Dear bivio friends,

I was intrigued by the bivio/ETrade promotion so I called to inquire about some of the particulars. I would like to share that information with our community.

One of the first things I learned about Etrade is that our accounts are assigned to one trading specialist who would be responsible for our initial set up, teaching us the trading platform, resolving any issues, and even advising us on trading strategies (great for newbie options traders like my group!). If we sign up, our contact/mentor would be Stephen Pearson. I was so impressed with his knowledge and his demeanor. He knew the answers to every question, offered a lot of other information and suggestions that I believe will be instrumental in my club's decision to join, and he didn't rush me. I highly recommend him! His direct info is 1-877-746-5338 #7865, stephen.pearson1@etrade.com. Tell him I referred you (and no, I don't get anything for doing that <G>).

Initially, I inadvertently called TDAmeritrade instead of Etrade. I was nearly finished with my questions before I realized it. Duh! I only bring this up because I learned that both brokers' prices and requirements are the same, except for the promotion. But I was on hold much longer, the rep had to leave me twice to get answers to my basic questions, and he didn't offer any more than I asked for. Here are the answers to my questions:

Club account paperwork is minimal. There's an application, letter of intent, and a member signature page, and possibly our Partnership Agreement. Initial funding required is $10,000 in stocks or cash; cash funding will only take 3-5 days. One thing I questioned in the promo was the 12 month requirement for transfer fee assistance. He said we don't actually have to "hold" a stock we transfer. They simply do not what us to allow them to pay for the transfer, then sell the stock and move the money out of the account. So the transfer fees are based on the total dollar amount of the account.

ACH transfers to and from a bank account are free, and they are IMMEDIATE. This is one of the reasons we started looking for a new broker. It was taking several days for those funds to become usable. As long as there are stocks, or cash secured by puts, in the account, equal to the transfer, we can spend it the moment we complete the ACH.

The cash sweep account is interest bearing (although not a huge amount right now).

Stocks and options would be $5. Options Contracts are $.75, and all assignments (put or call) are $19.99 each. One good thing is that all multi-leg options are considered one transaction. That will save some dough.

I felt the "terms" for the $5 trades were unclear. The promo states that the $5 fee reverts back to $9.99 after one year unless at least one member transfers or sets up a tax deferred account during the first 12 months. But it doesn't say what happens after that, nor does it state the requirement for the tax deferred account. I was told the $5 trades will continue indefinitely at that point, and the minimum for a member to set up an account (deferred or otherwise) is $500. And, their assistance with transfer fees (up to $150) applies to them, as well.

Here's a kicker. Stephen told me that he has discretion to negotiate favorable discounts for members bringing over accounts, due to the club promo, too. So that would make it worth your while on a personal basis.

Finally, they have Credit Suisse, S&P, Thomson Reuters, and Market Edge as premium analyst research reports, as well as plenty of tools and education videos. Plus, they have started a live seminar circuit (probably in competition with Schwab/OptionsXpress), so they may be coming to a town near you.

I like the idea of $5 trades, immediate spending of ACH transfers and having ONE person to consult with. And, finally being able to use my Account Sync may not be such a bad thing, either! (I know Rob and Laurie will appreciate hearing that from me! Ha Ha!).

Hope this helps in some way. I had to type it up for my club, so I figured I'd send it to the rest of you.

Have a good day,

--
Lynn Ostrem
Crow River Investment Club

garbagecop@gmail.com

 

---

From: club_cafe@bivio.com [mailto:club_cafe@bivio.com] On Behalf Of Lynn Ostrem
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 12:43 PM
To: club_cafe@bivio.com
Subject: Re: [club_cafe] $5 Stock and Options Trades for Your Club from E*Trade!

 

 

Dear bivio friends,

 

I was intrigued by the bivio/ETrade promotion so I called to inquire about some of the particulars.  I would like to share that information with our community.

 

One of the first things I learned about Etrade is that our accounts are assigned to one trading specialist who would be responsible for our initial set up, teaching us the trading platform, resolving any issues, and even advising us on trading strategies (great for newbie options traders like my group!). If we sign up, our contact/mentor would be Stephen Pearson.  I was so impressed with his knowledge and his demeanor.  He knew the answers to every question, offered a lot of other information and suggestions that I believe will be instrumental in my club's decision to join, and he didn't rush me.  I highly recommend him!  His direct info is 1-877-746-5338 #7865, stephen.pearson1@etrade.com.  Tell him I referred you (and no, I don't get anything for doing that <G>).

 

Initially, I inadvertently called TDAmeritrade instead of Etrade.  I was nearly finished with my questions before I realized it.  Duh! I only bring this up because I learned that both brokers' prices and requirements are the same, except for the promotion.  But I was on hold much longer, the rep had to leave me twice to get answers to my basic questions, and he didn't offer any more than I asked for. Here are the answers to my questions:

 

Club account paperwork is minimal.  There's an application, letter of intent, and a member signature page, and possibly our Partnership Agreement.  Initial funding required is $10,000 in stocks or cash; cash funding will only take 3-5 days.  One thing I questioned in the promo was the 12 month requirement for transfer fee assistance.  He said we don't actually have to "hold" a stock we transfer.  They simply do not what us to allow them to pay for the transfer, then sell the stock and move the money out of the account.  So the transfer fees are based on the total dollar amount of the account.

 

ACH transfers to and from a bank account are free, and they are IMMEDIATE.  This is one of the reasons we started looking for a new broker.  It was taking several days for those funds to become usable.  As long as there are stocks, or cash secured by puts, in the account, equal to the transfer, we can spend it the moment we complete the ACH.

 

The cash sweep account is interest bearing (although not a huge amount right now).

Stocks and options would be $5.  Options Contracts are $.75, and all assignments (put or call) are $19.99 each.  One good thing is that all multi-leg options are considered one transaction.  That will save some dough.

 

I felt the "terms" for the $5 trades were unclear.  The promo states that the $5 fee reverts back to $9.99 after one year unless at least one member transfers or sets up a tax deferred account during the first 12 months.  But it doesn't say what happens after that, nor does it state the requirement for the tax deferred account.  I was told the $5 trades will continue indefinitely at that point, and the minimum for a member to set up an account (deferred or otherwise) is $500.  And, their assistance with transfer fees (up to $150) applies to them, as well.

 

Here's a kicker. Stephen told me that he has discretion to negotiate favorable discounts for members bringing over accounts, due to the club promo, too.  So that would make it worth your while on a personal basis.

 

Finally, they have Credit Suisse, S&P, Thomson Reuters, and Market Edge as premium analyst research reports, as well as plenty of tools and education videos.  Plus, they have started a live seminar circuit (probably in competition with Schwab/OptionsXpress), so they may be coming to a town near you.

 

I like the idea of $5 trades, immediate spending of ACH transfers and having ONE person to consult with.  And, finally being able to use my Account Sync may not be such a bad thing, either! (I know Rob and Laurie will appreciate hearing that from me! Ha Ha!).

 

Hope this helps in some way.  I had to type it up for my club, so I figured I'd send it to the rest of you.

 

Have a good day,

--
Lynn Ostrem
Crow River Investment Club

Thank you for clearing that up, Laurie. I may have misunderstood him. Good to know that any size club can afford this offer.

Lynn O.

On Wed, Mar 14, 2012 at 5:42 PM, Laurie Frederiksen <laurie@bivio.biz> wrote:

Thanks for sharing your experience Lynn.

I'm glad to hear you think this is appealing for your club.

Just a note to everyone that there aren't any minimum funding requirements for the $5 trades offer other than $500 of assets deposited within 60 days of opening the account. The $10,000 minimum is only if you want to get the 3 month subscription to Trefis Pro included.



Laurie Frederiksen
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