ShareBuilder Review

amyschiff · 05-09-2008, 12:05 PM

I noticed that ING has merged with ShareBuilder and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the service?

KelR1 · 05-09-2008, 03:45 PM

Actually, I was looking into it and found the site incredibly hard to navigate (which surprised me since I have a savings account with ING which is just fine), plus not ALL stocks are available. They DO have a massive list from which to select but, if you've already done some research and wanted to buy a particular stock, it may not necessarily be available on there. I started setting up an account and then wasn't able to downgrade back to the Basic level from Standard. It was very frustrating. I decided to just give up on it and close the account, and I had to call their customer service (which is NOT 24/7), and then I still got charged a fee. So I had to e-mail them to reverse the fee and just close my account. This led to a list of steps that I had to do to close it. Apparently, the CS rep can't just go in and do that. As I write this, I'm awaiting the credit back into my linked account. Overall, I'd give it a thumbs down. ING for savings? Sure. ShareBuilder? Too much hassle.

Julie Rains · 05-10-2008, 10:09 AM

I wrote a pre-Ing post on Share Builder a while back.

Even before then, the company added a lot more choices to investing rather than just the send money, invest once a month options. This makes things seem more complicated IMHO (though it makes SB more competitive with other online discount brokerage firms). I never have called customer service so haven't had a problem with that. I think the main advantage to SB is not being charged for every trade, which could be useful if you are getting started.

I was on the site the other day hoping to open a savings account for my son with ING, and hoping that the company could take our info (me as custodial with the account for him) and let me open a new account. But I couldn't do that -- hopefully, they'll add that feature soon b/c they are missing a great opportunity now. Regular savings with regular investing should really be paired

amyschiff · 05-12-2008, 08:07 AM

hmm interesting. I had figured the list of stocks that they have was pretty incomplete, but since I'm a total newb I didn't really know if that would bother me all that much. Bad websites REALLY bother me though.

05-09-2008, 12:05 PM	#1
amyschiff Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Lansing, MI Posts: 149 Reputation: (19)	ShareBuilder Review I noticed that ING has merged with ShareBuilder and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the service?

05-10-2008, 10:09 AM	#3
Julie Rains Wise Bread Blogger Join Date: May 2007 Location: North Carolina Posts: 157 Reputation: (41)	I wrote a pre-Ing post on Share Builder a while back. Even before then, the company added a lot more choices to investing rather than just the send money, invest once a month options. This makes things seem more complicated IMHO (though it makes SB more competitive with other online discount brokerage firms). I never have called customer service so haven't had a problem with that. I think the main advantage to SB is not being charged for every trade, which could be useful if you are getting started. I was on the site the other day hoping to open a savings account for my son with ING, and hoping that the company could take our info (me as custodial with the account for him) and let me open a new account. But I couldn't do that -- hopefully, they'll add that feature soon b/c they are missing a great opportunity now. Regular savings with regular investing should really be paired __________________ "I always say what I mean but I don't always say what I'm thinking." Dean Smith

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05-09-2008, 03:45 PM	#2
KelR1 Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 39 Reputation: (10)	Actually, I was looking into it and found the site incredibly hard to navigate (which surprised me since I have a savings account with ING which is just fine), plus not ALL stocks are available. They DO have a massive list from which to select but, if you've already done some research and wanted to buy a particular stock, it may not necessarily be available on there. I started setting up an account and then wasn't able to downgrade back to the Basic level from Standard. It was very frustrating. I decided to just give up on it and close the account, and I had to call their customer service (which is NOT 24/7), and then I still got charged a fee. So I had to e-mail them to reverse the fee and just close my account. This led to a list of steps that I had to do to close it. Apparently, the CS rep can't just go in and do that. As I write this, I'm awaiting the credit back into my linked account. Overall, I'd give it a thumbs down. ING for savings? Sure. ShareBuilder? Too much hassle.

05-12-2008, 08:07 AM	#4
amyschiff Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Lansing, MI Posts: 149 Reputation: (19)	hmm interesting. I had figured the list of stocks that they have was pretty incomplete, but since I'm a total newb I didn't really know if that would bother me all that much. Bad websites REALLY bother me though.