Etrade: Fees

The info on this post is from 11/10/06 and will change so do your own research if you are interested in finding out more, whenever you are ready. Also, these are the fees that will or could impact a plan like the one I am proposing, not a complete list of fees.

Minimum Balance Fee:
$40 quarterly Low Balance Fee -if the balance in your E*TRADE Securities account is over $10,000 or the total combined balance in your linked E*TRADE Securities and E*TRADE Bank accounts is over $20,000 you do not have to pay this. Also, these fees are not charged for accounts in the first year (this is a nasty policy) .

You should not set up a non-retirement brokerage account with Etrade unless you have more than $10,000 that will remain there until the account is closed as paying $160 annually in maintenance fees is ridiculous and you can easily find a different brokerage that does not charge this. Also, I do not recommend opening an Etrade bank account. All their adds suggest a savings rate of 4.4% which is not great but not bad especially compared to what many local branches offer.
















When you dig around, however, you will find that if your balance is under $5000, the current rate is .30%.






You can find an online bank account with better rates without balance restrictions. Bank Deals is an excellent site for tracking down online banks.