It took me a while to start investing because it seemed so complex. Not only did you have to decide what stock to buy, but you also had to figure out how to buy it! Since you can't deal directly with companies, that means a "broker" — a middleman from whom you can buy any companies' stock or mutual funds that combine a lot of stocks into one basket.
Nowadays, there are a lot of brokers out there, ranging from old-school companies like Charles Schwab where you have a relationship with a local office and a person, to slightly newer behemoths like Vanguard and Fidelity, to upstarts like Betterment that aim to totally automate the process. Plus, there are all the free investing apps out there.
But how do you choose which broker to go with? Since many of these companies are well known and trustworthy (that is, they won't run off with your hard-earned money the way Bernie Madoff did), you need some way to distinguish them.
In my opinion, if you're trying to distinguish between trustworthy companies, there are three things to take into consideration:
- What kinds of fees do they charge? Can you invest for free?
- What kinds of services do they provide?
- What kinds of incentives do they offer to get you to choose their company rather than their competitor?
The Internet age is really making the third factor shine! Practically every month new offers come out as brokers try to entice people to move their investments, or to begin investing for the first time. This is a great time to be thinking about opening a new investment account. Because it's so easy to research fees and offers, many of the big brokerages are matching each other's prices and offers, making the environment better and better for customers.
Note: Due to the pricing wars with the major brokers over the last few months, many have changed or eliminated their bonuses. We've worked hard to keep up, but if you notice something different, let us know!
I took a look around and here are some of the best stock brokers and investing offers out there right now:
M1 Finance - Up To $10,000
M1 Finance is running an amazing transfer promotion for the fourth quarter that allows you to earn up to $10,000 if you transfer assets over to them. This is in addition to the basic "up to $500" bonus you get for opening a new account and depositing new money. They are also running a regular bonus offer (below).
This offer is running through February 28, 2023.
Here are the bonus tiers:
Deposit Amount | Bonus Amount |
|---|---|
$50,000 to $249,999 | $250 |
$250,000 to $499,999 | $1,000 |
$500,000 to $999,999 | $2,000 |
$1,000,000 to $1,999,999 | $4,000 |
$2,000,000+ | $10,000 |
Read our full M1 Finance review here.
Get up to a $10,000 bonus!
TradeStation - Up To $3,500
TradeStation is one of the best platforms for active traders that are looking for research tools and easy trade execution. And right now that they are offering a great partnership with TradingView.
They are offering a promo where you can up to $3,500 when you transfer funds into your TradeStation account. The amount you get depends on how much you transfer in.
Deposit Amount | Bonus Amount |
|---|---|
$5,000 | $150 |
$25,000 | $300 |
$100,000 | $500 |
$250,000 | $1,000 |
$500,000 | $2,000 |
$1,000,000 | $3,500 |
Read our full TradeStation review here.
Get up to a $3,500 bonus!
E*TRADE - Up To $2,500
E*TRADE has gotten in on the incentive war too! Their bonus structure starts a little higher than Ally Invest, but it matches it at every tier.
If you open a new account with E*TRADE you will need to deposit at least $25,000 to receive incentives, but they are competitive:
Deposit Amount | Bonus Amount |
|---|---|
$25,000 to $99,999 | $200 |
$100,000 to $249,999 | $300 |
$250,000 to $499,999 | $600 |
$500,000 to $999,999 | $1,200 |
$1,000,000+ | $2,500 |
We think E*TRADE is great, especially when it comes to investing in a Solo 401k. Read our full E*TRADE review here and decide for yourself.
Get up to a $2,500 bonus!
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing - Up To $700
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing is currently offering an intro offer of up to $700. J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing allows for unlimited commission-free investing with stock, ETFs, and options trading when you open an account.
They also allow for a traditional brokerage, or Traditional or Roth IRA. This offer does not apply to J.P. Morgan Automated Investing or any account opened with a J.P. Morgan Advisor.
Right now, you can get up to $700 when you open and fund a J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing account with qualifying new money by April 13, 2023.
Here are the bonus tiers:
Deposit Amount | Bonus Amount |
|---|---|
$10,000 to $24,999 | $50 |
$25,000 to $99,999 | $150 |
$100,000 to $249,999 | $325 |
$250,000+ | $700 |
Get up to a $700 bonus!
Merrill Edge - Up to $600 & Free Trades
Merrill Edge is Bank of America's brokerage firm (the result of Bank of America's acquisition of famed trading firm Merrill Lynch during the financial crisis of 2008). It's a fine overall choice for anyone, but if you already have a banking relationship with Bank of America, it might be especially tempting due to the "Preferred Rewards" status you can get.
Merrill is one of the last remaining brokerages that hasn't adopted commission-free trading for all. However, if you qualify for Bank of America Preferred Rewards, you can get $0 commissions.
Their current bonus offer includes up to $600 in cash. Here are the levels of upfront investment you need to qualify:
Deposit Amount | Bonus Amount |
|---|---|
$20,000 to $49,999 | $100 |
$50,000 to $99,999 | $150 |
$100,000 to $199,999 | $250 |
$200,000+ | $600 |
As you can see, they have one of the lowest minimums to get started - and their top tier bonus of $600 is less of a requirement than most on this list. However, the product and costs don't really align with the rest of the industry anymore.
Read our full Merrill Edge review here.
Get up to a $600 bonus!
M1 Finance - Up To $500
M1 Finance is offering a "seed fund" bonus offer of up to $500 just for being a new M1 customer and funding your new account within 14 days.
This offer is open through December 31, 2023.
You can get the following bonus tiers:
Deposit Amount | Bonus Amount |
|---|---|
$10,000 to $29,999 | $75 |
$30,000 to $49,999 | $150 |
$50,000 to $99,999 | $250 |
$100,000+ | $500 |
Read our full M1 Finance review here.
Get up to a $500 bonus!
Axos Invest - $200
Axos Invest is offering a $200 bonus when you open a new Self-Directed Trading or Managed Portfolio account and complete qualifying activities.
You must open the account by January 31, 2023, deposit at least $2,000, and complete at least 2 trades. The $200 bonus will be deposited 10 days after you complete the two trades.
Read our full Axos Invest review here.
Get a $200 bonus!
Wealthfront - $50
Wealthfront is a robo-advisor that is consistently on our list of the best ways to automatically manage your portfolio. With Wealthfront, you simply deposit your investment dollars, and their service takes care of the rest.
Right now, you can earn a $50 bonus when you open a new taxable investment account and deposit at least $500. You must keep the funds there at least 7 days, and you'll receive your bonus 30 days after that.
Read our full Wealthfront review here.
Get a $50 bonus!
eToro - $10
eToro is the investing app making waves for offering a full range of products and services - including $0 commission stocks, and crypto trading. It's been known worldwide for years, and has recently been making headway into the United States.
Right now, eToro is giving you a $10 bonus if you open an account and successfully trade $100 in your new account.
Read our full eToro review here.
Get a $10 bonus!
Acorns - $10
Acorns is the popular "round-up" investing app that allows you to invest your spare change over time. They also offer banking options so that you can do everything within one super app.
Right now, Acorns is giving you a $10 bonus if you open an account and successfully deposit a minimum of $5 into your new account within 14 days of opening it.
Read our full Acorns review here.
Get a $10 bonus!
Moomoo - Up To 15 Free Shares Of Stock
Moomoo is a new investing app that is looking to make a splash for those interested in trading on their phones. They offer advanced trading features, and even the ability to invest in overseas markets.
To encourage users to sign up, right now you can get up to 15 free shares of stock valued between $3 and $2,000.
You can earn the following:
- Open an account: 1 share of stock total
- Deposit $100: 10 shares of stock total
- Deposit $1,000: 15 shares of stock total
You have to maintain the account balance for at least 60 days to keep your shares.
Read our full Moomoo review here.
Get up to 15 free shares of stock!
Robinhood - Free Share Of Stock
Robinhood is the popular commission-free investing app that a lot of young traders have been making headlines in the news by using. We also rate it as one of our favorite free investing apps.
One of the cool things about Robinhood is that, when you open an account, you can get a free share of stock. This stock could have a value of anywhere from $5 to $200! You never know what you'll get.
Read our full Robinhood review here.
Get a free share of stock!
Webull - Free Share Of Stock
Webull is a direct competitor to Robinhood that also offers commission-free trading on an app. Were they differ slightly is that Webull offers a lot of more advanced features and analysis that you don't see on the Robinhood app.
Webull gears itself to more advanced traders. But they also offer a similar promotion - get a free share of stock when you open an account!
Read our full Webull review here.
Get a free share of stock!
Final Thoughts
There are a lot of brokers out there that didn't quite make the cut for this list. Either they aren't offering cash promotions right now, or they're offering much smaller promotions that didn't seem as worth it.
However, my research shows that right now, with the stock market fairly hot and several newer entrants into the stockbroker business (including Betterment, which is on this list, and others, like, say, Motif, which is not) stockbrokers are pretty keen to offer incentives.
My guess is that cash back, free trades, and other incentives to switch services are going to keep improving for a while. Just in the last month, Ally, TD Ameritrade, and others are starting to offer really significant cash back if you move a lot of money to their platform. I think others are going to be compelled to at least consider keeping up.
All in all, it's a pretty good time to be shopping for a new stock broker!
Disclosures
The College Investor receives cash compensation from Wealthfront Advisers LLC (“Wealthfront Advisers”) for each new client that applies for a Wealthfront Automated Investing Account through our links. This may create an incentive that results in a material conflict of interest. The College Investor is not a Wealthfront Advisers client. More information is available via our links to Wealthfront Advisers.
Robert Farrington is America’s Millennial Money Expert® and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him on the About Page, or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.
He regularly writes about investing, student loan debt, and general personal finance topics geared towards anyone wanting to earn more, get out of debt, and start building wealth for the future.
He has been quoted in major publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Fox, ABC, NBC, and more. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.
Editor: Clint Proctor Reviewed by: Claire Tak