Earn Extra Income From Our Securities Lending Income Program

Do you want to earn more money from your investment account? If you do, here’s an opportunity for you to earn added income from Firstrade’s Securities Lending Income Program, which allows eligible customers to lend certain fully-paid stocks to Firstrade’s clearing firm, Apex. In return, you can increase income from your portfolio through the securities-based lending market.

While your shares are on loan, you will be paid an income that is accrued daily and credited to your account on a monthly basis.

What are the benefits of Securities Lending Income Program:

• You will immediately begin earning income on any shares that are loaned out.

• Stocks in your account identified as in-demand by the securities lending market will automatically be loaned out and processed by Apex. It’s easy and hassle-free.

• There is no long-term commitment. You may discontinue participation in the program at any time.

• You are fully collateralized. When the lending transaction takes place, our clearing firm will hold a cash collateral equal to the dollar amount of the stock borrowed.

• There are no restrictions on when you can sell your stock. You retain full economic ownership of the securities you have on loan and may sell the shares at any time. Selling your shares will terminate the loan transaction.

Please click here to learn more or enroll in our Securities Lending Income program.

Complex Options Just Got Simpler!

We just launched a major update to our complex options order workflow that will improve your trading experience.
 
Placing and editing complex options orders on your browser is now easier and more convenient. 

Here are some highlights:

• “Edit” function for complex options orders

You can now make quick edits to your open complex options orders, right from the Order Status screen, just like when you edit single options orders.

• Easy “Close” function for complex options orders

To close a Straddle position, simply select Sell Close as your transaction, and then select any of the available positions from the Select Options Position to Close dropdown menu.

To close a Butterfly, Condor or Iron Condor position, simply enter an underlying stock symbol, then select any of the available combinations to close from the dropdown menu.

• New Options Strategy 

You can now utilize an Iron Condor strategy on our desktop trading platform.

Do send us your feedback, we’d love to know what you think!

Not That Sexy, But Very Popular Nonetheless

OK, they may be boring but they’re a great long-term investment. Of course, we’re talking about mutual funds. We make it easy to invest in mutual funds—we’re the only online broker that has zero commission for all our mutual funds transactions! And, we support more than 4,000 no transaction fee funds, more than 10,000 no-load funds and 4,000 load funds.

Let’s take a step back for a moment. What are mutual funds and what makes them so appealing for investors?

Mutual funds are investments that pool your money with other investors to invest in stocks, bonds, and other securities. Each investor owns shares, which represent a portion of the holdings of the fund. Through a mutual fund, you can invest in many different underlying assets in one purchase.

Simply put, they’re a great way to diversify your portfolio, diversify your holdings within a particular sector, and create a professionally managed, low maintenance portfolio with low minimum investments. Like investing in the stock market in general, mutual funds also offer the liquidity to buy or sell at your own discretion.

And, you have your choice of sectors, levels of risk, investment types and more. Why put your eggs in one basket when you can fully diversify with a mutual fund? And, the beauty is that professional money managers are doing all the heavy lifting for you—it’s their job to develop an optimally balanced portfolio for you, always keeping diversification in mind.

But with so many choices, it may seem a little daunting to decide which mutual funds may be best for you. Still, there are steps you should take to determine what approach you should take.

• Ask yourself what return you would like to make and the risk level you are willing to tolerate.

• Do some research and have a good understanding of the fund that you are buying.

• You can find information about a fund's goals, strategy, performance, management, and fee structure in its prospectus. Compare performance over time and in different economic and market environments.

• There may be certain industry sectors that are of particular interest to you, such as technology or energy, where you may want to invest.

• A fund manager's experience and record, the fund's level of consistency, and its major investment holdings are other important factors to consider.

• Investors can also find information and ratings of mutual funds in various outlets such as Morningstar, Forbes, Value Line and Barron's.

To learn more about investing in mutual funds at Firstrade, visit here.

Your Child’s Education Can be Expensive, Duh

In our last blog, we discussed custodial accounts, which can be an effective way for families to save for their children’s education. Here’s another idea to consider—a Coverdell Education Savings Account (CESAs), formerly known as an Education IRA.

With college costs increasing at twice the rate of inflation, it’s important to start saving early, whether you currently have children or not. Interest working for you now in a regular savings program is far better than interest working against you in the future in the form of education loans.

Titled for a guy named Coverdell (actually the late Senator Paul Coverdell of Georgia who sponsored the legislation), Coverdell ESAs help families save money for the cost of elementary, high school or higher education for a designated beneficiary. Money grows tax deferred and proceeds can be withdrawn tax-free for qualified education expenses at a qualified institution.

If your modified adjusted gross income is less than $110,000 (or $220,000 if filing a joint return), you may be able to establish a Coverdell ESA. Contributions of up to $2,000 in total can be made per child under the age of 18, no matter how many accounts have been established. Only cash can be contributed to a Coverdell ESA and the contributions must stop after the individual turns 18, unless he/she is a special needs beneficiary. The deadline to open and fund a Coverdell ESA is April 15th for any tax year.

Here are some of the qualified education expenses a Coverdell plan:

• Tuition and fees

• Books, supplies, and equipment

• Academic tutoring

• Special needs services for a special needs beneficiary

• Room and board

• Uniforms

• Transportation

Not to confuse things, but many of you may have heard about a 529 plan, which is also a popular investment vehicle to save for your child’s education. The main difference between a Coverdell ESA and a 529 plan is the way you invest the money. With an ESA, you can choose almost any kind of option—stocks, bonds, mutual funds. You can't do that with a 529 and assets in that plan can be used only for higher education.

To learn more and get started on a Firstrade Coverdell ESA, click here to apply.

International Account Holders Can Now Enjoy Unlimited Fund Transfers For Free.

Did you know that you can transfer funds to and from Firstrade for free using ACH, even if you live outside the U.S.?

If you have a U.S. bank account, you can now link it to your Firstrade account to set up online ACH Fund transfers. Once you complete the setup, you can enjoy unlimited fund transfers, without fees or restrictions.

Here’s how it works:

On your desktop computer:

1. Log in to your Firstrade account, go to My Accounts > Deposit/Transfer, click Bank Profile and Setup a Bank Profile

2. Request a verification code through text or email.

3. Select your bank and link it to your Firstrade account. (If you cannot find your bank on the initial screen, please click on Search for more banks.)

4. If you don’t see your bank on the list, you may link it to Firstrade manually.

5. Fill in your bank information

6. Confirm your bank information and click Submit.

7. Firstrade will send two micro deposits to your bank account within 2 business days. Be sure to return to this page within 10 calendar days to confirm your ACH bank profile.

8. Congratulations, you’re all set!