Schwab OneSource Free ETF's

[leonidas]

On Thursday, Schwab opened their OneSource for trading certain ETF's for free. I have a Schwab account and the only ETF I own in there is their Foreign small cap. All my non retirement funds are in Wells Fargo since there I can buy Stocks, funds and ETF's for free. They seem to have a ton of new bond ETF's available with target maturity dates. Anyone plan to use them?

[leonidas]

One more thing about Schwab, they opened their StreetSmart and StreetSmart Edge platforms to everyone with no trading requirements. The rep on the phone asked me if I wanted to add them to my account. I told him I only trade maybe 5 times a year and that is if I am rebalancing. Either way, its free so I installed it and took a look. The Edge runs from your desktop. Lots of charts and number flashing. Can even get CNBC on it. Kind of felt like I was in AC and got the itch to gamble..I mean buy something. So I logged out..and that was the end of the adventure.

[dhodson]

i use schwab but one thing to keep an eye on is the spread. You may find at the end of the day you pay a lot more than the market price when you placed the order if you arent careful.

[stlutz]

Unfortunately, the "free" ETFs they've added are all relatively high cost. They didn't add lower-cost options from VG or iShares. Did anyone read whether they are getting a kickback of sorts from the providers, sort a hidden 12b-1?

[xram]

I will be using Schwab for my 401k pretty soon.

I am going to pay 50 bucks per year to get out of my employer's choices and gain access to schwab via a PCRA.

http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/inv ... ounts/pcra

Schwab ETF are free of charge in this plan....just FYI

http://www.schwab.com/public/file?cmsid=P-3772009&cv4

[Amishman]

Unfortunately, the "free" ETFs they've added are all relatively high cost. They didn't add lower-cost options from VG or iShares. Did anyone read whether they are getting a kickback of sorts from the providers, sort a hidden 12b-1?

EFT companies do pay Schwab to get on their One Source platfom.

[l2ridehd]

I just got an EFT brochure from Schwab and they showed there EFT expenses vs Vanguard for there index funds and every one was lower at Schwab. And free trades. Now I have not explored the buy sell gap as I have no plan to change right now, but at least the ER ratios were very attractive.

[jjbiv]

I just got an EFT brochure from Schwab and they showed there EFT expenses vs Vanguard for there index funds and every one was lower at Schwab. And free trades. Now I have not explored the buy sell gap as I have no plan to change right now, but at least the ER ratios were very attractive.

Just be careful if you are considering investing assets in a taxable account. Schwab is running these low costs ETFs at a loss and may discontinue providing subsidies to the funds (subsidies lower the expenses you pay). Schwab ran a 2% cash-back credit card for a few years before discontinuing it so they have some history in experimenting with new products and killing them if they aren't successful. You could then be stuck with higher expenses and capital gains locking you in at Schwab. Vanguard, by contrast, runs funds at cost, which is a sustainable and scalable approach. If this is in a tax advantaged account with assets already at Schwab or if this account is your only option, knock yourself out -- just keep an eye out for rising expenses or other more costly sales pitches in the future.

[MnD]

Good news, although the additional ETF's (beyond the core Schwab ones) are for the most part less than compelling values.
I'm coming up on 20 years with Schwab and have been very satisfied. Excellent customer service, dedicated account rep, integration of products and accounts and very "full service" orientated at a ever-decreasing price. The have all the core products plus Coverdell ESA's, checking and savings, mortgages, HELOC - and they even know how to combine mutual funds and ETF's in a single account - wow!
I do miss the 2% back on everything Visa but there are a few others of those still available elsewhere.

[leonidas]

The fees on the spdr etfs seem reasonable. I have a new Ira at schwab and was planning on using these etfs to fill any gaps of asset classes my tsp is missing.

[MnD]

The fees on the spdr etfs seem reasonable. I have a new Ira at schwab and was planning on using these etfs to fill any gaps of asset classes my tsp is missing.

The combination of the ultra-low cost Schwab ETF's and and the reasonable ER spdr's puts Schwab way ahead of Fidelity in the ETF offerings.
I'm sure some folks would find the target date maturity bond ETF's useful.