How Much Money Do I Need To Start A Margin And Stocks Account On Etrade Or Other Online Brokers?
I think it’s $1000 at E*Trade, but read this information on their website about the various maintenance fees, etc. if you have a balance that low: https://us.etrade.com/e/t/prospectestati…
At TDAmeritrade, the minimum is $2000 if you want the “free trades for 30 days” offer. I’m not sure if they allow you to open an account with less than that if you don’t want that offer. They say they have no maintenance fees.
My own personal opinion is that a mutual fund from somewhere like Vanguard or Fidelity that is based on a major market index like the S&P 500 or Russell 2000 is the best place for new investors with only enough money to meet the minimum. To reduce risk, it’s important to spread an investment across many stocks. Even at a discount broker, the commissions required to do that will be a significant percentage of the investment if the total amount of the investment is only a few thousand dollars which makes it difficult to make any money.
The precise dollar amounts will vary from one broker to the next, but unless you’re a “high net worth” client with deep pockets and good credit you won’t get a margin account.
Those typically start at $50K and you have to have a net worth in excess of $100K. Otherwise, they won’t loan you money which is what a margin account is all about.
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