Regardless of your investing skill or internet savvy, Schwab.com navigation is simple and intuitive. There are plenty of tools for every type of investor and the clean and well organized layout makes it easy to find the ones you need.

Whether you're browsing your portfolio, doing research or checking the news, every part of Schwab.com has the same look and feel. This may not sound important but it actually makes a big difference to the average browser. Many sites feel cluttered or cause constant distractions because different pages have a different design. Schwab pays careful attention to these types of details, which is why their site navigation and appearance always rates so high.

Schwab.com is extremely strong in this category. While all of the major online brokerages want us to believe that they are all operating perfectly 100% of the time, the reality is that there are going to be issues and glitches now and then.

Schwab is better than most in the customization category but they could use a little more flexibility on their portfolio and home pages. Many sites have recently added customization options since this is a relatively inexpensive way to improve the customer experience. Schwab is usually fast to adapt to customer needs and the rumor is that they will roll out additional customization options some time this year.

Schwab's commission structures aren't complex but they certainly aren't simple. They do offer competitive prices when compared against other high-end brokers but they're a little pricey compared to the deep discount brokerages.

For investors with larger portfolios, Schwab is ideal. Not only do economies of scale kick in for the HNWI (High Net Worth Individual), but they also receive special deals and discounted rates. For those with portfolios smaller than $100,000, Schwab can eat your profit up with transaction fees.

If you make < 120 trades per year and have < $1,000,000 portfolio
Internet Trades = $12.95 + $0.015 per share after 1,000 shares. Confusing? For example, if you have a $100,000 portfolio and buy 2,000 shares of General Motors, you would pay $12.95 + 1,000 shares X $0.015 = $27.95.
Interactive Voice System = Add $5 to the internet trade price.
Broker Assisted = Add $25 to the internet trade price

If you make 120+ trades per year or have a $1,000,000+ portfolio
Internet Trades = $8.95 flat fee, no per share expense.
Interactive Voice System = Add $5 to the internet trade price.
Broker Assisted = Add $25 to the internet trade price.

No-Load No-Fee Funds = $0.00 Free trades, No commissions or transaction fees charged by the Mutual Fund or Schwab. (1,900 available)
No-Load Funds = $49.95 transaction fee charged by Schwab (5,000+ available)
Load and Fee Funds = Fees charged by mutual fund and possibly by Schwab as well.
Tip: Avoid any funds with loads or fees. Schwab has the largest selection of no-load no-fee funds offered by any online brokerage, so there's no reason to ever pay them!

Treasuries at auction = $0 No transaction fee for Treasuries bought online, $25 transaction fee if Broker assisted.

Schwab’s specialty is developing personal relationships and their phone support reflects that philosophy.  Wait times are always short, reps are always well trained and knowledgeable, and you can call 24 hours a day.

From the very first day you sign up they go out of their way to provide great phone support with perks such as a "New Client Concierge" who assists you with the paperwork and gives you a tour of the site.

Schwab excels in most areas of market research and analysis. If they have any weakness it's that they do push investors very hard toward managed accounts. This can be annoying to self-directed investors with no interest in trusting their portfolio to someone else's decisions. However, as long as you don’t mind a “pitch” now and then, Schwab offers outstanding mutual fund, stock and bond tools, research and guidance for free to all clients.

For Index Investors or any other buy-and-hold strategy, rebalancing can be a pain.  Our favorite aspect of the Schwab portfolio checkup tool is that it makes rebalancing a piece of cake.  It’s also great for ensuring that you are meeting your asset allocation and diversification targets.

Wow… they have a platform designed for every type of investor.  You definitely pay more to trade as a Schwab.com client, but they deliver on their value promise in this category.

Streetsmart Pro: Schwab’s most customizable and powerful trading platform. You can add any type of research, analysis, valuation, charting, or message tool by simply choosing which modules meet your demands and adding them to your trading desktop. 

Streetsmart.com:  Features some of the most popular tools from Streetsmart Pro but designed specifically for active/option traders. While it doesn’t include some of the Streetsmart Pro bells and whistles, it is well designed. The clean and efficient layout allows Streetsmart.com users to research trades and act on decisions very quickly. 

Schwab.com:  Features some of the most popular tools from Streetsmart Pro but designed for the beginning trader.  Schwab did a wonderful job, this is a great starter platform.  Navigation is intuitive and the functions are broken out to different tabs so that beginners aren’t overwhelmed by the amount of data presented on more advanced platforms like Streetsmart Pro. 

Schwab's New Client Concierge is a creative and fun way to introduce new clients to the Schwab site. When you sign up for an account, your New Client Concierge welcomes you, helps you with paperwork, points to investment tools suited to your investing goals, gives you a tour and answers any questions that you have.  Very nice touch.