Capital One Investing Review

This Capital One Investing review conducted by top experts for those want to invest with CapitalOneInvesting.com previously knows as ShareBuilder broker. The professional investors and financial advisors at Fxstay continue to evaluate various trading platforms for the convenience of customers and visitors to its website. Reviews of a number of platforms can be perused on our website and additional Reviews can be viewed on the Internet.  

ShareBuilder or Capital One Investing

Capital One Investing was previously known as ShareBuilder and was founded in 1996 in Bellevue, Washington.  The firm acquired another company called ING Direct in 2007 and was recently sold to Capital One.  The final name change to Capital One Investing occurred in 2015 when the firm launched its proprietary trading website.  The firm offers a variety of services and products through numerous affiliates, including CapitalOne360.com, among others.  Each affiliate is its own separate legal entity and is responsible for its own activities.  

Capital One Investing broker is classified as a Limited Liability Company and is registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), as well as the Securities Investors Protection Corporation (SIPC) and is licensed to operate in 51 U.S. states and territories in 15 different types of business enterprises. The Capital One Investing is one of the top 10 online stock brokers in the world.

Capital One Investing offers a functional website and mobile apps for a variety of handheld electronic devices to help investors research, place and follow trades.  Capital One Investing offers no commission trading with low fees on a number of assets that include stocks, equities, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), options trading, Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) and mutual and bond funds.   

Although Capital One Investing is ideal for beginning investorsthose who use automatic investment plans or have existing bank accounts with Capital One, the firm does also offer margin investing for more experienced (and approved) traders and a ShareBuilder investment plan that is explained below.

CapitalOne360.com 

This affiliate website offers a wide range of financial services including individual and joint personal and business checking and savings accounts, 360 Money Markets, Certificates of Deposit (CDs), new and refinanced home mortgage loans, financial investments, custodial accounts for kids and others, education savings accounts and retirement accounts.  Retirement options include IRAs and rollover IRAs, as well as Capital One’s ShareBuilder 401(k), which is a retirement option for self-employed individuals.  

CapitalOne360.com provides every financial tool needed for individuals and businesses alike to manage checking, savings, investment, education and retirement accounts from one convenient website.  The site provides online trading of a variety of financial assets, as well as innovative intuitive trading tools and expert personal advice.

Portfolio Builder 

Capital One’s Portfolio Builder is a new tool that allows traders to create diversified investment portfolios of ETFs based on asset allocation models that allow for choosing an investor’s trading style, amount of money to be invested regularly and a fund family of 6 to 8 ETFs among which investment dollars will be spread.  These transactions are charged a commission of $18.95.

ShareBuilder 

As previously mentioned, ShareBuilder brokerage was a name Capital One Investments previously used and if you click on ShareBuilder.com, you will be redirected to the home page of CapitalOneInvesting.com. 

Capital One’s ShareBuilder investment plan allows traders to make dollar based investments in a variety of stocks, mutual funds and ETFs on whatever security they select and on their own time schedule.  

To participate in this investment program traders must select the securities they want to purchase and choose how much money they want to invest.  Security choices can be found using the site’s in-page tabs (Top Stocks, Top ETFs, etc. ) or in the Research section of CapitalOneInvesting.com.

Then the trader has to set the frequency of the investment and schedule the plan for an “investment Tuesday.”  Traders have the option of investing money only one time or on a regularly recurring basis.   

Next the trader has to transfer funds to pay for the ShareBuilder investments which can be done by bank transfer or using cash in their own Capital One investment accounts.  

After an investor completes these steps and saves the ShareBuilder investment plan, Capital One will automatically process the investment transactions, creating open orders and executing trades according to the guidelines and time schedule prescribed by the trader who also has the option of allowing investment funds to automatically transfer between accounts to accommodate investments made using the ShareBuilder plan.

Changes to investment securities or schedules can be made at any time but should be completed before 5:00 PM (EST) on the business day immediately preceding “investment Tuesday.”   

All trades will be conducted online and, if sufficient funds do not currently exist in a trading account or are not already in transit, an investor will not be able to set up a plan for that week.

Capital One Investing Trading Platform and Features 

CapitalOneInvesting.com is the company’s own proprietary trading website that receives continuing recognition as a functional and user friendly trading platform.  Investors who open trading accounts with CapitalOneInvesting.com access the latest video news from the Wall Street Journal and can search for the best fixed income investments using the site’s Bond Fund Center, as well as flexible trading, trailing stops, heat mapping, market movers, tracking alerts, watch lists, multiple order execution and stop limit orders.  In addition to its user friendly interface and valuable trading tools, the platform uses filtered searches to narrow down information on certain topics and includes numerous easy to read articles on various investment subjects that will assist every level of trader.  The firm’s “What if I Had Invested” tool allows traders to learn from past mistakes and shows what an asset would currently be worth, if they had invested.  

Capital One Investing App 

Investors who trade with Capital One Investing can enjoy the full range of platform features using its free mobile application for a variety of handheld electronic devices that include Smartphones, tablets, iOS, Android and Apple.

Account Types 

Capital One Investing offers several types of accounts for its customers which are General Investment Accounts, Individual Retirement Accounts, Children’s and Custodial accounts.

General Investment Accounts 

These types of trading accounts can be opened as Individual or Joint Accounts and are designed to help people supplement and grow earnings by trading financial assets in various marketplaces around the world.  

Individual Accounts are opened by one person and managed by only that person, whereas Joint Accounts are opened by two people, each of whom can make account changes, transfer money and place trades independent of the other account owner 

Joint Accounts include rights of survivorship that automatically transfer ownership rights to the other account owner when one passes away without the need to go through Probate Court estate proceedings. 

General investments can be made in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other financial securities.  These types of individual trading accounts are straightforward and have no limits on how much can be put into the account or removed from it. 

Individual and Joint investment Account owners are able to utilize Capital One’s Express Funding option which allows traders to place “buy” orders even when they have insufficient cash in their trading accounts to cover the entire transaction.  There are limits to this option and additional costs are involved, but it allows traders to jump onboard potentially lucrative trading options without having the cash on hand to actually cover the purchase.  

Individual Retirement Accounts  

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are investment accounts used for people to plan and save money for the day when they will no longer be working and earning a steady income. IRAs help investors build their futures with saved income that provides certain tax advantages to those who qualify.  The Internal Revenue Service regularly updates annual contribution limits, gross income requirements and other things related to IRAs, the details of which change occasionally and are available on its website or from your financial advisor or Certified Public Accountant (CPA).  Capital One Investing offers Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs and the differences are as follows:

Traditional IRAs  

Traditional IRA Accounts have no income limits for folks under the age of 70 and a half at the end of the year in which the IRA account is opened.  Account holders must have earned income (or have a spouse with qualified earned income) to participate in a Traditional IRA.  Contributions to these types of IRA accounts are often tax deductible and allow people to deposit as much as $5,500 annually for those under the age of 49 and up to $6,500 a year for those over the age of 50.  

Contributions to Traditional IRAs are tax exempt only if neither the account holder nor his or her spouse has a plan offered through their employer.  Those who do have employer sponsored IRA plans can deduct all or part of their annual contributions, depending on the total annual income of those individuals.   

Withdrawals from Traditional IRA accounts have to start by the age of 70 and a half (minimum required distributions) and any withdrawals transacted prior to reaching the age of 59 and a half may be subject to early withdrawal penalties. 

Traditional IRA withdrawals are taxed unless the contributions were not tax-deductible at the time they were made.

Roth IRAs 

People who open Roth IRA accounts must have earned income (or have a spouse with qualifying earned income) and are subject to the same age and annual deposit limits as Traditional IRAs, but those contributions are not tax deductible.  These funds are taxed right upfront which allows Roth IRA account holders to build tax-free savings for their futures without worrying about future increased tax rates. 

Withdrawals can be made from Roth IRA accounts at any time if the Roth IRA has been in existence for at least 5 years and the account owner is purchasing a first home or is at least 59 and a half years old and has not become disabled or passed away.  There are no required minimum withdrawals from Roth IRAs at any age.   

Withdrawals from Roth IRAs by account owners under the age of 59 and a half years may be subject to early withdrawal penalties.

Children’s Accounts 

Capital One Investing offers Children’s Accounts that are designed to help young people save money for their futures and are controlled and overseen by an adult until the child reaches the age of majority.  Capital One options for Children’s Account are Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) and Custodial Accounts. 

ESA Accounts 

Also known as “Coverdell ESAs,” educational savings accounts allow people to save up to $2,000 a year (if they meet income eligibility requirements) for a named beneficiary’s educational costs for primary, secondary and higher education tuition, books, uniforms and other qualified expenses.   

Contributions made to these accounts are not tax deductible and presently offer no tax breaks whatsoever.  Earnings realized in ESAs may not be subject to taxation, depending on various factors and ESA funds can only be used for qualified educational expenses. 

Custodial Accounts 

These type of investment accounts are opened by adults to help kids save money and plan for their futures.  State laws may restrict who can open a Custodial Account but they can generally be opened by any adult for the benefit of any minor child.  Only one child can be named as beneficiary and only one adult can be Account Custodian and that person will be responsible for overseeing and managing the investment account until the minor child reaches the age of distribution dictated by the state in which the child resides.  Withdrawals and a certain amount of earnings will be taxed at the minor’s rate and the named beneficiary minor is the owner of all account assets, as required by the Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UTMA). 

Capital One Investing Demo Account 

The Capital One Investing website is very basic, user friendly and targeted to new investors.  Presumably because of this, the firm does not offer a demo account for investors to practice trading assets in various marketplaces, which is a huge disadvantage of the trading website.  To open a free demo account visit the Capital One Investing broker review page at “Topforexbrokers.com”.

Minimum Account Balances 

There are no minimum trading account balance requirements with Capital One Investing, which is rare among online brokerages, and there are no annual inactivity fees for idle trading accounts.

Commissions and Fees 

Capital One Investing charges a $6.95 trade commission for stocks and ETFs, which is more expensive than discount brokers, but less costly than full service brokerages. Investors who use ShareBuilder investment plans with automatic trading are only charged $3.95 per trade.   

Capital One charges $19.95 for mutual fund trades and Broker Assisted Trades of any kind.  511 no-transaction fee mutual fund options are also available.  Option trading involves a commission of $6.95 plus seventy-five cents per option trading contract. 

Capital One Investing does not offer commission free ETFs, which are quickly becoming popular investment options.  A lot of online brokers offer commission free options on at least a small selection of ETFs, but not Capital One. 

Promotions 

Capital One Investing occasionally offers incentives for customers to open new accounts.  These promotional opportunities are sometimes geared to any new customer and are sometimes only for those new customers who use a Capital One Investing partner. Some promotions are available for existing account holders that are based on minimum account balances, trading activity or other criteria.  As part of these promotions, the firm will issue a Capital One Investing Promo Code which consists of a specific series of numbers and/or letters that apply to certain promotions. 

Not every type of investment account will be eligible for every promotion and details can be found on each promotional disclosure.  Every promotional opportunity will involve its own unique qualifiers which can be requirements about new account deposits or transferring a certain amount of money or other security into an existing trading account from an outside source (not affiliated with Capital One) or transferring cash or other security between accounts.  Traders can conceivably earn two bonuses by getting one bonus for depositing funds (that meet the promotional criteria) into an existing account and another bonus for opening a new account.  Each bonus requires its own separate qualifying action which are defined in detail in each promotion’s disclosures. 

New account bonuses can be redeemed by clicking on the “Open an Account” link on the home page of CapitalOneInvesting.com.  If a trader is following a link from an outside source, the promotional code will be filled in automatically.  

Existing account owners can redeem promotional bonuses by using their Capital One Investing login to access their “Accounts” tab and then the “Overview” and “Profile & Settings” tabs.  The Accounts tab lets traders select which account they want the bonus applied to and an in-page “Enter Promotion” tab provides space for entering the Capital One Investing Promo Code, after which you click on “Submit” to complete the transaction. 

Capital One Investing promo codes are typically found via advertising links or in emails but the firm distributes them in other ways as well.  The company’s customer service representatives are not able to supply bonus codes to new or existing customers. All promotional opportunities and the particular qualifying terms unique to each one are well defined on CapitalOneInvesting.com.  

Traders interested in promotional options should read all the details carefully and especially note the deadlines for entering the promotion, all terms of the offer and make sure their particular trading accounts qualify.  

Deposits and Withdrawals 

Capital One Investing accounts can be funded via check, money order, wire transfer, direct deposit, payroll deposit, as well as one time and recurring electronic fund transfers (EFTs) between financial institutions.  Cash is not an allowable form of depositing funds and absolutely will not be accepted.  

Deposited funds can be used to pay for Express Funding and ShareBuilder Investment Plan purchases or funds for those transactions can be drawn directly from a designated checking or savings account. 

Withdrawals are permitted of “settled” funds that are not reserved for trades or other transfers or subject to a holding period and withdrawals can be made at any time using the same methods as deposits, which are checks, money orders, wire transfer, direct or payroll deposits and EFTs.  EFTs are processed the next business day free of charge; checks are processed within 1 to 5 business days and involve a $5 processing charge; and wire transfers are processed within 1 day and involve a $30 processing charge.

Knowledge Center 

Investors who trade with Capital One Investing are able to access its Knowledge Center that offers a wide range of educational tools for every level of trader to research, place and track trades that include topics like Financial Goal Timelines, Benchmark Indices, Buying Call, Margin and Put Options, Creating an Income Stream, Saving for College, Financial Planning for Retirement and more.

Customer Service 

Capital One Investing’s customer support services are available during regular business hours via live chat on the internet, phone, email or in person at a branch office.

Capital One Investing Login

For login to Capital One Investing broker you can visit the broker website, After sign up you can check your email and do Capital One Investing login.

Conclusion 

For more information about the broker visit “ForexSQ.com” Capital One Investing review page, Capital One Investing does not have a separate web-based or desktop trading platform, but only offers its own proprietary website for traders.  The website is well organized and user friendly and is better suited for beginning investors who will not miss the robust trading platforms offered by other brokerages.  Capital One’s exclusive automatic investing plans allow for lower broker commissions but the firm does not offer any commission-free ETFs, which are becoming popular types of investments and other brokers offer at least a limited selection of ETFs that can be purchased without paying commissions. The broker provide mobile trading for iPhone and Android.

Capital One Investing offers a limited selection of investment securities that include stocks, mutual funds, ETFs and options, but the firm does not offer forex, individual bonds or futures trading, which makes its brokerage useless for more experienced and active investors interested in trading those types of assets. 

The Capital One Investing website is clearly designed for newbies to the world of financial investments, but will be very helpful for those who maintain bank accounts with Capital One and can combine their banking and trading accounts on one website.  More experienced and active traders will not be satisfied with this trading website and will want a larger selection of tradeable assets and access to a more functional trading platform.

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