Investing

Best Broker Promotions, Deals, and Bonuses of 2023

Editor's Note

You can trust the integrity of our balanced, independent financial advice. We may, however, receive compensation from the issuers of some products mentioned in this article. Opinions are the author's alone. This content has not been provided by, reviewed, approved or endorsed by any advertiser, unless otherwise noted below.

Brokerages often have promotions for new account sign ups. Most also have commission free trades and a full spectrum of investment options.

Depending on how much you have to invest you could get a bonus up to $10,000.

Best Brokerage Promotions

M1 Finance - Earn Up to $10,000

M1 Finance will give you up to $10,000 for opening an investment account. Your bonus amount depends on the amount you deposit.

  • A deposit of $50,000 - $249,999 will get you a bonus of $250
  • A deposit of $250,000 - $499,999 will get you a bonus of $1,000
  • A deposit of $500,000 - $999,999 will get you a bonus of $2,000
  • A deposit of $1,000,000 - $1,999,999 will get you a bonus of $4,000
  • A deposit of $2,000,000+ will get you a bonus of $10,000

Unlike a lot of brokers on this list, retirement accounts are not included in this promotion.

M1 Finance uses preset portfolios known as “pies.” You can choose premade pies or you can set up your own. Each investment of the pie is set a percentage of your portfolio and as investments are made to the account they are distributed based on asset allocation. So, if one of your “slices” is less than the preset your new investment will buy more of that slice to bring it up to its appropriate percentage allocation.

Offer ends 3/31/2023

Get started with M1 Finance here. Or read our full review of M1 Finance.

E*trade - Earn Up to $3,500

With E*Trade new customers can earn up to $3,500 depending on how much you have to deposit. To qualify, you must make the deposit within 60 days of opening the account and use promo code BONUS23.

  • A deposit of $5,000 - $19,999 will get you a bonus of $50
  • A deposit of $20,000 - $49,999 will get you a bonus of $100
  • A deposit of $50,000 - $99,999 will get you a bonus of $200
  • A deposit of $100,000 - $199,999 will get you a bonus of $300
  • A deposit of $200,000 - $499,999 will get you a bonus of $600
  • A deposit of $500,000 - $999,999 will get you a bonus of $1,200
  • A deposit of $1,000,000 - $1,499,999 will get you a bonus of $2,500
  • A deposit of $1,500,000+ will get you a bonus of $3,500

Existing customers can also get in on the action.

  • A deposit of $500,000 - $999,999 will get you a bonus of $600

E*Trade doesn’t have any account minimums to open or account maintenance fees. They also have $0 commissions for online domestic stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. There is a fee for options that is between 50 and 65 cents depending on your trading volume. Bonds are $1 and futures are $1.50.

Offer ends 4/18/2023

Get started with E*Trade here. Or read our full review of E*Trade.

Charles Schwab - Earn Up to $1,000

Charles Schwab will give you up to $1,000 for opening a new investing account. The catch is that you’ll need to be referred to Schwab by a current client. If you know someone who is already using Schwab they will need to send you a link you can use that will qualify you for the bonus.

Also, how big your bonus will be depends on how much you deposit into the account.

  • A deposit of $25,000 - $49,999 will get you a bonus of $100
  • A deposit of $50,000 - $99,999 will get you a bonus of $300
  • A deposit of $100,000 - $499,999 will get you a bonus of $500
  • A deposit of $500,000+ will get you a bonus of $1,000

To receive the offer you will need to make the deposit to the account within 45 days of account opening.

Charles Schwab has $0 commission online trades for stocks and ETFs. Options are 65 cents per contract. There are no account minimums to open but you’ll need to deposit at least $25,000 to receive a bonus.

Get started with Charles Schwab here. Or read our full review of Charles Schwab.

JP Morgan Self-Directed Investing - Earn Up to $700

You can get up to $700 by opening a self-directed brokerage account with JP Morgan. How much you’ll receive depends on how much you deposit into the account:

  • A deposit of $10,000 - $24,999 will get you a bonus of $50
  • A deposit of $25,000 - $99,999 will get you a bonus of $150
  • A deposit of $100,000 - $249,999 will get you a bonus of $325
  • A deposit of $250,000+ will get you a bonus of $700

You will have to fund the account within 45 days of opening and keep the account funded for 90 days to qualify. The money needs to be “new” to JP Morgan and Chase to qualify.

You can open a taxable investment account or either a Traditional or Roth IRA.

JP Morgan offers commission-free online trades and a wide variety of investments including stocks, ETFs, mutual funds. They also offer options which are charged 65 cents per contract.

Offer ends 4/13/2023

INVESTMENT AND INSURANCE PRODUCTS ARE: NOT A DEPOSIT • NOT FDIC INSURED • NO BANK GUARANTEE • MAY LOSE VALUE

Get started with JP Morgan here.

Merrill Edge - Earn Up to $600

Merrill Edge

At Merrill Edge you can get up to $600 by opening a new self-directed brokerage account or IRA. The amount of your bonus depends on how much you deposit into the account.

  • A deposit of $20,000 - $49,999 will get you a bonus of $100
  • A deposit of $50,000 - $99,999 will get you a bonus of $150
  • A deposit of $100,000 - $199,999 will get you a bonus of $250
  • A deposit of $200,000+ will get you a bonus of $600

To receive your bonus, you’ll need to make your deposit within 45 days of account opening and then maintain that balance for at least 90 days. The money you deposit has to be “new” money to Merrill Edge which includes money that is currently with Bank of America or a 401(k) that is currently managed by Merrill Edge.

Merrill Edge has $0 stock and ETF trades. Options are 65 cents per contract.

Also, funds in your Merrill Edge account go towards your status as a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member, which gives you preferred pricing on many of their products. You can learn more about the Preferred Rewards program here.

Get started with Merrill Edge here. Or read our full review of Merrill Edge.

Fidelity Investments - Earn $100

Fidelity

With the Fidelity you can earn $100 just by depositing $50 within 15 days of opening the account. Use code FIDELITY100 when signing up to qualify.

There are five account options included in this promotion.

The Fidelity Account

The Fidelity Account is Fidelity’s brokerage account. There are $0 commissions for online US stock, ETF, and option trades.

Investment choices include both domestic and international stocks, ETFs, options, over 3,700 mutual funds, bonds, CDs, and precious metals. It even allows margin borrowing and extended trading hours.

The vast majority of Fidelity’s mutual funds do not have any transaction fees and they even offer a few funds that have no fees at all, not even management fees. These fee-free funds are called Fidelity ZERO funds.

You can also buy fractional shares in your brokerage account. This is a great feature for those who want to own a piece of a company but don’t have the funds to buy a whole share.

Fidelity Cash Management Account

The Fidelity Cash Management Account works similar to a checking account but it keeps the funds in your Fidelity account for easy access when you are ready to invest.

Your funds are FDIC insured and you can access them all the ways you would normally use your money in checking account, including debit card, online bill pay, paper checks, and online transfers.

Your balance also earns a competitive interest rate so it will work as a savings account as well.

Fidelity Starter Pack

The Fidelity Starter Pack comes with both The Fidelity Account and the Fidelity Cash Management Account.

Neither account has fees or minimum balances to open, keep in mind to get the $100 bonus you’ll need to deposit $50 within the first 15 days.

In the brokerage account there are $0 commission for online US stock, ETF, and option trades. The cash management account is similar to a checking account, the cash is available for easy investing but it is also available for easy spending and is FDIC insured.

Traditional and Roth IRAs

Both Traditional and Roth IRA’s also qualify for the $100 promotion. These are both retirement accounts, but they are taxed slightly differently. When you make contributions to a Roth you contribute after tax money, meaning you don’t get a tax break when you contribute, but you can make tax free withdrawals. So, your money grows tax free.

With a Traditional IRA you make pre-tax contributions but are taxed on all the money when you withdraw in retirement.

Within these accounts you will have access to the full suite of investments offered through Fidelity.

Here’s more information about how IRAs work.

Get started with Fidelity here. Or read our full review of Fidelity here.

Webull - Earn Up to 12 Free Fractional Shares

You can earn two free fractional shares just by opening a Webull brokerage account. Then deposit any amount of money into the account for an additional ten free fractional shares.

Which shares you get will be determined at random, but all companies are listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ and have at least $20 billion capitalization and have share prices between $3 and $3,000. You will most likely receive between $3 and $30 worth of stock. Once the shares are issued you have 30 days to claim them.

Webull offers commission-free trades and no minimum deposit is required to open an account - although you will need to make a deposit to qualify for your bonus. They offer fractional shares, crypto, ETFs, options, OTC, and paper trading.

Offer ends 3/31/2023.

Get started with Webull here. Or read our full Webull review.

Robinhood - Earn Up to $200 in Free Stock (But Probably $5)

With Robinhood you can earn a free stock by opening an investment account and linking your bank account.

Once you are set up you will receive a “specified amount” that you can use to choose a fractional share of from a list of 20 S&P 500 companies. Your bonus amount will range between $5 and $200 -- but most likely between $5 and $10.

New Robinhood customers are eligible, but existing customers can also claim the bonus if they refer a new customer to Robinhood. You can sell the free stock after three days but you can’t withdraw the cash for 30 days. You can use it to reinvest in something else if you’d like.

Robinhood’s key feature is no fees. They don’t even have fees on options which most brokerages charge for. Robinhood offers stocks, ETFs, crypto, and trading on margin.

Get started with Robinhood here. Or read our full review of Robinhood.

Betterment - Up to One Year Free

Betterment is a popular robo advisor offering up to one year free depending on how much you deposit into your new account.

  • A deposit of $15,000 - $99,000 will get you 1 month free
  • A deposit of $100,000 - $249,999 will get you a bonus of 6 months free
  • A deposit of $250,000 will get you a bonus of 1 year free

You must deposit the funds within one month of account opening; does not apply to crypto.

So, in order to get the full year free, you have to deposit at least $250,000 to your account. However, that’s a substantial savings when you consider even the 0.25% annual management fee.

Get started with Betterment here. Or read our full review of Betterment.

What is a Brokerage Account?

A brokerage account is a type of investment account that allows individuals to buy and sell various securities, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options, and more. The account is managed by a brokerage firm or financial institution, which acts as an intermediary between the investor and the securities markets.

When an investor opens a brokerage account, they deposit funds into the account, which they can then use to buy securities. The brokerage firm will typically charge fees for each transaction made in the account, which can include commissions, fees for account maintenance, and other charges.

Brokerage accounts can offer a range of features and benefits depending on the firm or institution that manages them. For example, some accounts may provide access to research and analysis tools to help investors make informed investment decisions, while others may offer margin trading, which allows investors to borrow funds to make larger trades.

How to Choose a Brokerage Firm

Choosing a brokerage firm or platform that meets your needs can be an important decision when it comes to managing your investments. Here are some factors to consider when choosing a brokerage firm or platform:

  1. Fees: Look for a firm that charges competitive fees for trades, account maintenance, and other services. Some firms may offer commission-free trades, which can be an attractive option for frequent traders.
  2. Investment products: Consider the range of investment products offered by the firm, including stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds, and other securities. Make sure the firm offers the products you want to invest in.
  3. Research and tools: Look for a firm that provides access to research and analysis tools to help you make informed investment decisions. These tools may include market data, stock analysis, financial news, and more.
  4. Trading platform: Consider the trading platform provided by the firm, including its ease of use, features, and functionality. Some platforms may offer advanced tools and customization options, while others may be more streamlined and user-friendly.
  5. Customer support: Look for a firm that provides responsive and helpful customer support, whether it’s through phone, email, or live chat. Make sure the firm has a good reputation for resolving issues quickly and efficiently.
  6. Security: Consider the security measures taken by the firm to protect your account and personal information, such as two-factor authentication, encryption, and other security features.

All the platforms in this article are reputable, safe, and have low fees.

What is the Minimum Deposit to Open a Brokerage Account?

The minimum deposit required to open a brokerage account can vary depending on the brokerage firm or platform you choose. Some firms may not require a minimum deposit at all, while others may require several thousand dollars or more.

In general, discount brokers and online platforms tend to have lower minimum deposit requirements than full-service brokers.

Also, keep in mind that to receive the brokerage account bonus, you will have to meet the minimum deposit requirements. While there may not a minimum deposit required to open the account, there will be one to qualify for the bonus.

Are Brokerage Account Bonuses Taxable?

Yes, brokerage account bonuses are generally considered taxable income and must be reported on your tax return. Make sure to consult with a tax professional to understand the tax implications of any brokerage account bonuses you receive.

Final Thoughts

Choosing a place to invest your money is going to depend on a variety of factors including how much money you have to invest, how much investing experience you have and the type of investments you are looking for. You want to make sure your choice is the best fit for your financial situation so be sure to check out our list of Best Online Discount Brokers for 2023 for additional options.


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