For the second time, I’m taking advantage of the techniques I mentioned to invest with free money with ShareBuilder. The company does not seem to mind having multiple accounts per individual, as long as it’s within reason. From what I understand, they have sent warnings to those who have a incredible amount of accounts (thirteen or more!) but they are required to pay out the bonuses.
My order tonight is for $70 of Akamai (AKAM)., but my decision to invest was before Jim Cramer warned people to stay away. Once again, I’m investing for the long term, and I believe the company will grow as internet bandwidth gets fatter.
Last time, I noted that I could have avoided the $4 transaction fee by signing up for a trial of ShareBuilder’s second level of service. This is exactly what I did this time; I will need to remember to cancel the trial before the end of the month. I definitely don’t want to get charged for the service if it’s not necessary.
Investing with other people’s money (in this case, money from promotional bonuses) is one good way to remove the risk out of the equation.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
So I wonder how ShareBuilder makes their money? Obviously they have expenses to cover, trading fees, etc. I see by the ads that they charge $4 per transaction, but by industry standards, that’s pretty darn low.
How does this work out? Do you have the seperate accounts all under one login?
Todd,
The fees to sell are higher than average, so there is money to be made by the broker. I figure I’ll worry about that fee many years from now, after the investments have supposedly appreciated enough to make it worthwhile.
Dus10,
When you sign up for an account, ShareBuilder will ask if you already have an account. If you do, you supply your credentials, and your personal information is automatically populated into the form. When checking my accounts, I can switch between the three accounts through a pulldown menu.
Followed your instructions but have run into a glitch! Looks like to qualify for the $50, Sharebuilder will require me to make automatic investments, as per the email below:
******************************************
Thank you for opening your ShareBuilder account. To receive your $50 account bonus, all you need to do is make sure you’ve set up your Automatic Investment Plan and have a transaction before 05-FEB-07. If you haven’t set up your plan yet, go to Plan Setup today.
Promo Code: ENTERTAIN50
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Has everyone had this experience; is this a detail you failed to mention, or have they changed their tune?
Phil,
You’re on the right track. Sign up for the automatic investment plan, but configure it to invest only once (not repeat every month). You’ll be set.
Perfect! Looks like everything is going to work exactly as explained. Thank you for the clarification – and for passing along this excellent deal!