whether you are looking to open a solo account, a joint account, a corporate account, or another type.

E*TRADE offers five account types:

• Brokerage
• Retirement
• Managed Portfolios
• Small Business Retirement
• Bank

Each account comes with different levels and features. Let’s break it down.

1. E*TRADE Brokerage Accounts

This is E*TRADE standard trading account. This brokerage account has different levels:

• Regular brokerage account – Make trades. This is your typical trading account.
• Coverdell ESA – Save for your child’s education.
• Custodial Account – Open a brokerage account for a minor with a registered custodian on the account.

You can open every type of brokerage with $0, but if you want to trade on the margin, you’ll need a $2000 minimum deposit.

2. E*TRADE Retirement Accounts

If you want to invest in the future, you can open a retirement account with E*TRADE. They have the following account levels:

• Rollover IRA – Bring assets from a former employer’s retirement plan.
• Roth IRA – Let taxes grow tax free.
• Traditional IRA – Tax-deductible contributions to let your earnings grow.
• Beneficiary IRA – Keep inherited funds in a tax-deferred account.
• E*TRADE CompleteTM IRA – For investors over 59.5 years of age.
• IRA for minors – For children with earned income.

There is no minimum initial deposit required to open a retirement account.

3. Managed Portfolio Accounts

With E*TRADE, you can open a “Core Portfolio” that is a diversified portfolio monitored and managed by professionals for 0.3% per year. In terms of management fees, this is relatively high. For comparison, investors can purchase ETFs with expense ratios as low as 0.09%, or even lower in some cases.

There is a $500 minimum deposit.

4. E*TRADE Small Business Retirement Accounts

If you want to start a business after retirement, you can open a Small Business Retirement account with E*TRADE.

The levels of the account are:

• Individual and Roth Individual 401(k) – High contribution limits and simple administration.
• SIMPLE IRA – For tax-deductible employee and employer contributions.
• SEP IRA – Flexible annual contributions.
• Investment-Only Account – For businesses looking to expand their investment options.

5. E*TRADE Bank Accounts

As Morgan Stanley owns E*TRADE, you can also open a bank account through the broker. It comes in several types:

• Premium Savings Account – High-yield saving account.
• Max-Rate Checking – Low or no fees.
• Checking – Basic no-fee checking.
• Line of Credit – Borrow against investments.

Each bank account type has different requirements, but thankfully, your money is in safe hands as Morgan Stanley accounts are insured by the FDIC.

E*TRADE Deposit and Withdrawal Methods and Minimums

Being able to get your money into and out of your account quickly is important. Certain circumstances create urgency, such as getting funds into the account so you can make a trade, or withdrawing funds to pay for an emergency at home.

Here’s how you can deposit and withdraw with E*TRADE.

There are four ways to fund your account and make withdrawals, as well as their respective time frames:

• Transfer Money – up to three business days
• Wire Transfer – same day
• Transfer to an account – up to ten business days
• Deposit a check – up to five business days

Wire transfer is the fastest method, usually taking just one day. All other methods can take 3-10+ business days. You would only withdraw using an account transfer if you wanted to move your account to another brokerage. There are no additional fees for withdrawals or deposits.

E*TRADE payment methods

E*TRADE Support and Trading Education

A point of contention evident in customers’ reviews of E*TRADE is that the customer support is outdated. Though most brokers these days offer online chat support, E*TRADE support is only offered by phone or mail.

There are two primary ways to contact the broker:

• Phone: 800-838-0908
  • Available 24 hours a day, Monday to Friday.
• Regular mail
  • PO Box 484, Jersey City, NJ, 07303-0484

For new traders, E*TRADE does offer an education section which includes articles on the basics of trading, as well as how-to videos on using the trading platforms.

Most of the information is generic and highly focused on getting you to buy their products. So while there are may be some benefit to the E*TRADE Knowledge section on their website, most investors will go through the material there very quickly.

Final Thoughts on E*Trade as a Broker

Overall, E*TRADE is definitely a broker to consider for stocks, options, futures, ETFs, bonds, and mutual funds. It has low trading costs, especially on stocks and ETFs which have a $0 commission. It is suitable for advanced traders or beginners.

The Power E*TRADE platform has a variety of research and analysis tools, and is a step up from most broker-offered charting and trading platforms. The E*TRADE platform is simpler, for those looking for fewer bells and whistles.

Getting money in and out can be a little slow, and will often take a full day or more as there are no instance deposit and withdrawal options.

You can choose from a wide range of account types, and like Fibo Group, the broker is highly regulated.

The takeaway is that E*TRADE is a safe bet on the surface. They check all the boxes, but a low TrustPilot rating indicates not all clients are happy with their service.

Check out reviews of other brokers here.

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