Schwab announces flat $8.95 online trades, new line of ETFs
By APThursday, January 7, 2010
Schwab starts new $8.95 online trade commissions
SAN FRANCISCO — Retail brokerage Charles Schwab Corp. said Thursday it is initiating a new $8.95 flat fee for online trading.
The new commission rate starts Jan. 19 and includes online stock trades regardless of investor portfolio size, frequency of trade or size of trade.
Currently, investors who hold less than $1 million in household assets at Schwab or who trade fewer than 120 times a year pay $12.95 per trade plus charges for trades larger than 1,000 shares.
The new pricing also is available to independent investment advisers and other clients who receive electronic statements and trade confirmations, the company said.
San Francisco-based Schwab also said it is launching new managed portfolios of exchange-traded funds available through a fee-based portfolio advisory program.
Schwab Managed Portfolios-ETFs are made up of diversified ETF holdings representing as many as 20 asset classes. They are designed to enable the individual investor to get access to broad diversification in a single account with the low cost that ETFs provide, the company said. They use diversification across all the major asset equity and fixed income classes, as well as TIPs, real estate and commodities such as energy, agriculture and precious metals.
The Schwab Managed Portfolios-ETFs, which have investment minimums of $100,000, will be available to Schwab clients beginning on Jan. 19.
Schwab shares fell 52 cents, or 2.7 percent to $18.84 in morning trading.
