Founded on March 1852, Wells Fargo was started by Henry Wells and Williams Fargo as a financial services company. Since then, a lot has changed.

The good news is that Wells Fargo has found ways of doing things better and adapted with the changing times. As a result, it has earned the loyalty and trust of its customers.

Today, Wells Fargo is a financial behemoth offering diversified services in banking to customers around the world. To offer its customers online and mobile brokerage services, Wells Fargo started WellsTrade, an online brokerage service that empowers traders to invest in accordance with their goals.

With WellsTrade, customers have the opportunity of managing their investments from their desktop, tablet, laptop, and smartphone. Regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, customers enjoy protection via SIPC and FDIC plus safeguards under SEC Consumer Protection Rule.

In our WellsTrade review, we will look at the services offered, WellsTrade features and pricing plans.

WellsTrade Features and Services

To get started with WellsTrade, traders are required to open an account. With a WellsTrade account, users can enjoy the benefits of Brokerage Cash Services.

Some of them include – having the convenience of moving money between your Wells Fargo account(s) and mobile check deposits using your tablet or smartphone.

If you can access any of Wells Fargo branches, you can make deposits to your WellsTrade account in minutes.

There are three accounts offered on WellsTrade:

• Standard Account – with a standard account, users can trade bonds, stocks, no-load mutual funds and ETFs among other financial instruments. In addition, traders can monitor their accounts and portfolios using robust tools.
• Traditional IRA –allows you to save for retirement. Contributions are tax-deductible and your earnings grow tax-deferred.
• Roth IRA – allows you to save for your retirement too. Withdrawals are tax-free and you can access your contributions anytime – tax and penalty free.

To open a standard account, you are required to answer a few questions. Information provided by you will help WellsTrade financial advisors to know more about you and your financial goals.

You will be required to provide your Social Security number, Employer name, Employer address and income information. Afterward, you can select between individual and joint account.

To start investing, you have to fund your account, verify your information and submit your application. Once you have applied for a WellsTrade account, your reserved account number will be displayed on the final page of your application.

Write down the number, as it will be used to make queries in regards to your account. Once your account is activated, your account number will be available in your New Account Package.

You must sign and send the documents available in your New Account Package to Wells Fargo, for your account to be activated.

If you have an online Wells Fargo account, you can get started with a pre-filled application by signing up with your username and password.

To help WellsTrade users select the best retirement plan – Traditional or Roth IRA – the platform has a dedicated page that allows users to check their eligibility before contributing. Users must provide the following details:

• Income tax filing status
• Age of contributor by the end of the contribution year
• Are you covered by an employer-sponsored plan?
• Information on your Modified Adjusted Gross Income

Afterward, click “See My Eligibility” before you start making contributions.

WellsTrade Trading

Thanks to WellsTrade Brokerage Cash Services, traders can fund their accounts by transferring money and making deposits from one Wells Fargo account to another.

They also have the opportunity of making teller deposits at the closest Wells Fargo branch. That is not all. Traders can deposit checks using their smartphones via Wells Fargo Mobile deposit.

With money in your WellsTrade Investment account, you can now begin trading multiple financial instruments.

From your account, you should be able to access WellsTrade web trader.

You can access a wide range of chart types and technical indicators to help you spot trends and make profits. The web trader does take time to download data and information. When it comes to navigation, traders have to navigate from one page to another. This is because the web trader lacks a trading bar.

Other trading tools can be accessed via interactive charting and screeners tabs which are accessible via the “Research” menu item. As a result, the WellsTrade web trader can be said to be suitable for buy and hold traders and not active traders.

WellsTrade Automated Investing

With WellsTrade automated investing, you can simplify how you invest. Automated Investing is a service offered by WellsTrade under Intuitive Investor account.

With this account, traders have access to a diversified portfolio combined with professional guidance. What you ought to know is that there are close to 15,000 WellsTrade financial advisors ready to help you build a healthy and wealthy portfolio.

Here is how it works. Financial advisors will make WellsTrade investing services available to you via the web trader. Before getting started, the Financial Advisor will get to know you – the trader.

All you need to do is inform the Financial Advisor about your investment needs plus risk tolerance. Using the flexible planning process, the Financial Advisor will help you build a sound financial strategy. Using smart technology, WellsTrade Financial Advisors will recommend a financial instrument or portfolio that suits you.

Afterward, you will have access to a fully managed and diversified portfolio. The Financial Advisor will monitor your portfolio on a day to day basis and rebalance it. This will ensure that your portfolio reflects with the changes happening in the market.

During the whole process, your Financial Advisor will communicate with you on your terms.

What you ought to know is that WellsTrade Financial Advisors can do more than help you formulate winning trading strategies as well as rebalance your portfolio. They can coordinate with your tax and legal professionals among others to have a better picture of your financial standing.

WellsTrade Financial Education

Ever wanted to know what type of investor you are? Ever wanted to know how you can match with an experienced financial advisor who will help you build a great portfolio?

Well, you can learn more about what type of investor you are and how to select the right financial advisor using WellsTrade Financial Education.

As a dedicated page on Wells Fargo, the parent organization of WellsTrade, it hosts a number of articles that inform and educate learners on investing and finances.

Simply put, it’s a powerful collection of resources curated by Wells Fargo financial professionals and designed to help you select your investments and build a wealthy portfolio. Some of the topics you will come across include:

• Timely industry news, market insight, and commentary
• Performance ratings and industry watch
• Investment ideas from Wells Fargo professionals and industry experts

Some of the resources available in this section include how to update your investment portfolio, what to consider when changing trading strategies, understanding dollar cost averaging and how to save on taxes.

WellsTrade Mobile Investing

Ever wanted to do the following while on the move – track your portfolio, manage your account and invest in a wide range of financial instruments? Well, you can now do so with WellsTrade thanks to their revolutionary product – Mobile Investing.

WellsTrade has designed its web trader to be mobile responsive. As a result, it can adapt to any mobile device despite its resolution or screen size. From your mobile device, you can place trades, track orders, view account activity, manage your stock watchlist, access real-time quotes as well as market news.

WellsTrade Pricing

WellsTrade Financial Advisors can help you build a healthy and wealthy portfolio. In addition, they will monitor your account and even rebalance your portfolio.

These services are not offered for free. To get started, you must have a minimum balance of $10,000. From there onwards, WellsTrade will charge you 0.50% advisory fee plus expenses associated with the balance in your portfolio.

When it comes to trading ETF and Equity trades online, WellsTrade charges $5.95 per trade. Traders can get a special discount of $2.95 per online trade once they link their WellsTrade account to the following service – Portfolios by Wells Fargo, a premium package that simplifies your finances and helps you save money.

Other pricing options include:

• Mutual Funds (No-Load, No Transaction Fee) – $0
• Mutual Funds (No-Load Transaction Fee) – $35
• Household Annual Fee or IRA Custodial Fee – $30 per household (Charged September of every year.
• Options – $5.95+$0.75 per contract (Online or Automated Telephone Trading) or $25 + online trading commission (Agent Assisted Trading)

Final Thoughts

As the third largest brokerage in the US with over 15,000 registered representatives, WellsTrade offers a wide range of services to help traders make the most out of their funds.

Traders can invest in multiple financial instruments that include ETFs, stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Not only that. Users can plan for their retirement with any of the following accounts – Roth, SEP or Traditional IRA.

To help traders take advantage of the markets and profit, WellsTrade has created a web trader that can be accessed from a PC or laptop. While on the move, you can access your portfolio, place orders and view account activity using your smartphone or tablet.

However, the trading platform is not suitable for active traders used to fast execution and advanced tools for better analysis and research. WellsTrade web trader is a bit slow and lacks vital tools needed by active traders. When it comes to educational content, it’s basic and limited but still useful.

Despite this, WellsTrade is quite promising especially when you take into account that it is owned and operated by Wells Fargo, a financial institution founded in 1852 and one of the largest in the US.