10 Best New Brokerage Account Promotions & Bonus Offers of October 2023

Dozens of banks and credit unions lure new business with account-opening promotions. Some reward first-time customers with bonuses worth hundreds of dollars just for opening an account and making qualifying deposits. The best land on our regularly updated roundup of the top new bank account promotions.

You’ve probably seen credit card issuers get in on the action too. Many of the best cash-back credit cards and travel rewards credit cards come with irresistible welcome offers, the best of which rival the most generous new bank account promotions.

America’s top self-directed and managed investment platforms also offer impressive new-account bonuses. Top-tier new brokerage account promotions dwarf the leading bank and credit card promotions — promising thousands to new customers bringing substantial assets to the table.

Best New Brokerage Account Promotions

These are the best brokerage account promotions from North America’s top online stock brokers for this month. All are subject to change, so check back often for updates.

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Open a new J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing by January 22, 2024, and deposit qualifying new money within 45 days to get a bonus worth up to $700. Here’s how it works:

    • Open a J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing account with qualifying new money by January 22, 2024.
    • Fund your account within 45 days. Your bonus will be determined on day 45.
    • Maintain your new funds in the account for 90 days
    • You should receive your bonus directly in your account within 15 days.

Moving forward, enjoy commission-free stock and ETF trades with thousands of choices available. There’s a decent selection of no-transaction-fee mutual funds available here as well.

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For a limited time, customers who open and fund a new tastytrade account or fund an existing tastytrade account for the first time receive a cash bonus with a value as high as $25,000.*

Here’s how it works:

    • Open and fund your account by the stated offer end date, currently March 31, 2024
    • Make a qualifying deposit of at least $5,000 — but you must deposit at least $5,000,000 to earn the full $25,000 bonus
    • Meet other bonus requirements

tastytrade, Inc. (“tastytrade”) has entered into a Marketing Agreement with Money Crashers (“Marketing Agent”) whereby tastytrade pays compensation to Marketing Agent to recommend tastytrade’s brokerage services. The existence of this Marketing Agreement should not be deemed as an endorsement or recommendation of Marketing Agent by tastytrade and/or any of its affiliated companies. Neither tastytrade nor any of its affiliated companies is responsible for the privacy practices of Marketing Agent or this website. tastytrade does not warrant the accuracy or content of the products or services offered by Marketing Agent or this website.

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Open and fund your first Wealthfront  taxable investment account to earn a $50 bonus. That’s it — no minimum deposit requirement or other hoops to jump through.

This offer is only available to Wealthfront customers who haven’t had a taxable investment account in the past. Other restrictions may apply; see terms for details and check out our Wealthfront review for more information.

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TradeStation, a discount online brokerage popular with serious traders, has one of the most generous brokerage promotions on the market for new and existing account holders. It’s worth up to $3,500 cash when you make a qualifying transfer into your TradeStation account.

To qualify for bonus cash, existing account holders just need to complete the form on this page. New account holders must create a new TradeStation account using the promo code “TSTVAGFD”.

In either case, TradeStation adds up all qualifying deposits made during the 45-day offer period to calculate the bonus threshold, then confirms that you’ve held them over the full course of the 270-day holding period that follows.

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Acorns


Open a new Acorns account and set up recurring investments ($5 min) to qualify for a $20 credit.

Requirements

Recurring investments with a $5 minimum

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Open a new Acorns account using the link below, then set up recurring investments ($5 minimum) to earn a $20 credit. It’s that simple. You’ll receive the sign-up bonus credit after completing the qualifying activities:

  • Open a new Acorns account using the provided link
  • Set up recurring deposits with a $5 minimum
  • Earn a $20 credit after completing qualifying activities

Moving forward, Acorns offers two attractively priced plans that support everyday money management, longer-term saving, and market investing. The right sidebar has more details.

 

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SoFi Invest


For a limited time, download the SoFi Invest app and open a new SoFi Active Invest account for the chance to earn up to $1,000.

Features

Commission-free stock trades

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For a limited time, download the SoFi Invest app and open a new SoFi Active Invest account for the chance to earn up to $1,000. Terms apply.

Moving forward, enjoy commission-free stock trades and access to fractional shares in select securities with no account minimums. Terms and conditions apply. See offer for details.

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Webull


Open and fund a new Webull account in any amount to get up to 12 free fractional shares with a qualifying deposit.

Bonus

Up to 12 fractional shares

Stocks may include

Alphabet, Meta, Procter & Gamble, Starbucks, Kraft Heinz, Snap

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Open and fund a new Webull account in any amount to get up to 12 free fractional shares with a qualifying deposit. The actual value of this promotion depends on the stocks involved, which include Alphabet (Google), Meta (Facebook), Procter & Gamble, Starbucks, Kraft Heinz, and Snap.

This promotion offer is open only to eligible customers. Please refer to the Terms and Conditions for eligibility and see offer for more details.

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Citi Wealth Management


Open a Citi Personal Wealth Management account by September 30, 2023, and deposit new funds for up to $5,000 bonus.

Good Through

September 30, 2023

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Open a new eligible Citi Personal Wealth Management account by September 30, 2023, and make a qualifying deposit of new money or assets to earn a cash bonus of up to $5,000. See bonus thresholds at right.

To earn this bonus, you must do the following:

    1. Open and enroll your new Citi Private Wealth Management account.
    2. Make the qualifying new money deposit within two months of account opening.
    3. Enroll the account into e-delivery of statements within two months of account opening.
    4. Maintain the new funding at least through the end of the third month (statement cycle) after account opening.

Eligible funds must be new to Citibank and can’t come from or be combined with funds from any other Citi accounts. This offer is available to new Citi Private Wealth Management clients only.

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Tornado


Open new Tornado account for a random $10 to $1,000 cash reward (at least one trade required).

Minimum funding

Not Required

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Open a new Tornado account using this link to earn up to $1,000 in cash. There’s no minimum funding threshold or other hoops to jump through — just open your account and Tornado rewards you with $10 to $1,000 cash.

There is one catch: Tornado chooses your reward amount at random, and it’s impossible to predict how much you stand to receive. Once the bonus is in your account, you must make at least one trade within three months and keep the bonus funds on deposit for a full year.

The cash offer is available to new Tornado users on live trading accounts only. Simulated trading accounts aren’t eligible.

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Charles Schwab


Open a Schwab account with a referral and deposit at least $25,000 for the chance to earn a bonus worth up to $1,000.

Requirements

Unique referral code

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Open a new qualifying Charles Schwab account with a qualifying referral from an existing Schwab client to earn a cash bonus of up to $1,000. See bonus tiers at right.

To qualify, ask a friend or family member with a Schwab account to send you their unique referral code. Then use the code to open a new Schwab account with an initial deposit or deposits totaling at least $25,000.

Make one or more qualifying deposits within 45 days of your account opening date, and you’ll receive your cash bonus about a week later.

Once your account is open, monthly fees may apply. Multiple members of the same household may qualify for bonuses individually, as long as they open separate Schwab accounts.

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Brokerage Account Bonus FAQs

Still have questions about how brokerage bonuses work? Want to be absolutely sure you’ll get your money? We have answers.

Can You Get a Bonus on an Existing Brokerage Account?

Probably not. It’s much more common to see bonus offers for new brokerage accounts. Moving funds or securities from an existing brokerage account is an annoying and possibly costly process, especially if you have to sell securities first. So brokerages use bonus offers to entice new clients to do something they might otherwise not bother with.

How Much Do You Need to Deposit to Get the Bonus?

It depends on the brokerage. Often, the answer is “not much.” A few of the offers on this list have no minimum deposit or require only a token deposit, like $5. 

Unfortunately, the best offers ask for a lot more. The best you should expect to do is to earn a bonus worth 1% of your qualifying deposit, but even that’s not guaranteed. A bonus worth 0.2% or 0.3% of the deposit still qualifies as a decent deal.

Do Brokerage Bonuses Expire?

Many do. The expiration date usually means the date by which you must open a new account to qualify, so work backward from there. Once the account is open, you’ll need to complete all qualifying activities within a certain period of time. You may also need to maintain a minimum balance beyond the qualifying activity deadline before you can officially receive your bonus.  

Can You Get a Brokerage Bonus If You Have a Bank Account With the Same Company Already?

It depends on whether the bank and brokerage operate as independent companies or whether the bank account is housed within the brokerage account itself (as many cash management accounts are). If the latter, you might not qualify for the bonus. If the former, there’s a good chance you will, but always check the fine print to be sure.

What Does “New Money” Mean?

Most brokerage account bonuses require “new money” deposits that originate outside the brokerage (and in some cases outside its parent company as well). So “new money” means any money that comes from another bank or financial institution. It doesn’t include funds transferred from another account you control at the same financial institution.

Final Word

If you’re a satisfied investor, you’d be forgiven for feeling no urgency to switch brokerages. Why fix something that’s not broken?

But the prospect of earning hundreds or thousands of dollars in brokerage bonuses is often reason enough.

Most of these brokerages take pains to ensure their new-account bonuses qualify as easy money. In many cases, moving assets to a newly opened account requires little more than completing an account application and authorizing an electronic funds transfer or asset rollover, a process that’s quick and painless enough to complete in a spare 15 minutes.

Even if you’re not ready to take advantage of these brokerage account bonuses, it still pays to add a review of the top brokerage promotions to your due-diligence to-do list for whenever you’re ready to start investing on a new trading platform.

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