I am looking to move from Ally/Tradeking to another brokerage. I am not too thrilled with their customer service. Which ones do you all use and like that have some attractive transfer bonuses and promotions?

I opened a Robinhood account to do 24 hour trading. I didn't end up really doing that much but stuck around for the 4% interest on cash and commission free options trading.

Dan Scott said:

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I opened a Robinhood account to do 24 hour trading. I didn't end up really doing that much but stuck around for the 4% interest on cash and commission free options trading.

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Robinhood doesn't have any bonus/ promotions going on, unfortunately.

aggie_wes said:

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Fidelity

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Fidelity has bonuses for transfer amount over a million. My account isn't that big.

here's Webull's current transfer/deposit bonuses



they had better % match bonuses last year that were unsustainable
just transferred another 25K from Vanguard (converted some VTSAX to VTI since it needs to be etf) for the 2% bonus
says til March 5 but they've just kept extending it - terms


also reimburse up to $100 transfer fee, and should also be able to get free shares from opening acct and initial deposit https://a.webull.com/NMi2nG9ORrzuKDlXKO


I also have Robinhood, Vanguard, Fidelity but do most of my individual stock trading on Webull due to best mobile interface for ease of placing and revising limit orders

also get a lot of margin to freely make buys with no interest/fees if just funding the orders by end of day

Almost all brokerages will offer something for your money, and most will pay to keep you. If you aren't rotating between the major brokerages every year, you're leaving money on the table.

What type of bonuses?

Yukon Cornelius said:

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What type of bonuses?

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Just cash bonuses, taking care of transfer fees and similar things

If you're ever going to want to borrow on margin, Interactive Brokers has much better rates than most others.
I like their site just fine also. Fidelity has been good also.

So, to avoid cluttering up the board, I'll latch onto this thread - - I'd like to start a younger generation of our family on investing education (school of hard knocks), and was thinking of funding 5-6 accounts each with, say, $100.00 to get them (and me) started (fractional share and commission-free trading is a must). I'd let them invest in whatever they want, and they'd own their accounts. I'd like to gamify it to say if they beat my annual results, they get $50 additional at the end of each year.

I'm thinking Robinhood might be a good (maybe only?) vehicle who would put up with this nonsense? I recall the user $30,000 millionaire setting up a for real fun account (I think at Robinhood?). Any suggestions for other approaches?

aggie_wes said:

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Fidelity

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Fidelity

All I can say is don't use Vanguard, their website is terrible! Slow, buggy, you can't use specific ID for stocks any more, slow. Overall extremely disappointing. And did I say slow.

Fidelity's customer service is top notch when I've had to use it.

I bleed maroon said:

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So, to avoid cluttering up the board, I'll latch onto this thread - - I'd like to start a younger generation of our family on investing education (school of hard knocks), and was thinking of funding 5-6 accounts each with, say, $100.00 to get them (and me) started (fractional share and commission-free trading is a must). I'd let them invest in whatever they want, and they'd own their accounts. I'd like to gamify it to say if they beat my annual results, they get $50 additional at the end of each year.

I'm thinking Robinhood might be a good (maybe only?) vehicle who would put up with this nonsense? I recall the user $30,000 millionaire setting up a for real fun account (I think at Robinhood?). Any suggestions for other approaches?

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I started one for my 9 yr old on Robinhood. So far, it has been easy for the kid to use and the kid likes it.

Update: talked to Schwab and they said they will match their competitors. Best deal I found was on tasty trade for my investment size. Schwab is going to match them and waive/pay off transfer fees - I think I am going to go with Schwab. Thanks everyone.

Thermalaggie said:

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Update: talked to Schwab and they said they will match their competitors. Best deal I found was on tasty trade for my investment size. Schwab is going to match them and waive/pay off transfer fees - I think I am going to go with Schwab. Thanks everyone.

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Remember a year from now that they will pay for your business again.

Proposition Joe said:

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Thermalaggie said:

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Update: talked to Schwab and they said they will match their competitors. Best deal I found was on tasty trade for my investment size. Schwab is going to match them and waive/pay off transfer fees - I think I am going to go with Schwab. Thanks everyone.

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Remember a year from now that they will pay for your business again.

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Didn't know this. Thank you for letting me know. Will remember this!

Robnhood just announced uncapped 2% transfer bonus with Gold membership ($50/yr) until 3/31 for brokerage transfers and 4/30 for IRA transfers
Gold also gets 3% IRA contribution match, which is up front and untaxed in Roth
and can get on waitlist for universal 3% cash back credit card

https://join.robinhood.com/josephz239
https://robinhood.com/creditcard?referral_code=b6720dda

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Account transfer bonus FAQ for Robinhood Gold

As a Robinhood Gold subscriber, transfers into your Robinhood individual or joint investing account from an external brokerage will earn you a 2% bonus. No matter how much you transfer, we'll give you an extra 2%.

Which transfers are eligible?
When you transfer eligible assets from outside brokerage accounts into your Robinhood individual investing account or Robinhood joint investing account with a Robinhood Gold subscription, starting at 12 AM ET on March 14, 2025 until 11:59 PM ET on March 31, 2025, you'll get a 2% bonus on top of the net transferred asset value. Only brokerage account transfers earn the bonus and not other transfers, like ACH transfers. You must initiate the account transfer during the offer period, although the account transfer may settle outside this period.

How's the bonus calculated?
You'll earn a 2% bonus on the net transferred asset value, including transferred cash and securities, on the trading day before transfers settle. Settlement occurs when the securities are posted to the account and available to trade. Note that the bonus is only available for assets that successfully transfer and settle, and won't be granted for those that are rejected.

Are there transfer fees?
We don't charge a fee to transfer assets into Robinhood. However, your outside brokerage may charge you a transfer fee to transfer your assets. For any full or partial account transfer into Robinhood that's $7,500 or more, we'll reimburse the transfer fees your other brokerage may charge, up to $75 per account type, per brokerage. Contact us to request a reimbursement.

How long do transfers take?
It typically takes 5-7 business days for transferred assets to fully settle into your Robinhood account.

When do I get the bonus?
Generally, the bonus will be available in your account and ready to invest after your account transfer is fully settled.

What's reported for taxes?
The bonus is reported as miscellaneous income in your individual investing account or in your joint investing account under the primary owner's SSN or TIN.

Can I keep the bonus if I stop my Gold subscription or withdraw money?
Keeping the bonus after ending your Robinhood Gold subscription or withdrawing money from your account depends on how long you maintain your Robinhood Gold subscription and maintain the transferred assets in your individual or joint investing account and the account's net balance, as described in the following example.

As long as you (1) keep your Robinhood Gold subscription for at least 1 year and (2) keep the eligible funds for at least 5 years in your Robinhood individual or joint investing account, the bonus is yours to keep.

If you withdraw money earlier than 5 years from when it's settled in your account, and your remaining account balance stays at or more than the bonus plus the net transferred value that earned the bonus, it's yours to keep.

However, if you withdraw money before 5 years and your remaining account balance reduces to less than the net transferred value, a portion of your bonus may be deducted from your account. After 90 days, any bonus reduction applied will be based on how much time remains in the required holding period.

Note though that after 90 consecutive days, you'll unlock a one-time, 60-day grace period where you can withdraw up to your original transferred amount without triggering an immediate bonus reduction. However, the bonus portion of your account value will be temporarily frozen, which means it'll be unavailable to invest or withdraw until the withdrawn money is returned to your account. Keep in mind, the grace period doesn't apply to ACATS transfers out or if you cancel your Robinhood Gold subscription. If a withdrawal outside of the grace period causes your account balance to decrease to less than the originally transferred amount, a prorated bonus reduction will apply based on the remaining time left in the 5-year holding period.

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Gold members also get a free $1K in brokerage margin which if kept in something like SGOV would pay for most of the annual membership with dividend yield

PA Investments LLC

Our motto is we can make anyone $1 million dollars on sound investments.

Just send us $2 Million, we can invest that chunk of cash down to $1 million within days.

OldArmyCT said:

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Everyone makes fun of Bank of America but their Merrill Edge platform is pretty good, free trades too. If your balance is high enough you get a ton of banking perks, assuming you bank there too.

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I use BOA/ML Edge as well, as noted if you bundle the two together the "rewards" are pretty good. For example if you hold $100K combined with BOA and ML you can get 2.6% cash back with the BOA Premium Rewards Visa (3.5% for travel and dining). Free trades and instant transfers are also nice.

Thermalaggie said:

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Yukon Cornelius said:

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What type of bonuses?

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Just cash bonuses, taking care of transfer fees and similar things

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Fidelity will cover any account closure fees if you transfer to them. Unfortunately that reimbursement will be considered taxable income so you won't be made 100% but fidelity is a good discount brokerage with a nice 2% credit card that also gives you TSA pre check for free

I use Schwab. I was with Datek, that became Ameritrade, then TDAmeritrade, now Schwab.

Is anything "better"?

Schwab is a good discount brokerage as well but the web interface isn't the greatest and cash in your account isn't automatically put into a money market so there is an extra step there. Hardly enough to consider moving away from them but something to consider before going to them.