The ShareBuilder Brokerage Account: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Cyberspace is cluttered with glowing reviews of the ShareBuilder brokerage account. Being easy to use and light on certain fees, ShareBuilder does have its advantages. But like anything else, it also has drawbacks—drawbacks that may not be apparent until after you open your account.
ShareBuilder's Blondie (that's the good)
Investing for the masses. Let's start with what ShareBuilder does well. ShareBuilder takes the complex subject of investing and makes it approachable for the most timid of investors. The content on the site characterizes investing as simple and easy, something anyone can do. The home page tells you "there's an investor in everyone." The "getting started" information describes the account opening process in three easy steps.
ShareBuilder's easy-as-pie approach doesn't mean much with respect to your investment performance. But, if it convinces you to open an account when you otherwise wouldn't have, then you are reaping the rewards, so to speak. Time is your biggest asset in investing; opening an account today, rather than next year, gives you the opportunity to earn more over time.
No account minimums. You can open your ShareBuilder account with nothing—obviously a huge advantage when you don't have much money stashed away.
Set it and forget it. ShareBuilder also offers affordable automatic investing. Through this program, you set your account to purchase a dollar amount of selected stocks at regular intervals. You won't have the luxury of timing your purchase for the best price, but that shouldn't matter if you are investing for the long haul. You will be able to ignore your investment account even as you are building up the positions in your portfolio. That's a nice perk when you're generally short on time.
With ShareBuilder's basic account, these automatic trades only cost you $4.
Angel Eyes, the bad
ShareBuilder's Blondie (that's the good)
Investing for the masses. Let's start with what ShareBuilder does well. ShareBuilder takes the complex subject of investing and makes it approachable for the most timid of investors. The content on the site characterizes investing as simple and easy, something anyone can do. The home page tells you "there's an investor in everyone." The "getting started" information describes the account opening process in three easy steps.
ShareBuilder's easy-as-pie approach doesn't mean much with respect to your investment performance. But, if it convinces you to open an account when you otherwise wouldn't have, then you are reaping the rewards, so to speak. Time is your biggest asset in investing; opening an account today, rather than next year, gives you the opportunity to earn more over time.
No account minimums. You can open your ShareBuilder account with nothing—obviously a huge advantage when you don't have much money stashed away.
Set it and forget it. ShareBuilder also offers affordable automatic investing. Through this program, you set your account to purchase a dollar amount of selected stocks at regular intervals. You won't have the luxury of timing your purchase for the best price, but that shouldn't matter if you are investing for the long haul. You will be able to ignore your investment account even as you are building up the positions in your portfolio. That's a nice perk when you're generally short on time.
With ShareBuilder's basic account, these automatic trades only cost you $4.
Angel Eyes, the bad
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