As the exchange traded fund space grows in size and popularity, online brokerage firms have set up special perks for trading ETFs. Some brokers offer discounted trades or even commission-free transactions, while others provide integrated ETF portfolios.
We recently covered low-cost online brokers for ETFs, but here’s one we missed. Folio Investing allows investors to manage ETFs as transparent, low-cost investment portfolios, or “Folios.”
On the institutional platform, advisors can invest in portfolios with low asset based fees, reducing cost considerations when constructing a well-rounded portfolio. The asset based pricing is negotiated based on each advisor’s practices. On the other hand, advisors can still use a transaction based plan with $7 per trade.
For retail investors, a basic plan comes with $4 per ETF trade if executed within a twice daily window, or $10 trades outside of the windows. Additionally, retail clients can sign up for the Folio Unlimited Plan that costs $290 per yer, which comes with an unlimited number of trades.
While investors can create their own portfolios with ETFs, Folio Investing also offers “Ready-to-Go Folios,” such as the company’s ETF-based target-date folios, which recently celebrated a five-year record of outperformance, according to a press release. The target-date folios include a more diversified blend of commodities, REITs, TIPs and other asset classes to help reduce volatility and generate higher returns.
In related news, Charles Schwab recently launched a new platform that will allow investors to trade over 100 ETFs commission-free. [Schwab Unveils ETF Platform]
For more information on trading ETFs, visit our ETF 101 category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.