ShareBuilder
Encyclopedia
ShareBuilder Corporation, (also ShareBuilder Securities Corporation), is a United States
based online
stock broker
age firm founded in 1996 (as NetStock Direct). It encourages recurring, automatic purchases of shares of stock
, ING Mutual Funds
(Class O) and exchange-traded fund
s. All transactions occur online and are entirely at the discretion of the account holder, thus it is an execution-only service. The company does not have brokerage sales representatives or advisors. Account holders can use ShareBuilder's online research tools to investigate stocks, similar to other online brokerages such as Scottrade
, TD Ameritrade
and Fidelity
. In 2005, ShareBuilder began offering 401(k) plans to small businesses. On November 19, 2007, ShareBuilder Corporation was purchased by ING Direct, a subsidiary of ING Group
for USD220 million. In June of 2009, ShareBuilder moved its headquarters from Bellevue, Washington
to 83 King Street, in the Pioneer Square district of Seattle, Washington.
, purchasing either whole shares or fractional amounts. ShareBuilder does not require minimum account balances, allowing people to invest small amounts of money. Using the automated tools an account holder can set a specific dollar amount to invest at a given interval into direct stocks or ETFs. The brokerage fee for real-time investments formerly ranged from $11.95 to $15.95, but after the ING purchase, it dropped to $9.95. Under the Advantage Plan, an investor is charged $7.95 per real time trade.
Sharebuilder also allows "automatic investments" every Tuesday for rates as low as $1.00 each. Under the Advantage pricing program, the account holder pays a subscription fee of $12 per month and is entitled to make up to 12 automatic Tuesday purchases at no additional cost. The Basic pricing program does not have a monthly charge, and allows the account holder to make an automatic Tuesday purchase for $4. An account holder can change pricing programs from month to month: for example, an account holder who would like to invest a windfall of $10,000, spread among 12 stocks, could select the Standard program and pay $12 for 12 stock purchases; then, if he or she expected not to purchase any more stocks in the near future, he or she could switch to the Basic program and there would be no additional charge.
The automatic investment program can be updated as late as 5 pm ET on Monday prior to a Tuesday morning purchase, so it is possible for an account holder to pay no monthly fee and enter a $4 purchase on Monday afternoon after the market closes that will be executed first thing Tuesday morning. However, the only way to sell a stock or ETF is through a real-time trade.
For approved investors, ShareBuilder also offers basic option trading strategies such as buying calls or puts and writing covered calls. Long margin
investing (i.e. buying on margin) is also offered, but not short margin (i.e. short selling). A minimum of $2,000 in deposits is required to begin margin investing and one's "Buying Power" is based on the value of the account from outside sources.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
based online
Investing online
Investing online, or self-directed investing, has become the norm for individual investors and traders over the past decade with many, if not all brokers now offering online services with unique trading platforms.-Overview:...
stock broker
Stock broker
A stock broker or stockbroker is a regulated professional broker who buys and sells shares and other securities through market makers or Agency Only Firms on behalf of investors...
age firm founded in 1996 (as NetStock Direct). It encourages recurring, automatic purchases of shares of stock
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...
, ING Mutual Funds
ING Group
The ING Group is a global financial institution offering retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, asset management, and insurance services. ING is the Dutch member of the Inter-Alpha Group of Banks, a cooperative consortium of 11 prominent European banks...
(Class O) and exchange-traded fund
Exchange-traded fund
An exchange-traded fund is an investment fund traded on stock exchanges, much like stocks. An ETF holds assets such as stocks, commodities, or bonds, and trades close to its net asset value over the course of the trading day. Most ETFs track an index, such as the S&P 500 or MSCI EAFE...
s. All transactions occur online and are entirely at the discretion of the account holder, thus it is an execution-only service. The company does not have brokerage sales representatives or advisors. Account holders can use ShareBuilder's online research tools to investigate stocks, similar to other online brokerages such as Scottrade
Scottrade
Scottrade is a privately owned American discount retail brokerage firm headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Its Founder, President and CEO is Rodger O. Riney. Scottrade has 500 branch offices around the U.S...
, TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade is an American online broker with over 6 million U.S. customers, and many more internationally, that has grown rapidly through acquisition to become the 746th-largest US firm in 2008. TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation is the owner of TD Ameritrade Inc...
and Fidelity
Fidelity Investments
FMR LLC or Fidelity Investments is an American multinational financial services corporation one of the largest mutual fund and financial services groups in the world. It was founded in 1946 and serves North American investors. Fidelity Ventures is its venture capital arm...
. In 2005, ShareBuilder began offering 401(k) plans to small businesses. On November 19, 2007, ShareBuilder Corporation was purchased by ING Direct, a subsidiary of ING Group
ING Group
The ING Group is a global financial institution offering retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, asset management, and insurance services. ING is the Dutch member of the Inter-Alpha Group of Banks, a cooperative consortium of 11 prominent European banks...
for USD220 million. In June of 2009, ShareBuilder moved its headquarters from Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...
to 83 King Street, in the Pioneer Square district of Seattle, Washington.
Account Types
The following are the basic types of accounts available with ShareBuilder:- Individual Account: An account for one adult.
- Joint Account: An account shared by two adults.
- Traditional/Rollover IRA: One of the IRA options available to prepare for retirement.
- Roth or Conversion IRA: One IRA option to help prepare for retirement (Must meet eligibility requirements set by the IRS)
- ShareBuilder ESA (Education Savings Account): Created to help pay for the education of the beneficiary of the account.
- Custodial Account: Account created by an adult, for the benefit of a minor.
Account Operation
The account holder can apply any amount of money desired toward buying stock or ETFsExchange-traded fund
An exchange-traded fund is an investment fund traded on stock exchanges, much like stocks. An ETF holds assets such as stocks, commodities, or bonds, and trades close to its net asset value over the course of the trading day. Most ETFs track an index, such as the S&P 500 or MSCI EAFE...
, purchasing either whole shares or fractional amounts. ShareBuilder does not require minimum account balances, allowing people to invest small amounts of money. Using the automated tools an account holder can set a specific dollar amount to invest at a given interval into direct stocks or ETFs. The brokerage fee for real-time investments formerly ranged from $11.95 to $15.95, but after the ING purchase, it dropped to $9.95. Under the Advantage Plan, an investor is charged $7.95 per real time trade.
Sharebuilder also allows "automatic investments" every Tuesday for rates as low as $1.00 each. Under the Advantage pricing program, the account holder pays a subscription fee of $12 per month and is entitled to make up to 12 automatic Tuesday purchases at no additional cost. The Basic pricing program does not have a monthly charge, and allows the account holder to make an automatic Tuesday purchase for $4. An account holder can change pricing programs from month to month: for example, an account holder who would like to invest a windfall of $10,000, spread among 12 stocks, could select the Standard program and pay $12 for 12 stock purchases; then, if he or she expected not to purchase any more stocks in the near future, he or she could switch to the Basic program and there would be no additional charge.
The automatic investment program can be updated as late as 5 pm ET on Monday prior to a Tuesday morning purchase, so it is possible for an account holder to pay no monthly fee and enter a $4 purchase on Monday afternoon after the market closes that will be executed first thing Tuesday morning. However, the only way to sell a stock or ETF is through a real-time trade.
For approved investors, ShareBuilder also offers basic option trading strategies such as buying calls or puts and writing covered calls. Long margin
Margin (finance)
In finance, a margin is collateral that the holder of a financial instrument has to deposit to cover some or all of the credit risk of their counterparty...
investing (i.e. buying on margin) is also offered, but not short margin (i.e. short selling). A minimum of $2,000 in deposits is required to begin margin investing and one's "Buying Power" is based on the value of the account from outside sources.