E*TRADE IRA Review 2024: Features, Fees, and More

Best If You Want

Now a part of the Morgan Stanley family of financial products and services, E*Trade has been a name in the investment space since 1982 and is today working to make online trades easy, accessible, and affordable for active traders and investors who choose a more passive role alike. E*Trade stands out among trading platforms for its integrated third-party research options, market data, and educational resources along with its low account management fee — which, for self-directed IRA traders, is $0. E*Trade also offers several asset classes that are available for online trades with a $0 transaction fee, including stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. You also have access to manage your account from anywhere with the Power E*Trade app, which enjoys high star ratings on both the Google Play and App stores.

E*TRADE Fees

Any E*Trade review would be remiss not to mention its remarkably low fee structure: Active IRA traders don’t have to worry about maintaining a minimum balance, and annual IRA fees are also $0 for such investors.

Additionally, those allocating the assets in their individual retirement accounts to stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds can enjoy $0 trades on those asset classes. Options traders will see a $0.50-$0.65 fee on options contracts, while bonds are charged $1 per bond ($10 minimum and $250 maximum) and futures are charged $1.50 per side per trade.

E*Trade also offers a robo-advisor product called Core Portfolios, which comes with a $500 account minimum and a 0.30% advisory fee which is charged annually.

Those with higher account minimums can also access personalized wealth management services with a live financial advisor through Morgan Stanley, E*Trade’s parent company.

What You Can Invest In

E*Trade’s investment choices include a wide enough variety for many individual investors, though some hoping to access cryptocurrency, fractional shares, or forex through their trading platform will be disappointed. E*Trade’s current slate of options includes:

• Stocks
• Options
• Futures
• Bonds & CDs
• Mutual Funds
• ETFs

E*TRADE Limitations

While E*Trade offers a comprehensive product that can benefit investors at many different stops along their journeys, it does have some limitations. Namely, certain investment options, like cryptocurrency, forex trades, and fractional shares, are not available through the E*Trade platform. Additionally, its Core Portfolios account carries a higher minimum account balance than some of its competitors.

Account Minimums

Active investors on the E*Trade platform won’t have to worry about account minimums. Those with a Core Portfolios account will see an account minimum of $500.

Customer Support

E*Trade does offer live customer service via phone as well as a help portal well populated with articles that can assist customers with common questions. However, the company unfortunately has low customer service ratings on both TrustPilot and the Better Business Bureau.

Account Types

E*Trade offers a wide range of retirement account types, along with a regular taxable brokerage account and more.

Traditional IRA

Traditional IRAs allow you to contribute pre-tax money to your retirement funds, which reduces your taxable compensation (and thus earns you a deduction) in the year the contributions are made. Investment earnings grow tax-deferred, and retirement withdrawals are taxed as regular income.

Roth IRA

Roth IRAs work in the opposite way to traditional IRAs: They’re funded with after-tax money, which means you won’t get a deduction in the short term, but your contributions see tax-free growth potential and, provided all the rules are followed, can be withdrawn tax-free come retirement time, as well.

SEP IRA

SEP IRAs are specifically designed for small business owners as well as independent contractors and allow such individuals to maximize their retirement contributions (or their employees’) by increasing the total annual contribution limit.

401(k) Rollovers

E*Trade also provides a rollover IRA that’s perfect for catching the funds from your old 401(k). Not sure how to do a 401(k) rollover? Capitalize is here to help!

Other Features

Along with its suite of retirement products, E*Trade also offers a regular brokerage account, which allows investors to make investment earnings that aren’t limited in the way retirement accounts are. You can trade free online stock, no-fee mutual funds, and enjoy fee-free ETF trades, all with the ability to access your earnings whenever you want (though capital gains taxes may apply).

E*Trade also offers banking products including both checking and savings accounts with higher-than-average yields to help put your money to work for you.

Considering an E*TRADE IRA?

With its commission-free stocks and mutual funds, free ETFs, easy-to-use Power E*Trade platform for mobile, and a plethora of educational resources and integrated tools, E*Trade stands out among online brokers as a solid choice for a wide variety of investors.

Looking to get all your retirement funds in one place? Capitalize can help you roll your old 401(k)s over into an E*Trade IRA so you can track and manage your funds today — and enjoy the comfortable retirement you deserve tomorrow.