Page 56 - Kiplinger's Personal Finance - November 2018

AHEAD
THESE PRICES ARE INSANE
INVESTING FEES
KEEP FALLING
JPMorgan Chase drops some
stock and ETF commissions.
WITH THE LAUNCH OF ITS NEW MOBILE
trading platform, JPMorgan Chase became
the most recent entrant in the investing
world’s battle to offer the lowest fees. The
investing service, called You Invest, comes
with no investment minimum and gives
users 100 commission-free stock and ex-
change-traded fund trades in the year after
opening an account. Investors can earn
more free trading if they hold sufficient
assets in certain Chase accounts.
The rollout comes shortly after Fidelity
slashed its fees and began introducing
mutual funds with a 0% expense ratio and
online brokerage Firstrade announced that
it will offer free trading on all stocks, ETFs
and options. The brokerage firms’ goal
is to attract new customers, says Michael
Venuto of investing firm Toroso Asset Man-
agement. Once you’re a customer, firms
will likely try to sell you more-expensive
products, he says.
Cathy Seifert, an an-
alyst at investment
research firm
CFRA, expects
more firms to
slash com-
missions.
Beyond
costs, in-
vestors
should
consider
the tools and
resources a
brokerage plat-
form offers. (For
our take, see “The
Best Online Brokers,”
Oct.) “JPMorgan has a great reputation,
but they’re a late entrant” in the mobile
brokerage business, Seifert says. RYAN ERMEY adjusted gross income. Younger
14 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE 11/2018
K11-AHEAD.indd 14
CALENDAR
11/2018
▲ SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10 philanthropists may want to
Now is a great time to sign up contribute to a donor-advised
for a community-supported fund, which allows you to contri bute
agriculture program for next year. cash or appreciated securities, claim
These programs allow participants the tax deduction on your 2018
to buy a weekly box of produce, return (if you itemize) and dole out
the money to charities later.
known as a share, from a regional
farmer. Some offer winter veggies,
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30
too. Go to www.localharvest.org
to find one near you. If you’re paid biweekly, you could
be getting a “bonus” check in the
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14 mail today. Use the money to add
to an emergency fund or make extra
During National Family Caregivers
payments on your credit card or
Month, think about future caregiving student-loan debt. RIVAN STINSON
arrangements for aging family
members—including financial care.
DEAL OF THE MONTH
This isn’t just a challenge for baby *
boomers; millennials need to have Look for big price cuts on
the conversation with parents,
smartphones and video
too (see “Millennial Money,” on
games on November 23,
page 22).
better known as Black Friday.
Expect up to $200 off the
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27 latest iPhones, and they may
It’s Giving Tuesday. If you’re 70½ be bundled with up to $200 in
or older, consider giving your gift cards at Target, Best Buy
required minimum distribution
to charity this year. You can transfer and other stores. Discounts on
up to $100,000 tax-free, and the video games will range from ISTOCKPHOTO.COM (2)
money isn’t included as part of your 25% to 50%, says Ashley Dull
at CardRates.com.
9/20/18 6:48 PM