WellsTrade/Wells Fargo brokerage reviews, ratings, pros and cons, complaints from brokerage customers

WellsTrade Ratings

WellsTrade average user rating: brokerage firms reviews

WellsTrade BrokerageReviews.org rating: 3-star brokerage firm rating

Wells Fargo Brokerage (WellsTrade) Review: Stocks, ETFs & Options Trading Commissions

Stocks and ETFs: $19.95; agent-assisted trading: $45.00
Options: $9.95 + $1 per contract
Mutual funds: $35
Auction of Treasury Bills, Notes and Bonds: $49 per transaction

Minimum To Open WellsTrade Online Brokerage Account

$1,000

WellsTrade Promotional Code/Offer/Bonus 2012

(no promotional offers at this time)

WellsTrade (Wells Fargo Brokerage) Customer Reviews


by Steven, 1/25/2012 Pros: Free Trades Cons: Everything Else Understand what you are getting.... If you have $25k across all WFC accounts you will have a lot of free trades (don't complain about going under the threshold). There will certainly be drawbacks.... The website is garbage compared to E Trade, but you could save substantial sums over the course of a year. This service is geared towards investors who want zero contact with the people at Customer Service. My brief interactions there have been horrid. In one instance I had multiple limit orders fill in a short period and I overcharged my cash account. When asking how that was possible since it was a cash account, some tool mumbled for a couple minutes. When I repeated the same question 4 more times, he finally answered with "I see your point". The other disturbing problem is frequently altered limit orders. Example: I put in an order for stock A at $120 a share. I come back 2 weeks later to find limit order at less than $120 a share...... Very disturbing. The bottom line is this. The service and the website stink. But, if you want to be left alone to tend to your massive portfolio free of charges this is the only place to be. BAC offered a free service for awhile, but there were nickel and dime tactics all over the place and the minimum balance was higher. Everything is free here except options trades. So if you're like me; - Run your investments like a business and perform all research alone - Refuse to talk to mindless traders - Hate paying commissions on purchases - Never exceed 100 trades a year (200 with IRA there) This is the place to be. If you make more than 50 trades a year (which is probably too many for anyone) you're saving at least $350. When that factor is considered into the total return the numbers start to really add up over the years (even with a $100k+ portfolio). Also, since commissions favor large investments in 1 instance, the dynamics of purchasing securities change with so many free trades... Good luck!
by Wolfgang S, 12/1/2011 Pros: 100 free trades, online site is OK Cons: requires qualification, min. deposit to get service - no trading platform I have 6 accounts which gives me plenty of free trades. I do all trades including options and limited day trading, all online. Their service has improved since they merged with Wachovia, which had the better traders. Since all accounts can be linked, results in better service.
by Whatajoke, 11/22/2011 Pros: Cons: Totally sucks. Yes, free trade is great but that applies to stocks only. Not options. They refuse to grant me with any option trading... not even with simple buying call/put. By the way I am an experience options trader and have account with OptionsXpress and Optionhouse with maximum option trading level. Oh well, I had moved my account to OptionXpress.
by ryan, 11/9/2011 Pros: 100 free trades Cons: 100 free trades comes at a cost This is not an advanced trading system....it's not meant for day trading. Also, sometimes when you call in for a trade, could take up to 45 mintues to get an agent on the line. When you run below the $25k margin equity requirement, they treat you like dirt and charge you high fee's to do anything with your account, like sell a stock, even if u have the 100 free trades in your account. If you are a daytrader, it could cost you a lot of money, forget the 100 free trades, who cares when their platforms are outdated, crappy, and sometimes their customer service sucks big time. GO WITH SCHWAB OR TD AMERITRADE OR ETRADE, and forget WELLSCRAP!!!!!!!!!! don't get suckered in by the 100 free trades, it will cost you in the long run by using a slow, outdated platform!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by JJ, 10/28/2011 Pros: Free 100 trades to start Cons: Terrible customer service, terrible web interface I was put on a 90 day restriction for patterned daytrading so I was not allowed to use their website and I had to call instead. Each call resulted in 8-20 minutes of hold time with every rep telling me something different. One time I was told I had funds available, purchased some shares and then found out my trade was busted for free riding. Can't trust their online system's info, the reps, or anyone else. I closed my account and left to fidelity due to all the lost opportunities caused by being transferred to everyone, hold times, the market closing, etc.
by James, 9/27/2011 Pros: 100 Free Trades per year--NOTHING ELSE Cons: EVERYTHING ELSE Dreadful service by assembly-line workers who know NOTHING but their tiny function. They share their "knowledge" when you are lucky enough to get past the endless HOLDs on the phone, after which you will be put on yet another HOLD invariably while they transfer you to the next assembly-line worker who deals with the next question. Etc. etc. etc. WF changes its procedure for bank links without informing clients, thus delaying those links INORDINATELY, and God help you if you MAIL a check--it will not be processed for a week while they happily charge you margin interest. To top it all off, their site goes non-functional for TRADING on high volume days, so again, God help you if you don't have a backup brokerage. I went to local WF bank branch for help and manager had no more luck getting through to them than I. He was as flabbergasted as I. When you bring these disasters to their attention, they email you a form-letter apology and "Thank you for your business"--i.e., being dumb enough to leave your money with us. In short, free trades . . . and you get EXACTLY what you pay for.
by joe, 7/25/2011 Pros: none Cons: worst brokerage ever, totally incompetent, no interest in clients unless its a million $ client I think they are less than honest
by Tired of the slow brokerage site, 7/19/2011 Pros: Cons: Brokerage site is slow slow slow I was attracted by the 100 free trades, but starting to get frustrated by the sometimes slow response of the brokerage site - in today's case, it just wasn't loading up at all - this makes it hard if you want to take advantage of a buying / selling opportunity.
by Gigantic leap backwards, 6/14/2011 Pros: My accounts are in place Cons: Everything The "seamless" transition of online services after the Wachovia merger has been terrible. The brokerage website is virtually unusable, placing trades is hair-raising, and no longer can one take distributions from an IRA online. Instead, must complete and mail paper forms. I was assured that this functionality would be restored by April... it is now mid June. Why bother having online services if you can't perform common tasks? Wellstrade has become junk.
by Ralph, 4/15/2011 Pros: 100 Free Trades Cons: Limited choice of funds, limitations on web site, poor customer service Wells Fargo decided that the brokerage they acquired from Wachovia was better than what they had, and switched over in January 2011. The brokerage had its problem before, and bufs that they said they would fix were instead postponed until they relaunched in January. The new web is a disaster - hard to use, new limitations, bugs that should have held up launch, and to top it off customer service to deal with any of these problems now requires that you first speak with a screener and then have to wait again to speak with a 'trader'. Even with the 100 free trades - I've given up on them and am moving elsewhere.
by Tony, 4/6/2011 Pros: 100 free trades Cons: Poor customer service, persistant problems with online account I also had checking and savings accounts linked to my online brokerage. This all broke in January during the "seemless" switchover. I called/e-mailed support 6+ times and heard everything from "just fill out more forms and the problem will be magically fixed" to "there is a known software issue, sit tight." The reality is that they were taking stabs in the dark based on very little information. Only one service rep spent time analyzing my account behavior and she couldn't help. The latest story is that linking checking and savings accounts to a brokerage account is no longer a supported feature. I do not believe it because my friend can still do it. I hate being lied to!!! I have a lot of accounts and money with Wells Fargo. We have spent multiple hours fixing banker mistakes over the last year. Now I am trying to find cost effective way out of this nightmare.
by trading equity, 3/9/2011 Pros: inexpensive plus all usuall banking sevices Cons: With a qualifying linked CMA account I have been trading 100 trades free a year, with no surprises in fees or rules. No changes in the rules since signing up over a year ago.
by Bill L, 1/30/2011 Pros: 0.001% interest Cons: Wells Fargo is incompetent I have a WF Checking account which has been linked to my WF brokerage account, allowing on-line transfers. They recently switched the brokerage account to WF Advisors. This was supposed to be seemless, however, they screwed up. The transfers no longer work and their representative said they have no idea how to fix it or how long it will take to fix it. Say no to government bailouts of banks. This is what you get when you prop up bad businesses.
by H.Z., 8/22/2010 Pros: Cons: 100 free trades are great for the buy and hold investors. Commissions ($5.95) are favorable even if you go over 100. Minor annoyances with the website can be overcome over time with experience. Customer services have always been prompt and professional. Once I had to have them correct Canadian tax withholding for a dividend (it was a special corporate event so the computation was complicated) -- the rep on the phone had to consult with back office but had the issue resolved in short order. Impressive considering how hard it would be just to explain the problem to someone less experienced. The initial opening of the account did take time and patience but things went very well after that.
by Filifer, 5/26/2010 Pros: Cons: WellsTrade failed right from the start - registration is a nightmare. Couple this with terrible charts, terrible research and high commissions and fees (unless you take advantage of their PMA accounts offer) and you have a real stinker.
by rjweber21, 4/19/2010 Pros: Cons: These guys sucked me over to WellsTrade with their "100 free trades a year" offer over a year ago. I liked the idea of the free trades, but more important for me was that my checking account, savings account, and trading account would all be linked through a Wells "prime" account. I also thought Etrade had a shot of going belly up, so I felt much better about having my money at Wells. The Good: - Wells is a solid financial institution (only required + 13.7 billion after stress test). - Easy to digest monthly statements, all accounts are linked, and can easily transfer funds quickly between accounts. The Bad: - Understaffed, atrocious customer service. When they have issues with their website, and you have to call in to place a trade, you will be on hold a minimum of 20 minutes (today it took me 35 minutes to get a broker on the phone). - Unstable website. The clown on the phone told me this was the first time the website had been down in 6 months. REALLY? Technically, he may be right, but he's clearly not counting the times the website has been so slow at the opening and closing of trading, that my browser times out. WellsTrade / Prime account is fine if you only make a few trades a year, and you just accept the apathy of the big banks, but if you expect customer service, or actually want to be able to execute a trade within 30 minutes, you should probably stick with an online brokerage.
by Keith, 4/19/2010 Pros: Offers potential of free ETF trades Cons: Impossible to navigate website or to contact by phone. hours of paperwork in order to apply. I tried to set up a WellsTrade Account to roll over my 401K into an IRA. After two weeks of agony and tears I still do not have it set up. I am really disappointed because a really wanted to be able to take advantage of WellsTrade's free ETF trades. But trying to sign up has been so painful i will gladly pay handsomely to vanguard or another outfit to avoid any further pain from Wells Fargo. Two weeks ago I spent about 3 hours online trying to navigate Wells Fargo's impossibly confusing website and after reading dozens of documents and webpages finally completed application for the WellsTrade account and PMA linked Checking & Savings accounts. But for Wellstrade that is not enough - had to wait for them to send me a bunch more documents in the mail - which I finally received yesterday- another 2 hours of reading & document signing. Finally having my account number and password to go online - I can see checking and savings - but no Wellstrade account! After calling Wells Fargo they were able to get my brokerage account on screen... but it just says "brokerage" - no indication if it is correctly the "wellstrade IRA" type of account I was trying to sign up for. The brokerage screen did have a link to 'retirement planning" so followed that - then it asks me to sign on (which is strange since I was signed on already)- but my logon (which just worked an hour ago) no longer works! The logon screen gave me a number to call with difficulties logging on so I called that number... After speaking with the Wells Fargo rep for a few minutes we determined that he was in the wrong department to help me with a wellstrade IRA, so transferred me to another department.... After speaking with another Wells Fargo rep for a few minutes she indicated that she had nothing to do with wellstrade IRA and transferred be to another number..... That number led me to a computerized set of options - none of which had anything to do with my problem - and no option to actually speak with a real person..... No now I am done. i can't take it anymore. I will now attempt to close the brokerage, savings and checking account I just opened and hope closing the accounts is not as painful as trying to set them up in the first place!
by Newcomer, 3/19/2010 Pros: Cons: I have a PMA account and am very pleased with WELLSTRADE. The phone support is fine and the paperwork to set up or transfer an account is not much different than other brokers. On line tools are limited, but then there is the internet to compensate for that. With 100 free trades no fees whatsoever, and reliable online systems for the self-directed investor where else would you go?
by No longer WellsTrade Customer, 2/19/2010 Pros: none Cons: poor service, expensive trades, mistakes I recently signed up for WellsTrade online trading. I have an standard checking and ATM account which I use in combination with their online service. It's been reasonably good to date and the reason I use their service is so that I don't have to think about it. This morning at 8am I received a phone call from a Wells Fargo trading representative who left a voice mail informing me that my trade for 400 shares of a stock I'd never heard of had been place and my margin account was due $2000 and then he asked "How was I going to pay?". I had not done anything with this account to date accept to transfer funds to it. The representative left me an 800 number into their customer service center. In a panic, considering I ultimately might be held accountable for a $6000 trade I hadn't made, called the number and was forced through a support system and then put on hold for twenty minutes. At the end of the twenty minutes I heard a click and was disconnnected. I was about to blow a gasket at this point. I drove into my office and called again and waited fifteen minutes, afterwhich I contacted Brian and explained my disbelief at the whole situation. He said he'd call me back with a resolution. Ninety minutes later I get a call back from Brian who apologized and told me that 'a mistake had been made'. I frankly don't see how this kind of mistake could have been easily made and told him that my Friday morning had been ruined, I can't believe that a online trading firm would put their customer on hold for more than a half an hour during a trading session. He apologized again. I told him to close my account and transfer my funds back to my checking account. He said he would. It's not ten hours later and this has not happened. I will no longer be a Wells Trade customer.
by Another disappointed customer, 1/3/2010 Pros: Yet to be seen. Cons: Poor customer service. I came to my local Wellsfargo branch and wanted to open a CD. They refered me to Wellstrade so that the interest rate would be better. They called on my behalf and I agreed to transferred 25000 into the Wellstrade. However, the guy told me to call back the following day "to complete the process." When I called back the following date, the person who took the phone call wasn't sure why I call. Well, 4 months later when my CD was supposed to be due, I called and they said there were no records to indicate that I want to open a CD, just transferred my money to have it sit there. It turned out the guy that I and the banker talked to at first place, Dwayne Dean, wasn't licensed to sell CD (only other products) but he didn't tell me that. Basically they told me there were nothing that they can do. I am no longer their customer.

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WellsTrade (Wells Fargo Brokerage) Customer reviewed by BrokerageReview.org users. 20 customer reviews. Rating: 2.

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