Formerly NetStock Direct, ShareBuilder is the brokerage extension of ING Direct that serves the niche of beginner investors. People looking for a basic, easy to use platform to build their investment account without too much cost or effort will appreciate Sharebuilder’s cheap scheduled investment plans.
ShareBuilder is not an ideal choice for all investors (i.e. day traders), so in this ShareBuilder review, I’m going to give you a few things to consider before you open an account. We’ll cover exactly what you get, and hopefully help you figure out if they’re the right broker for you.
Pros - Cheap automatic investment plans, no fee to buy or sell several mutual fund families, free one month trial for all new members, mobile trading apps (iPhone, Android & BlackBerry), no minimums, easy to use, links with ING accounts.
Cons - Tiered pricing schedule, limited research and trading tools, automatic trades on Tuesdays only.
Best For - Beginner long-term focused investors – If you’re looking for a simple way to start investing with no minimum initial deposit and little effort on your part, ShareBuilder is a good place to get your feet wet. Mutual fund investors – you can buy, sell or exchange mutual funds in the American Century, Dreyfus, PIMCO, and ING fund families for free.
ShareBuilder is a relatively expensive brokerage for market (real-time) orders considering what you get in terms of trading tools, but if you just want to set up a portfolio for growth in the long-term without burning up your money on commissions, you can do so by taking advantage of their low price ($4) for automatic trades.
Minimum To Open Account - $0
Special Offer: Get a $50 bonus when you open a ShareBuilder account today
ShareBuilder Review Continued…
Fees & Commissions
Equities: $9.95*
Options: $9.95 + $1.25 per contract*
Mutual Funds: $19.95
Broker Assisted: $19.95
Futures: N/A
Platform Fees: Free Basic Account, $12/month for Advantage Account.
A few notes on commissions:
1.) Prices listed above are for Basic Account holders. For $12 per month, you can upgrade to an Advantage account for lower commissions.
2.) With an Advantage Account, online trades are reduced to $7.95 per trade (equities) and $7.95 + $0.75 per contract (options). You can use their online cost calculator to see if ponying for an Advantage Account makes sense for you based on how you intend to trade.
3.) Automatic (scheduled) trades are $4 and happen on Tuesdays once you set them up.
Investments Offered
Equities: YES
Options: YES
Mutual Funds: YES
ETFs: YES
FOREX: NO
Futures: NO
ShareBuilder has a good selection (250+) of no-load funds, and many have no transaction fee (zero commissions) which is a nice perk.
No-load, no commission funds include funds from the American Century, Dreyfus, PIMCO and ING fund families.
Other well-known funds with low transaction fees ($4 automatic) include Fidelity, Dodge & Cox, T. Rowe Price and Vanguard.
Special Offer: Get a $50 bonus when you open a ShareBuilder account today
Research & Tools
Free Quotes: YES
Market Commentary: YES
Watch Lists: YES
Research Reports: YES
Market Analysis: YES
Trader Community: NO
Mutual Fund Comparisons YES
Tax Tools: YES
While ShareBuilder doesn’t have the most extensive list of high-tech trading tools out there, they definitely have enough to get the job done for the average long-term investor.
Here are a few handy tools that are built into the ShareBuilder platform:
Watch Lists help you keep tabs on stocks, mutual funds and ETFs that you want to follow. Get up-to-date quote information and breaking news, and view stats and charts for the items on your list.
Set up Tracking Alerts to get notified when there is movement or news about specific stocks, mutual funds or investments on your watch lists via email or text message.
The Quick Fund Selector can help you find mutual funds suitable for your investment strategy quickly and easily.
PortfolioBuilder is a very handy tool that will analyze your financial goals, investing style, and risk tolerance to create a personalized portfolio of suitable investments for you. You can then integrate this portfolio into your Automatic Investment Plan and build your portfolio steadily over time. Set it and forget it if you like.
ShareBuilder Video Tour (4:31)
If you want to get a quick peek inside the ShareBuilder platform, check out this 4 minute video tour released in 2011 by ShareBuilder (Warning: turn down you speakers if you don’t like cheesy repetitive umm-bop music that might put you in the mad house).
Special Offer: Get a $50 bonus when you open a ShareBuilder account today
Education
Free Tutorials: YES
Free Webinars: NO
Beginner Education: YES
Retirement Resources: YES
Tax Information: YES
Forum: NO
The education resources from ShareBuilder are OK, but they won’t blow your socks off by any means, because you can get much of what they offer for free online. It would be nice to see them add webinars and an active community forum to the platform to improve the education resources.
Customer Service
24/7 Support: NO
Live Chat: NO
Email: YES
Phone: YES
Branch Offices: NO
I’ve heard mixed reviews of ShareBuilder’s customer service (some great, some not so great), so the jury is still out on them, but one thing I think is cool is that they have ING Direct cafes to visit in some major U.S. cities (NY, San Francisco, Chicago, Honolulu, LA, St. Cloud, Wilmingham and Philadelphia) where you can talk to their associates.
Special Offer: Get a $50 bonus when you open a ShareBuilder account today
Margin Rates
7.20% – 4.20%
Types Of Accounts
Virtual Trading: NO
No Fee IRA: YES
Individual/Joint: YES
Education Savings Plan: YES
Custodial: YES
Special Promotions
Final Thoughts…
Don’t expect to get more than the basics from Sharebuilder, but you’re that’s what you’re after, they do provide a convenient, easy to use service that can help you build you investment portfolio with little effort on your part. If you’re just starting out, give their give their one month free trial a shot and see what you think.
Special Offer: Get a $50 bonus when you open a ShareBuilder account today
Have you used ShareBuilder already? If so, please tell us all what you think by adding your own review of ShareBuilder in the comments below!
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