WellsTrade Review
WellsTrade may not be the most widely-known brokerage firm, but it does offer several useful investment services that deserve attention. Here are the essentials:
Rating: 
- Stocks & ETFs: $0
- Options: $0.65 per contract
- Mutual Funds: $35
- Minimum to open: $0
Wells Fargo Investment Choices
WellsTrade offers two types of accounts: robo-advised and self-directed. The robo-advised account focuses on ETF investments, with no other assets available. However, it does offer access to financial planning with human advisors.
Self-directed accounts offer a wider range of ETFs and more investment options, including:
- Options
- Stocks (including OTC stocks)
- Mutual funds
- Closed-end funds
- Bonds and other fixed-income securities
Investment options that WellsTrade does not provide include cryptocurrencies, precious metals, warrants, foreign stocks, forex, and futures.
WellsTrade Pricing
Now for the important part: costs. A robo-advised account is 0.35% annually, with a 5 basis point discount for certain Wells Fargo Bank customers. There is no additional fee for consultations with human advisors.
Self-directed accounts have no management fees. Online trades of stocks and ETFs are commission-free, but phone-assisted trades cost $25 each.
Option trades carry a fee of 65¢ per contract.
U.S. Treasury securities at auction have no transaction fee.
Mutual funds with a transaction fee cost $35, with no added charge for using a live rep by phone.
Margin
WellsTrade allows accounts to be set up as either cash or margin accounts. However, converting a cash account to margin requires a phone call—this cannot be done online.
WellsTrade’s current margin rates range from 13.5% to 9.5%, with discounts up to 2.5% for accounts holding over $250,000.
Unfortunately, WellsTrade’s software does not display specific margin requirements for individual assets, which is a downside.
Website
WellsTrade’s website is easy to navigate, thanks to a straightforward top menu. However, it lacks comprehensive features and tools.
The order ticket offers four order types (stop, stop limit, market, and limit) with two time-in-force options (day and GTC). On the positive side, you can choose buy to cover and sell short. The order menu also allows switching between cash and margin trading for those with margin-enabled accounts.
Options and mutual fund trading tabs are located at the top of the order ticket.
Charts on the WellsTrade site include several tools, such as:
- Technical indicators
- Event overlays
- Various plot styles, like OHLC bars and dots
- Drawing tools
However, charts cannot be expanded to full screen, which is a major limitation.
Mobile App
WellsTrade uses the Wells Fargo app, giving users access to various banking tools, like mobile check deposit, free FICO scores, and info on loans and credit cards.
For trading, the app has the same order ticket as the website, though options for sell short and buy to cover are missing.
Users can add securities to watchlists from their profiles. Multiple watchlists are supported and sync with the website.
Alerts can be set for a security with triggers like % volume change, price drop, and news. However, alerts are only sent via email.
The app’s main drawback is its simple charts, lacking horizontal view and advanced tools.
Additional Software
WellsTrade isn’t designed for advanced traders. It doesn’t offer any desktop software, has no browser-based platform on its website, and doesn’t support smartwatch apps.
Customer Support
Customer service is another area where WellsTrade falls short. The website lacks a chat feature and an email system. However, it does offer a document upload tool, which is helpful for submitting scanned images of required documents.
While Wells Fargo Bank and Wells Fargo Advisors have physical branches, they do not provide assistance with WellsTrade accounts.
Customer service is available by phone on weekdays from 8:00 am to midnight EST, but there are no weekend hours.
Under the Customer Service tab on the WellsTrade website, there are tools to manage account settings, such as updating email preferences and changing the username.
Options Trading
Options trading can be added to a WellsTrade account, though the process is a bit complicated. There’s no online application for this; instead, a PDF form must be downloaded from the Account Forms page (found under the Customer Service tab). We had to submit this form multiple times before it was accepted.
From an asset’s profile, you can access option chains (limited to puts and calls) on either the mobile app or website. There are no integrated spread strategies or multi-leg trade options.
Find a Financial Advisor
If you are looking for a professional financial advisor in your area, you can
find top Financial Advisors on the Wiser Advisor website.
Visit Wiser Advisor
Research and Education
WellsTrade fares better in the education area. Under the Research tab on the website, you can find information on global indexes, commodity prices (not tradable), and market commentary. There are numerous reports from Morningstar and Wells Fargo Securities. However, there are no videos available, which is a drawback.
WellsTrade offers easy-to-use screeners for finding investments, available for stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and bonds (but not options). The stock screener includes basic and advanced modes, though the advanced mode has only nine criteria, including:
- Industry
- Consensus rating
- P/E ratio
- Dividend yield
Asset profiles feature analyst ratings from Morningstar, Wells Fargo Securities, and Refinitiv, with some displaying price targets. Financial statements are shown in graphs for easier viewing.
Miscellaneous Services
DRIP Availability: Cash dividends from stocks and ETFs can be automatically reinvested into more shares of the same stock or ETF.
Initial Public Offerings: WellsTrade does not offer early access to IPOs.
WeBull does.
Extended Hours Trading: WellsTrade doesn’t support pre-market trading. After-hours trading is available from 4:01 pm to 6:30 pm EST, but only on the mobile app.
Fractional Shares: WellsTrade doesn’t support fractional-share purchases. You can buy fractional shares with
Robinhood.
Periodic Mutual Fund Investing: WellsTrade allows users to set up automatic investments in mutual funds.
Cash Management Features: Despite being linked with Wells Fargo, WellsTrade doesn’t offer direct banking features, such as a debit card. However, you can link a Wells Fargo checking or savings account to your WellsTrade account.
Individual Retirement Accounts: WellsTrade offers both personal and small business IRAs, though there’s a $49.95 fee for closing an IRA, which is a drawback.
Our Recommendations
Small Accounts: WellsTrade’s robo service requires a $500 minimum deposit. For small investors, self-directed taxable accounts with no minimum are a better choice. We don’t recommend WellsTrade’s IRAs for small accounts due to the closure fee.
Mutual Funds: WellsTrade is a good choice for mutual funds, offering 8,157 mutual funds open to new investors, with nearly 3,000 of them being no-load, no-transaction-fee funds. Its mutual fund screener is comprehensive and easy to use.
Long-Term Investors and Retirement Savers: Self-directed traders can invest in target-date mutual funds in retirement accounts. WellsTrade also offers custodial accounts, but lacks more robust features like
traditional wealth management and annuities.
Charles Schwab would be a better choice for long-term savers.
Beginning Investors: WellsTrade’s robo account, which includes free phone consultations with licensed advisors, is a good option for beginners.
Active ETF and Stock Trading: WellsTrade’s software isn’t suited for active trading.
WeBull is a better choice and offers fractional-share trading.
Wells Fargo Brokerage Review Verdict
WellsTrade has a lot of potential due to its connection with a major financial institution, but it falls short in many areas. The platform needs significant updates, customer service could be improved, and several important features are missing.
Updated on 11/12/2024.
Continue Reading