FollowTradeKing Review: Pros, Cons and Main Financial Advisor Services
TradeKing is one of the most well-known online brokerage firms that provides clients with the possibility of using online trading tools to invest, buy or sell stocks, bonds, and so on. You can do all of that either by using your mobile phone, or an electronic trade platform. However, since there are so many online brokerage firms available to the public, each of them promising to be the best one on the market, here is our TradeKing review. Below, we will walk you through everything you need to know about their Financial Advisor services and what their pros and cons are. Let’s begin!
TradeKing Review: Financial Advisor Services
TradeKing’s Financial Advisor service is quite recent. It comes as an attempt to provide more guidance to people who would like to build an exquisite investment portfolio. Since they have already been dealing with customers as a brokerage company, they have the inside scoop on what people need in terms of investment advice.
Looking over the features they offer, we should mention that the minimum deposit is of $500. This is an affordable amount if we were to compare it to other similar services that can request $1.000 or more. This sum might not be a lot for most people. However, it can be seen as unnecessary for others who are just starting with this kind of service.
They have many account types that you can choose from, such as Roth IRA, Traditional IRA, IRA, Rollover, SIMPLE IRA, SEP IRA, Trust, Custodial, Individual, Coverdell, and Joint. Moreover, if you were wondering whether you can access your portfolio if you have an Android or iOS device, the answer is yes in both cases.
They also have phone, email, and live chat customer service. So whenever you have questions or doubts about anything, you can simply contact them. If you are a corporation, a sole proprietor, or you have a business partnership with someone, we have good news for you. You can open a business account targeted specifically to people such as yourself.
TradeKing seems to be more flexible than other similar robo-advisors. Mainly because you have the ability to choose your portfolio according to your risk tolerance levels. All you have to do is answer some questions provided by an online questionnaire. The risk level you choose establishes how they will allocate your funds. If you decide to adjust the risk level (which you can do), the investment allocation will also shift.
Next, we cannot skip details about insurance in our TradeKing review. You should know that SIPC insures all of your accounts if you have up to $500,000. This amount includes both cash and securities. For accounts with up to $37.5 million, Apex Clearing will take care of insurance.
You can choose among 5 types of portfolio levels: aggressive growth, growth, moderate growth, moderate, and conservative. TradeKing is looking to keep your expenses as low as possible. Which is why your investments will be a combination of exchange traded notes (ETNs) and exchange traded funds (ETFs).
No matter the type of account you open with TradeKing, you get two portfolio options. The first one is the basic one called Core Portfolio. The second one is the Momentum Portfolio. For the Core Portfolio you need an investment of at least $500. The Momentum one is actively traded and reviewed each month according to the ups and downs of the market. For this option, you need at least a $5.000 investment.
TradeKing Review: Pros
The Minimum Deposit Is Low
All TradeKing reviews should include a list of pros and cons. As we’ve already mentioned, one of the main pros of TradeKing is the fact that the minimum deposit in order to open a Core Portfolio account is of $500. the amount is indeed higher for the Momentum Portfolios. However, you should consider this option if you have more experience. So you can choose it after you are already familiar with the world of investments.
The Maintenance Fees Are Low
Another thing that really impressed us when researching TradeKing is that you don’t have to pay a lot of money for maintenance. For instance, the Core Portfolios have a 0.25% annual fee. So if you have $250,000 in your account, you only pay $625 for a year of professional maintenance. To put things into perspective, you should know that if you were to rely on a traditional manager, he or she would ask you to pay $5,000 for the same amount of money.
You Can Watch Things from a Distance
If you are not interested in involving yourself too much in the world of investments, but you still want to profit from it, a company such as TradeKing is definitely the way to go. They take care of virtually everything regarding your account, so you don’t have to be the one to manage it.
Varied Asset Classes
Unlike most Financial Advisor services, TradeKing does not only rely on stocks and bonds. You can also invest your funds in other commodities and real estate. That way, you will diversify your portfolio much more.
You Don’t Have to Pay Any Extra Fees
Apart from the annual maintenance fee and the individual ETF management fees, you don’t have to pay for anything else, so you’re all covered. The process is indeed simple and easy to understand.
You Can Use It Even If You Own a Business
Not all similar services allow clients that own a business or are in business partnerships with other people to open accounts. TradeKing does, and this is a great plus in the increasingly competitive world of Financial Advisor services.
TradeKing Review: Cons
The High Minimum Deposit for Momentum Portfolios
Perhaps the most concerning thing about TradeKing is the high minimum deposit that you have to pay if you want to choose the Momentum Portfolio. The $5,000 sum makes it difficult for people who are new in this business or are owners of small businesses to choose anything else than the Core Portfolio.
The Monthly Fee for Core Portfolios
If you have a balance of less than $5.000, you will have to pay $1 each month. This may sound like a low fee, but it is not actually that low. Consider that for $2.500 you will have to pay $12 a year, which amounts for 0.48%. This is almost double what you would pay if you would have more than $5.000 in your account.
You Get No Tax-Loss Harvesting
This method through which you can sell positions that are at a loss in order to minimize capital gains is unfortunately not available at the moment.
Summing Everything Up
TradeKing offers one of the best Financial Advisor services you can find on the market, if you take into account the multitude of tools you have access to and the amount of freedom you get from managing your investments by yourself. Overall, the pros definitely outweigh the cons. Also, the TradeKing.com customer reviews are definitely positive. Especially if you are thinking of investing a larger sum of money and you are already knowledgeable in the field, you can trust the platform. However, there are things inexperienced people can look forward to as well, and we hope our TradeKing review has managed to highlight them.
