I put $500 into an Etrade account, and in 4 days I can start trading.
Don't take this personal as it doesn't relate to you, but that is the biggest bunch of bovine feces I have ever heard. G*& D@#^&%#m Etrade!
ARRRRRGGGGGG!!!!!
[/rant]
If a full service broker (i.e. a human being, not a machine) opened an account for $500 for a student, to actively trade, the freakin regulators would be on him like white on rice. Used to be Minimum account was $2000 and that was for an IRA. Used to be if your income was under @$50k and/or net worth under $200k it was mutual funds only.
Scottrade has a minimum account of only $500.
Ive been told Bank of America offers a free brokerage account with them if you are one of their customers....with no minimum. ING Direct also requires no minimum.
Missing the point.
Dont be so quick to judge.
I'm not judging kmitchell or anyone else here, I'm judging the hypocrisy and idiocity of the regulators. If you are a full service broker, you are only allowed to accept clients that make certain levels of income and net worth, even if they make their own picks. If I let a college student open an account for $500-$1000, and even if he picks his own stocks, if he loses money, I get fined, suspended, and probably sued. A licensed broker has a responsibility to protect people from themselves.
But a clerk at one of these Walmart-esque firm has no such rules or responsibilities. An American broker, working on commisions and or performance based fees, is heavily regulated (as it should be) and has several different orgs. watching his moves and restricting his activities. But these "Discount firms" can outsource all contact to Habib in Hyderabad and is exempt from these regs and responsiblities and no one is required to protect investors from themselves.
