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Best Self-Directed Investment Firms. Brokerages for Self-Managed IRA and Non-IRA Accounts.
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TD Ameritrade Pricing
| Investments | Commissions |
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| Stocks and ETFs | $0 |
| Stocks and ETFs broker assisted | $25 |
| Mutual funds | $49.99 to buy, $0 to sell |
| Treasuries at auction | $25 |
| All other bonds and CMOs, CDs | on a net yield basis |
| Futures | $2.25 per contract plus exchange & regulatory fees |
| Forex | Non-commission currency pairs trade in increments of 10,000 units (and do not contain a "#" symbol suffix). There are no additional fees or charges. |
| Investments | stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, bonds, CDs, UITs, futures, and forex |
| TD Ameritrade minimum deposit to open account | $0 |
Best Self-Directed Broker Review
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Promotion
Get $0 commissions and ACAT fee reimbursement.
Open TD Ameritrade Account
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Ally Invest Pricing
| Investments | Commissions |
|---|
| Stocks and ETFs | $0 |
| Options | $0.50 per contract |
| Mutual funds | $9.95 |
| Bonds | $1 per bond with $10 minimum, $250 maximum |
| Treasuries | commission-free |
| Certificates of Deposit (CDs) | $24.95 |
| Investments | stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, CDs, forex, treasuries, ETFs |
| Ally Invest minimum deposit to open account | $0 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account |
Best Self-Directed Broker Review
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Promotion
Up to $3,000 cash bonus + transfer fee refund.
Open Ally Invest Account
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Open Self-Directed Investment Firm Account and Buy a Stock
Step 1: Open a self directed brokerage account
You are here because you decided you are ready to invest in your future, or you want to start building your retirement portfolio, or you just want
to make some money on a hot stock or commodity (such as gold, oil or natural gas). Naturally, a question arises: where and how do I buy stocks online?
Well, the process is actually very simple. There are companies, called brokerage firms, that let you do that and much more. They provide you with an ability to
buy stocks (also called securities) and other investments, such as mutual funds, ETFs, bonds, etc. You'll have to pay them a commission for each
trade (sometimes also called a "transaction") you make, and the average cost of commission on stock or ETF trade in the industry right now is around $0.95, which is
very cheap comparing to what you would have paid 10 years ago.
There are dozens of self-directed brokerage firms out there courting new customers. So who has the best self-directed investment account for your needs?
The answer will depend on what you are looking for:
- If you want to just occasionally buy/sell stocks online, then what you need is cheap commission and no account maintenance fees. For this purpose we suggest
opening a self-directed brokerage account with Ally Invest.
- If you are looking to invest for your retirement, then what you need is no IRA fees, low commissions, and a large, established brokerage firm for self-directed
account. TD Ameritrade will fit that definition perfectly.
Step 2: Fund your brokerage account
Before you can buy a stock, you'll have to transfer money from your bank account to your new brokerage account. With Ally Invest and TD Ameritrade you
will have to setup and use ACH transfer which will take a few days. Brokerage firms make this
setup very easy, but if you have questions, don't hesitate to call broker customer service.
After your account is opened and funds are transferred, you are finally ready to buy stocks online. Below are step-by-step instructions of how to buy shares with
all three top self directed investment companies for IRA and non-IRA accounts.
Step 3: Buy stocks online
TD Ameritrade: To buy stocks at the firm, first log in into your account.
Once inside, click "Trade" tab on top in main menu. In "Buy/Sell" box select "Buy". In "Shares" box enter the number
of shares you want to buy. In "Symbol" box enter a symbol for a company you want to buy (you could look up those on the internet by typing in Google search
"symbol for Apple/Facebook/etc"). To the right you will see a price at which this stock is currently trading. In "Order Type" box you could leave "Market" if you want to buy stock at the current price, or you
could change it to "Limit" and set your own price (if your price is below market price, this order will execute only when market price falls
to your price, which could take some time). If you used "Limit" order, then change "Duration" to "Good till canceled", since it will take time
for a market price to reach your price. After all that, click "Preview Order" button and if your order looks good click "Place Order" button.
Etrade: Log in into your account. In "Quote lookup"
box in top-left corner enter symbol for a company you want to buy (you could look up those on the internet by typing in Google
"symbol for Apple/Facebook/etc") and press "Go" button. It will show you a price at which this stock is currently trading. Click blue "Buy" button
and a new window will appear. In "Quantity" box enter the number of shares you want to buy. The "Price" box you could change to "Market"
if you want to buy stock at the current price, or you leave it at "Limit" and set your own price (if your price is below market price, this
order will execute only when market price falls to your price, which could take some time). If you used "Limit" order, then change "Duration"
to "Good till canceled", since it will take time for a market price to reach your price. Then click "Preview" button and if your order looks good click
"Place Order" button.
Ally Invest: Log in into your account. In the main menu select "Trading", then "Stocks + ETFs". Under "Action" select "Buy", under "Shares"
enter the number of shares you want to buy. Below "Symbol" enter symbol for a company you want to buy (you could look up those on the internet by typing
"symbol for Apple/Facebook/etc" in search engine). At the bottom it will show you the price at which this stock is currently trading.
Below "Price" box you could select "Market" if you want to buy stock at the current price, or select "Limit" and set your own price
(if your price is below market price, this order will execute only when market price falls to your price, which could take some time). If you used
"Limit" order, then change "Duration" to "GTC" ("good till canceled"), since it will take time for a market price to reach your price.
If you used "Market" order above, you already bought and own a stock you wanted! If you used "Limit" order, you will have to wait for your
order to execute. It might execute soon, or in a few hours, days or, even, never, depending on the price you set.
If you followed instructions above - congratulations! You just bought your first stock! Hopefully it will make you a lot of money.
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