This could be good news for anyone just starting out with investment accounts. Schwab lowered the minimum starting balance to $1,000 from $2,500 (or $2,000 for IRAs)and removed below-the-minimum fees for all their investment accounts as long as at least $100 is deposited into the account on a monthly basis. (Source: BusinessWeek.)
I recently opened a new SEP IRA with Vanguard. I chose Vanguard this time around because my fee-less TIAA-Cref account has too many problems.
Vanguard requires a $2,000 or $3,000 initial deposit (depending on the fund), but a minimum balance of $5,000 per fund to avoid maintenance fees. I’ll have to bring that balance up in the new few months.
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2:42 pm (reply)
I wish Vanguard would do that, if only for one month per year, or if only for new investors/investors with low AGI. They suddenly raised the minimum from 2K to 3K right before I decided to start investing, and it created a little bit of strain for us to scrape up that extra $1000. Why not make it easy for new customers?