Charles Schwab provides the resources for beginners to learn how to invest, while advanced tools and $0 commissions attract active traders.
The information on this page about Charles Schwab Review.
Charles Schwab is distinguished among brokers by its outstanding customer service, $0 trade fees and large selection mutual funds.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Three platforms without minimums or fees
- Above-average mobile app.
- You will need to conduct extensive research.
- Large selection of funds
- Commission-free ETF, stock and option trades
Cons
- Low default cash sweep rates
Full Review
Charles Schwab shines
Charles Schwab has a wide range of offerings: Charles Schwab is open to all levels of investors. Beginners will love the $0 minimum account, while active traders will enjoy the $0 commissions for stock, options, or exchange-traded funds.
Extensive Research: Schwab is highly praised for its extensive research offerings. This includes Schwab’s own equity rating and analysis from top industry research firms.
Schwab has a large range of funds to choose from, with low expense ratios or funds that do not charge transaction fees.
Charles Schwab’s shortcoming
Schwab has a smaller number of fractional stocks: Schwab allows you to access fractional shares from S&P 500 stocks. These may be the stocks that investors are most interested in but there are other brokers who offer fractional trading.
Charles Schwab is best known for:
- Investors for beginners
- Advanced traders
- Investors who are looking for index funds that have no minimum requirements.
- Investors who depend on premium research.
Charles Schwab at a Glance
Account minimum – $0.
Stock trading costs – $0.
Tradable securities
- Stocks.
- Bonds.
- Fractional shares
- Mutual funds
- ETFs.
- Forex.
- Options.
- Futures.
Learn more about Revolut.
Further details on Charles Schwab’s ratings
Account minimum 5 out of 5 stars
Schwab doesn’t require you to have an account. You can access over 500 funds and only $100 minimum investment requirement.
Stock trading costs are 5 out 5 stars
Schwab, like many brokers, does not charge commissions on stock, options and ETF trades. Schwab does charge $6.95 per OTC trade. Investors looking to trade penny stocks should consider alternatives.
Options trades are rated 4 out 5 stars
Schwab doesn’t charge options commissions per trade, but it charges $0.65 for each contract. This is a standard charge and is in line with other brokers.
Account fees: 4.5% of 5 stars
Schwab has the lowest account fees (if you have to pay them) Schwab has no annual or inactivity fees. Transfers of assets are free. Full transfers cost $50.
Five out of five stars: No-transaction-fee mutual fund
Schwab provides access to over 7,100 mutual funds with no transaction fee. Schwab’s own ETFs and index funds offer the lowest expense ratios. Over 2,400 funds have expense ratios less than 0.50%.
The selection is also simple to navigate. Schwab’s ETF Select List allows you to narrow down your choices. It features picks of the best funds in specific categories. (more below). You can sort the list by feature such as expense ratio, Morningstar Category and benchmark index. You can also use the Personalized Portfolio Builder to help you build a diverse portfolio based upon your financial goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon.
4 out of 5 stars Tradable securities
Charles Schwab has many tradable securities available, including ETFs and index funds, mutual funds as well as bonds, options, futures, forex trading, and other options.
Schwab Stock Slices give investors access to fractional shares so they can purchase a smaller share of a stock than the full price. A $10 slice would give you 10% of a $100 stock. A single slice can be purchased for $5 or up to 10 slices. This feature is only available to S&P 500 stocks. Fidelity and Interactive Brokers are two other brokers that offer fractional trades. They don’t have any restrictions on the fractional shares they offer.
Crypto availability: Charles Schwab clients can’t trade cryptocurrencies at this time. However, the broker provides access to over-the-counter crypto-based products such as Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
Trade platform 5 out 5 stars
Schwab’s website offers basic trading capabilities. However, Schwab also provides a number of robust trading platforms that are available for all clients.
StreetSmart Edge is the company’s flagship product. This customizable platform can be downloaded as well as accessed via cloud-based technology online. StreetSmart Central, a suite of programs that allow options trading, is also available. Mobile trading is also offered by the broker, which can be used on the StreetSmart Mobile app or the Schwab app.
StreetSmart.com and Schwab.com both offer robust tools and access to information that caters to different types of traders. Schwab.com offers basic trading, while other platforms offer more advanced options.
StreetSmart Edge was designed to be efficient, with simple navigation and customization tailored to your trading style. Many advanced features include powerful charting tools, the ability trade multiple securities simultaneously (and with a variety order types), and tools to monitor your market exposure. This platform has many customizable features, such as the Balance Bar. It gives you an overview of your account, buying power, and allows you to create and modify multiple trading layouts.
You can also quickly search for a symbol and view streaming market data to place an order.
Schwab.com allows traders access to research, monitor their portfolios, and view technical data. It offers an intuitive trade ticket that allows you to order stock, ETF, and option orders. This includes current market information.
Mobile app 5 out 5 stars
Schwab Mobile and StreetSmart Mobile are two mobile apps. Schwab’s mobile application is generally highly rated. However StreetSmart Mobile app scores lower in user reviews than the Schwab Mobile app.
Data and research: 5/5 stars
Schwab also offers Morningstar, MarketEdge or Recognia reports, as well as its own equity rating. Schwab offers real-time news, earnings reports, and a variety research reports and market commentary written by in-house analysts.
Schwab’s investment screeners make it easy to save screens and are very user-friendly. The company’s experts compile Select Lists (such as the one for ETFs) and release them quarterly. This gives you access to a pre-screened list of mutual funds and other ETFs. The list is divided by category so that you can easily find the picks of the company for large-cap stock mutual fund.
Google Assistant can be used to search for stock quotes and general market updates. The company also has an Amazon Alexa skill, which provides similar information. It even allows you to create and receive updates on a watchlist.
Customer support options: 4.5/5 stars
Customers can reach us in many different ways. There are many ways to reach customers. You can call, email, or chat online 24 hours a day. You can also speak with someone in person at any of the more than 90 Charles Schwab locations across the country. Some are even open on Saturdays.
Charles Schwab is right for you?
Schwab ticks all the boxes for every investor type: Stock traders will appreciate $0 in trading commissions and advanced platforms, research and tools. Beginner and fund investors alike will enjoy the wide variety of low-cost mutual funds and index funds. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is a robo advisor and financial advisor that offers investment management.
