Share Builder - Buy Stocks Online and Invest Your Money via Automatic Investing Philosophy
Share Builder takes online stock trading to a new level thanks to a wealth of tools, research and knowledge. Great for long-term investment plans.
| Commissions & Fees: |  |
| Investments Offered: |  |
| Research & Analysis: |  |
| Trading Technology: | |
| Customer Service: | |
| Overall Rating: | |
 |
 |
Share Builder Brokerage Review
| Equity Trades: | $9.95 |
| Mutual Funds: | $19.95 |
| Options Base Fee: | $9.95 |
| Options Per Contract: | $1.25 |
| Broker Assisted Trades: | $19.95 |
| Minimum Deposit: | $0.00 |
| Virtual Trading: |  |
| No Minimum Deposit: |  |
| No Maintenance Fees: | |
| No Fee IRAs: | |
| Online Trader Community: | |
| Investment Education: | |
| Stock Trading: | |
| Exchange Traded Funds: | |
| Mutual Funds: | |
| FOREX Trading: | |
| Options Trading: | |
| Futures Trading: | |
| CFD Trading: | |
| WEB App: | |
| Desktop App: | |
| iPhone App: | |
| iPad App: | |
| BlackBerry App: | |
| Android App: | |
| Mobile Site: | |
| Phone Support: | |
| Email Support: | |
| Live Chat Support: | |
| Retail Locations: | |
| 24/7 Support: | |
| Discounted Trading: | |
| Long-Term Trading: | |
| Options Trading: | |
| Active Trading: | |
| International Trading: | |
Try ShareBuilder to trade stocks online without being left scratching your head! The pricing structure as well as the process of purchasing stocks and investing is so simple that you would question why it took you so long to find such a useful online brokerage company before. The best part is that there is no minimum balance required and hence you are free to start with any amount you want and start trading.
ShareBuilder allows you to set up recurring schedules for purchase of investments, i.e. if you want to invest a particular amount every month for an IRA then you can do so automatically. This saves up a lot of time, which you can use for other important tasks. These automatic investment plans cost minimal and reasonable, and it is one of the reasons why 'Builder' is so popular among investors.
As far as reports go, the new account opening process is by far the most convenient and uncomplicated among all the other big names in the online trading world. The users' experience with ShareBuilder has been very good in the past and has remained the same at present as well. You can open an account with 'Builder' quickly because there is no fuss about minimum initial deposit. This is a very good feature because you can actually test the water, by exploring ShareBuilder more closely before committing your money into it. In case you want to fund your account, you can do so conveniently by funding from your checking account.
Fees & Commissions
The fee of 'Builder' is quite low, considering it is just $4 for each market trade. Meanwhile it is $9.95 for option trades as well as limit and market trades. For automatic investments, it is $4 for every investment.
Investments Offered
ShareBuilder is a very versatile online brokerage firm because it offers a rich variety of investing products to its investors and this is what makes them happy, because they have many options to choose from. They can take their pick from options, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, stocks, etc as well as set up schedules for recurring purchases of investments. This recurring scheduled investment purchase is a great idea because it can build up your wealth continually as well as help you look after your financial well-being by setting aside a certain amount of money for investing each month or week or any other frequency that you prefer.
Trading Technology
The features and functions of 'Builder' are very user-friendly. There are many practical features for investments and some of them are equivalent to that of the top-rate online brokerage companies. However, there are some complaints about the difficulty experienced in navigating the website or using it.
You can make the most of the research tools offered by 'Builder' such as company reports, watch lists, stock search tools that are based on criteria, strategy reports and other forms of data. Additionally, market movers report is also provided along with ETF finders, options calculators. One of the most interesting, unique and useful tool of 'Builder' is the one that can display historic prices to you, which means it would show you how much you had gained or lost if you would have invested in a certain investment.
Customer Service
Surveys reveal that the customer service of 'Builder' is awarded 4.5 out of 5 stars, which is a very good figure. And it is not for no reason that the customer support of ShareBuilder are rated so high, it actually is very deserving of the high ratings. The tutorials and online help topics provided to the investors are top-notch and very impressive.
If you experience any problem, you can always contact them by telephone or email. There is no 24x7 phone call availability service but the phone support hours are between 8 am to 9 pm (ET) and you can call them up any day from Monday to Friday.
The four-dollar automatic trade option of ShareBuilder is very good and many people are impressed by it. Sadly, the same cannot be said for its services but while ShareBuilder's quality of services is not that impressive, it is not that terrible either. It is a decent brokerage company and with more improvements in the areas required, it can easily become one of the best online stock trading services in terms of quality of services.
Advantages/Customers like
- Automatic periodical trading following predefined investment plan.
- Partial shares supported (you can buy fraction of stock).
- Very low costs for automatic investing plans.
- Free dividends and capital gains reinvesting.
Disadvantages/Customers don't like
- Commissions schedule a bit confusing.
- Automatic trading only one day a week.
- Poor customer support.
- Low quality tools and investment research capabilities.
- Terrible executions.
- Few mutual fund choices.
Written by: Goran Dolenc
What Is Your Experience With Share Builder?
How Others Rate Share Builder?
Here is how the most trustworthy external sources rate this broker. Best rating is marked with 5 orange stars, worst rating is marked with 5 grey stars, and if any feature is not rated you will see white stars with grey border.
Legend: Not Rated: 
Worst Rating: 
Best Rating: 
| Feature/ Reviewer |  |
 |
 |
Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commissions & Fees | |
|
|
|
| Investments Offered | |
|
|
|
| Research & Analysis | |
|
|
|
| Trading Technology | |
 |
|
|
| Customer Service | |
|
|
|
| Website Usability | |
|
|
|
| Banking Services | |
|
|
|
| Trade Experience | |
|
|
|
| Portfolio Analysis | |
|
|
|
| Overall Rating | |
|
|
|
Do you find this content useful? Like! Tweet! Recommend! Share!
Compare Share Builder to Other Brokers
| Select broker to compare Share Builder with: |  |
Back from Share Builder to Online Stock Brokers
Back from Share Builder to Best Online Trading Site for Beginners Home Page
