As the economy begins to turn around people have started to pick up their spending, online discount brokerages are looking to take your money. The number of online brokers has skyrocketed over the past few years and they are all in competition with each other to get new deposits headed their way.
One way brokers try to lure cusomers in is by offering brokerage promotions. One example of this is the latest $100 OptionsXpress Promotion where one can get $100 when opening a new account and placing 3 trades. Another brokerage promo that is available is the Tradeking Promotion where all account transfer fees are rebated up to $150 when the account is transferred into Tradeking from a previous brokerage company.
Other brokers are offering free trades to new clients as a bonus. This is not to be overlooked as the cash value of those free trades is in most cases higher than the usual account bonuses that are out there. Cash bonuses and free trades are the most common types of bonuses, yet other brokers try to be different and offer freebies such as merchandise or trading books.
Most online brokers have very competitive pricing, so luring in new customers with an new account bonus seems to make the account more attractive. In most cases these bonuses can be withdrawn immediatelty as cash, however in other instances they may be used toward trading commissions.
As with any new financial account make sure to base the decision on wherther or not to open the account by the long term viability of the account. If a broker looks good because they are offering a $200 bonus, but trading commissions are $30 / trade, we then do the math, in the long term the trading commissions will surely eat up that account bonus. Also be sure to read all the terms of the promotion as many have small print about how long you need to keep the account open, minimum account balances, and trading activity.
These days it is easy to get a little extra something when opening up a brokerage account. Doing the necessary research is key to opening a brokerge account that will provide value to you in the long term, but also provide that quick little reward to help your portfolio get off of the ground.
Tags: account opening bonus, brokerage promo, new account bonus, optionsxpress promotion, tradeking promotion