A New York-based online brokerage says it has unveiled the largest commission-free ETF program in the U.S.
Firstrade Securities announced last week that it is offering 703 ETFs that are commission free, more than any other online brokerage firm, according to a company announcement.
While most major custodians and online and discount brokerages—such as Schwab, Fidelity, E*Trade and TD Ameritrade—offer commission-free ETF platforms with about 100 or 200 ETFs on them, Firstrade now offers about a third of all U.S.-listed ETFs that have no commission.
The selection of commission-free exchange-traded products stretches across eight asset classes, three exchanges, 82 categories and 40 fund families.
The new platform offers several popular ETFs from Vanguard. While many of Vanguard’s ETFs were previously available commission-free via TD Ameritrade’s platform, the custodian dropped Vanguard’s ETFs from its platform in October—a move that upset many investors and asset managers.
Firstrade’s platform includes funds from iShares, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, First Trust, ARK, WisdomTree, PIMCO, Global X, Van Eck, Invesco PowerShares and VictoryShares.
Under the terms of Firstrade’s commission-free platform, investors must hold any ETF purchases for 30 days or a $2.95 commission will be applied to their trades.