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PROS:
CONS:
Charles Schwab is one of the best online stock trading solutions for traders of any expertise. It has all the essential tools investors and traders find useful for successful online trading. The company’s pricing, although not the cheapest in our review, is still very affordable with flat fees and a lower than usual broker-assisted trade fee. Charles Schwab’s platform also comes in a mobile app with most of the functionality of the desktop version.
Charles Schwab is a household name when it comes to investments. With over 40 years in the business, the company has built itself a reputation on providing reliable service to all its users. Aside from its banking services, the company offers online stock trading on an exceptionally well-designed platform anyone can easily use. The website also has an educational center that holds many different tutorials, guides, webinars and more with the purpose of fully educating the users on all that the platform has to offer.
Interface and Features
The company’s online trading platform has all the essential tools and features we looked for in our review. Unlike some other services we looked at, Charles Schwab’s online platform is fully customizable allowing you to set up watch lists, alerts, different level quotes and more. The charts and graphs tools work really great and can be adjusted in many ways to give you the end result you’re looking for. Additionally, there is a calculator that helps you assess potential risks and profits involving a particular security you’re following. One drawback, however, is that Charles Schwab doesn’t have automated online trading.
The service offers an equally efficient mobile app developed for iPhones, iPads, Android devices and the Kindle Fire. You can use the app to do almost everything you would on a desktop app. For example, you can order trades and research stocks as well as monitor your account activity, all from your mobile device. An upside to Charles Schwab being a big banking name is that you can use the mobile check deposit feature on your phone. One area where the service falls short is that you can’t add more funds to your account, a feature many other services offer.
Features:
If you choose Charles Schwab you will have access to trading with stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs and options. The company keeps its pricing transparent so for each individual trade with ETFs and stocks, you’ll have to pay a flat fee of $4.95. Trading with options is also $4.95 for commission, with an additional $0.75 for every contract. Although it’s not the cheapest service in our review, Charles Schwab is still reasonably priced, and has costs just above the industry average. Other fees include a $25 charge for broker-assisted trades. This company also requires you put down an initial deposit of $1000 when you first open an account. Although not unusual, many companies we reviewed don’t require a minimum deposit thus allowing beginner traders more flexibility and freedom to choose the right online stock trading solution for them.
Email: international.schwab.com/public/international/nn/contact_us.html
Phone number: 866-232-9890
Website: https://www.schwab.com/
Support: www.schwab.com/public/schwab/investing/pricing_services/support
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CharlesSchwab
Although it offers dozens of tutorials, how-to videos and guides, Charles Schwab doesn’t have a simulated trading feature. This option might not be as important for seasoned traders, but for those just beginning in the online stock trading business, the trading simulator is a training ground for future real-time investing. The service also doesn’t offer any detailed courses on trading for novice users. However, Charles Schwab has a vast selection of web seminars, courses and blogs you can use to educate yourself on the aspects of the platform that interest you the most.
Our editorial staff evaluates products and services independently, but Best Review Guide may earn money when you click on links. Read our advertising disclosure.
By: Matt | Last updated June 22, 2017 
