Sharebuilder Review

Sharebuilder (now a part of ING Direct), is a great service for people like me. I am a young professional with little experience with, or for that matter, interest in investing. That said, I do want to begin to take control of my finances and make smart, albeit rather small invests with the option to increase investments later. For this, Sharebuilder is the perfect choice. I have it set up so that my checking account sends a small payment each week to my Sharebuilder account (note: if you choose this, make sure you set it up as an "ACH" on the Sharebuilder side, and not a transfer/wire on your bank side, especially if you bank with Chase as I know from experience, they will charge a service fee each time). Then, when I feel as if I have enough cash to make purchase a stock, I research stocks, ask around to friends and colleagues and then make a purchase based on my findings. In this way, I am actively learning about the process and I feel as I have a role in what I'm doing with my money.

 For those who do not wish to play a hand in the actual trading, I would suggest the Automatic Investor option. Under this plan, you will contribute a set amount per month, and for a reduced fee (as like a $7 a month if I remember correctly), Sharebuilder will automatically purchase specific securities each month for you. This is a great option if you are making a moderate contribution (maybe a couple of hundred dollars or more) and you know what you are interested in purchasing. Also, I believe they will help you select securities that are in-line with your financial goals if you are unsure of what to choose, or you do not want to be actively involved.

1. There are many on-line companies similar to this one that you can choose from. I was originally drawn to Sharebuilder for the following reasons:
2. No minimum account balance. I started my account with a $50 deposit
3. $50 bonus when you make your first trade. It's literally $50 for free. Can't go wrong with that.
4. You are not required to pay a monthly fee under all all service plans. For me this was important because since I am using this as a savings account as much as a money market account, and I am not making huge contributions, it did not make sense for me to be paying a fee that would equal 7-10% of my monthly contribution. The account I am set up with only charges me when I make a trade, which is the right kind of account for me.
5. Helpful customer service. When I called the customer service center with questions, my call was answered promptly by a well-informed, friendly associate who was clearly on-top of the information she needed to know. With any company, good customer service goes a long way in increasing my likelihood of doing business with them.
6. Ease of use. The website is fairly easy to use.

A few items that are a little questionable in my opinion:

1. If you do not choose a subscription to one of their monthly plans, they charge you $9.95 for any trade, buy or sell. This seems a touch on the spendy side for those of us who are just getting started with this, and the fee alone often deters me from transactions that I would generally make.
2. Full-access. They choose to close certain areas of their website, especially relating to stock grades and research if you do not pay a monthly fee. I feel this is a pretty poor business model because a) if I look hard enough, I can find this information elsewhere, and b) I am STILL a customer! I'm regularly depositing money and therefore, you should honor my right to full use of the website.
3. Information for new investors. While the site does make an attempt at helping educate new investors, it doesn't seem to be very in-depth. I think if they had a comprehensive section of tutorials for those interested in learning about different investments, and maybe catered to young/new investors with specialized promotions, etc., they would see a jump in business in this demographic.

Overall, I would recommend this site for people in similar circumstances to my own. Aside from that, I do not have experience to base recommendations for people wanting to make larger investments.