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Standout Online Brokers For Stock Trading
There are a lot of online brokers out there. So many, in fact, it can be overwhelming to weed through all the options — good and bad — and then confidently choose one. Social scientists call this “information overload”. We call it inconvenient. To make the search easier, we created this shortlist of standout picks from our partners. And with low commission rates, impressive investing tools, easy-to-access research and more, they’re a great choice for most investors.
Broker | Highlights | Commissions | Account Minimum | Current Offers | Start Investing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 NerdWallet rating | Large selection; low fees | Commissions $0 per trade | Account Minimum $0 | Current Offers Get $600 or more when you open and fund an E*TRADE account with code: BONUS21 | on E*TRADE's website |
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Looking for a hands-off way to invest? Try an online financial advisor or robo-advisor.
Vanguard Personal Advisor Services is an option for investors who can meet a $50,000 account minimum and want to have access to a live financial advisor at a low cost. For those looking for a lower account minimum, Vanguard Digital Advisor is an affordable robo-advisory service that uses Vanguard's key exchange-traded funds to create a personalized retirement plan and portfolio for investors.
Broker | Highlights | Commissions | Account Minimum | Current Offers | Start Investing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 NerdWallet rating | Customized portfolios; access to financial advisors | Commissions 0.30% management fee | Account Minimum $50K | Current Offers None no promotion available at this time | on Vanguard Personal Advisor Services's website |
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NerdWallet rating | An affordable and personalized way to invest for retirement. | Commissions 0.15% per year (approximately) | Account Minimum $3K | Current Offers None no promotion available at this time | on Vanguard Digital Advisor's website |
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Want to earn a high APY on your savings?
Savings accounts offer you access to your cash whenever you want. If you want instant access to your money, a savings account is a good alternative or compliment to a broker account.
| Bank | APY | Monthly Fee | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
 at Marcus by Goldman Sachs, Member FDIC | 0.50% With $0 minimum balance | $0 | Pros
Cons
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 at American Express National Bank, Member FDIC | 0.40% With $0 minimum balance | $0 | Pros
Cons
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See the possibilities
Predicting exactly how much money an investment will return would be magic. Unsurprisingly, no such crystal ball exists. You can, however, crunch the numbers with a compound interest calculator and guesstimate a range of different outcomes. As a starting point, the average annual return from the S&P 500 was just below 7% for the 10-year period 1996-2016.*
Estimated Future Balance: $14,290
Check out those gains
With investing, time is your friend. The sooner you start, the longer you'll have to let compound interest do its thing.
Disclaimer: This is hypothetical and in no way predicts future performance. The average annual nominal return of the S&P 500 the last 30 and 10 years was calculated by the geometric mean with no adjustment for inflation. Investments that pay higher rates of return are generally subject to higher risk and volatility. The actual rate of return on investments can vary widely over time, especially for long-term investments. The hypothetical performance above does not take into account fees or sales charges.
