Scroll down towards the bottom if you are interested in the list of brokerage firms that we keep track of promo codes for. The following outlines what we know as a result of constantly searching for stock broker promotions and promo codes.
Stock broker promotion codes come in every shape and size. You will find everything from discounted trade prices, usually offered for a limited time or under specific circumstances, to airline miles and even a hammock. Which promotion you end up with should be secondary to picking a reliable and reputable firm. The type of trading you want to do will, in part, determine which broker, and which promotion, you pick.
Cash Promotions
What could be more appropriate for a brokerage firm to offer than cash? The whole point behind your account is to invest and grow your money. A little added incentive is a great thing. How much cash you get varies. Sometimes you get a set amount that is deposited after an initial period, other times the reward is directly related to the size of your account. Here are some common examples:
1. One firm requires that you deposit a minimum of $500 in a brokerage account. Within 12 months of opening the account you must conduct 3 trades. At that point you will be given a credit of $100.
2. Another company requires that you open an account with $2,000 or more. One advantage this brokerage offers is free trades for up to 60 days. In addition, if you deposit a minimum of $25,000 dollars you start to earn a cash bonus. The more you deposit, the greater the bonus, up to $600.
3. A third firm has a straight forward offer of $50 cash for every friend you refer who opens an account and makes a trade.
4. Cash incentives up to $1000 come from yet another firm along with 3 months of free trades. You can open an account with only $1000, but the more you deposit, the greater the cash bonus.
These are pretty standard cash related promotions. If you don’t scoop one up right now, you will find other, similar offers later on. The real catch is that you have to be able to make a large initial deposit, usually within 30-45 days of opening your account to maximize your reward.
Merchandise Offers
Some of these are rather uninspiring, while others can be impressive. The hammock offer mentioned above is real. It is specific to the opening of a new IRA before tax day 2012. You must deposit at least $2,000 in the account and you get a hammock. Not much of an incentive, but better than nothing.
A very popular promotion code recently offered a $500 Apple gift card to new customers at Fidelity. Granted, you had to make an initial deposit of $300,000 or more to qualify for the largest gift card, but smaller deposits were rewarded with $100 or $300 gift cards.
Along similar lines another house offered a free Kindle Fire, Amazon’s top of the line e-reader. A total deposit of $10,000 had to be made within 60 days of opening your account and you have to execute 15 trades within 90 days to qualify. One last caveat, the trades cannot be commission free. Frankly, it might be cheaper to buy your own e-reader.
Free Trades
The most common promotion by far is one that offers a number of free trades. The trades are usually limited in type, size and quantity. Several months of free trades are typical, but you may be offered a certain number of free trades. Often these trades show up as charged for during the month and then credited back to you on the last business day. It is your job to make sure they have been, as it isn’t unusual for the company to “forget” to do so.
Unusual Categories
Some promotion codes fall outside of the norm. For example, one company has an association with a popular commercial airline. For their new customers they offer incentives in the way of bonus mileage credited towards free plane tickets. As always, the more you deposit, the more miles you earn.
Another promotion that turns up from time to time will give you access to a higher grade of analysis tools. While all brokerages have some tools for their investors to use when assessing where they want to put their funds, there can be a huge difference in the effectiveness of said tools. Companies often provide access in a tiered manner, and for the small investor this can be a real challenge. If you are an active investor, access to the more advanced help may be a real boon.
Offers to cover transfer fees, free magazine subscriptions or newsletters are also among the promotions you might find. These are low grade promotions, clearly, and are more likely to turn up with really small brokerage firms.
Which Promo Should You Pick?
To some degree the selection of a promotion code is a personal choice. Only you know how much money you have to deposit in your new account. There is little benefit in choosing a company that only offers incentives which are above your price point.
If money is no issue simply evaluate where you will get the most money back and the best deal regarding trades. If you are just starting out, but you plan to be an active investor, free trades are more attractive than cash back or a hammock. If you don’t plan on trading much, but are content to let your funds mature slowly, free trades or trade based bonuses won’t help; a gift card or merchandise that is useful may offer the most value.
One thing you can be fairly sure of is that offers are posted regularly. Before you set your heart on one, look around. Many of the best offers are made each year before tax day in an attempt to encourage potential investors to finally open a retirement account. Sometimes they are posted in the last couple of months of the year as well.
It only takes a few minutes to find a large selection of Stock Broker promotion codes. Determining which offers you the best deal doesn’t take much longer than that. In the end, picking a reputable firm is more important then the specific promotion, even if it is nice to have a little added something to sweeten the pot.
Start your search below.