Brokerage Deals and Bonuses in December: Earn Free Cash and Stock

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Building an investment portfolio can take time, but some top brokerage firms can help you with promotions, deals, referral bonuses and sign-up bonuses.

Brokerage bonuses and promotions vary depending on the institution, but brokers may offer to deposit a cash bonus into your account, give you free stock or provide fee-free investing for a set period.

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Best Brokerage Account Bonuses in December 2024

If you're looking for a new brokerage to help manage your portfolio, or if you're a beginner investor who is excited to get started, check out these brokerage bonus offers.

Tastyworks Promo: 100 shares of a stock or 10 options

Tastyworks is an online brokerage that claims to focus on empowering investors to do their own trading.

Tastyworks also offers a new account bonus, giving investors 100 shares of a select stock or 10 options. You'll be able to choose whether you want to receive the stock or option, but if you don't, the default is options.

Tastyworks states that stocks are randomly selected, and they'll be worth between $1 and $6, which means if you choose the stocks, you can get between $100 and $600 in value. The average value, according to its website, is $200-$220.

• 70% chance of receiving a stock worth under $2 per share
• 30% chance of receiving a stock worth over $2 per share

If you choose options, they'll be randomly selected based on the price of 10 long calls or 10 long puts. The options will have an expiration of 15 to 25 days, on average.

How to get the bonus

• Open an account online and use promo code STOCK_AWARD_21
• Fund your new account with $2,000 or more
• Maintain an account balance of $2,000 or more for three months from the date you receive your shares or options

TD Ameritrade Bonus: $350-$2,500

TD Ameritrade claims to be among the largest brokerages in the U.S., and its website says it provides a platform for all kinds of investors, offering educational resources and tools.

Furthermore, TD Ameritrade doesn't charge commissions on online trades of stocks, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Read our full review of the TD Ameritrade bonus, and use TD Ameritrade offer codes to find the discounts and lower your fees.

How to get the offer

• Open and fund a new brokerage or retirement account
• Here's a breakdown of the promotion's bonus tiers:
  • Deposit $250,000- $499,999 and receive $350
  • Deposit $500,000- $999,999 and receive $700
  • Deposit $1,000,000-$1,999,999 and receive $1,500
  • Deposit $2,000,000 or more and receive $2,500

SoFi Active Invest Bonus: $75

SoFi Active Invest is an online brokerage that is currently offering an exclusive promotion for new investors who open a new account through the Slickdeals Rewards Program.

There are a few hoops you'll need to jump through to be eligible for this $75 bonus so be sure to read these detailed instructions.

How to get the bonus

• Open and fund a new account with $125 or more. Start here
• Open a free Slickdeals Rewards Program account and complete eligibility requirements. See details

M1 Finance Bonus: $250-$2,500

If you're looking for an online stock broker that provides both investing and banking services, M1 Finance may be an option.

According to the brokerage's website, with a $100 minimum opening investment, investors can open an account and start trading various securities, including fractional shares, which allow you to purchase portions of shares in publicly-traded companies. Plus, as an added benefit, the platform offers free trades.

Read our full review of the M1 Finance.

How to get the transfer bonus

• Open a new account online
• Transfer your investments from another brokerage into your new M1 account within the first 60 days of membership
• Here's a breakdown of the tiered transfer bonus:
  • Transfer $100,000–$249,999.99 to earn $250
  • Transfer $250,000–$499,999.99 to earn $500
  • Transfer $500,000-$999,999.99 to earn $1,000
  • Transfer $1,000,000 or more to earn $2,500

Stash Bonus: $5

If you're relatively new to investing, meeting high deposit minimums may not be an option. With Stash Invest, though, you can get a bonus of $5 after you open a Stash investment account and deposit $5 or more in new funds. While it may be a modest incentive, it is a dollar-for-dollar match on your first $5 deposit.

Just keep in mind that there's a monthly fee that ranges from $1 to $9, depending on which features you want and how much you want to earn in stock-back rewards.

However, like many online stock brokers, Stash offers free trades which can help you to recover the cost of monthly fees. Read our full review of Stash.

How to get the bonus

• Open and fund a new account with $5 or more through this link

Betterment Promotion: 1-12 Months Free Portfolio Management

Instead of offering a cash bonus offer to new customers, Betterment says it will manage your portfolio for free for up to 12 months if you open an account through one of its partners.

How to get the promotion

• Open and fund a new Betterment account
• Here's a breakdown of the promo's funding tier
  • Deposit $15,000 - $99,999 and get one month free
  • Deposit $100,000 - $249,999 and get six months free
  • Deposit $250,000 or more and get 12 months free

Ally Invest Bonus: $100-$3,000 

Ally is an online-only bank that offers a variety of banking, lending and wealth management services. It also offers a brokerage bonus for new investing customers who open a new Ally Invest account.

Ally Invest says it features commission-free trades on eligible U.S exchange-listed stock, ETF and option trades. In fact, at $0.50 per contract, Ally Invest claims to offer option trades and a selection of ETFs from Vanguard, GlobalX, iShares and more.

How to get the bonus

• Open a new account
• Fund your new account with a certain amount within the first 60 days
• Here's how the Ally Invest promo tiers work
  • Deposit $10,000 - $24,999 and receive $100
  • Deposit $25,000 - $99,999 and receive $250
  • Deposit $100,000 - $249,999 and receive $300
  • Deposit $250,000 - $499,999 and receive $600
  • Deposit $500,000 - $999,999 and receive $1,200
  • Deposit $1,000,000 - $1,999,999 and receive $2,000
  • Deposit $2,000,000 or more and receive $3,000

Robinhood Bonus: $3-$225 Worth of Free Stock

Robinhood helped pioneer the mobile investing movement, as well as commission-free trades. According to Robinhood's website, its commission-free platform allows you to trade stocks (fractional shares included), options, cryptocurrencies and ETFs, and there's no minimum opening investment to get started.

What's more, Robinhood claims to offer free stock worth between $3 and $225 to new investors who open a new account and then link a bank account.

According to Robinhood, there is about a 98% chance of the stock bonus having a value of $3-$10.00. Also, keep in mind that when this promotion is combined with the value received from other offers from Robinhood in the current calendar year, it may not exceed $500 per household.

How to get the bonus

• Open a new brokerage account
• Link an eligible bank account to your new brokerage account

Webull Bonus: Up to $2,300 in Free Stocks

WeBull is a mobile-first trading platform, and it claims to provide the chance to invest in stocks, ETFs and options (though you can't trade fractional shares).

WeBull says new customers can receive up to $2,300 in two free stocks when opening an account and then funding it with $100 or more.

According to its website, the broker also offers several ways to earn more free stock, including referral links and other ongoing promotions.

How to get the bonus

• Open and fund a new account with $100 or more

Charles Schwab: $100-$1,000

Like TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab claims to be among the largest brokers in the U.S., and says it offers a range of investment options, resources, tools and other features.

To qualify for Charles Schwab's introductory bonus of up to $500, you need to know an existing Charles Schwab customer who can refer you to open a new account. Then deposit at least $100 within 45 days to earn money.

Here's what you can earn based on how much you deposit

• Deposit $25,000-$49,999 and receive $100
• Deposit $50,000-$99,999 and receive $300
• Deposit $100,000-$499,999 and receive $500
• Deposit $500,000 or more and receive $1,000

Tornado: $10 to $1,000 Cash Bonus

Tornado is a relatively new brokerage firm, starting in 2015, and it claims to offer investors a chance to collaborate with each other on the platform and potentially make better investment decisions.

Tornado is also offering a cash brokerage bonus worth up to $1,000 to new account holders, according to its website.

Tornado says this promo a limited-time offer, but there's no concrete deadline to sign up.

How to get the bonus

• Open a new Tornado account
• Make one or more trades in the first month of account opening
• Do not withdraw fund in the first year
• Link a valid bank account to your Tornado account

The reward is chosen at random, but, according to its website, you're most likely going to receive $20 or less.

Here's the probability Tornado provides for each possibility

• 34.94% chance of receiving $10
• 40% chance of receiving $10.50
• 15% chance of receiving $11
• 5% chance of receiving $12
• 5% chance of receiving $20
• 0.04% chance of receiving $500
• 0.02% chance of receiving $1,000

Citi Personal Wealth Management Bonus: $500-$5,000 Cash

Citi Personal Wealth Management says it offers new customers a brokerage bonus between $500 and $5,000, depending on how much you fund your account within the first two months.

Keep in mind that the funds must be new to Citi, which means you can't transfer the money from a Citi deposit account.

You'll also need to enroll in e-statements within the first two months of account opening and maintain your new funding through the end of the third month.

How to get the bonus

• Open and fund a new account with a specific amount of new money
• Enroll in e-statements within the first two months of account membership
• Hold your funding in the account through the end of the third month
• Here are details about the promotional bonus tiers
  • Deposit $50,000 – $199,999 and earn $500
  • Deposit $200,000 – $499,999 and earn $1,000
  • Deposit $500,000 – $999,999 and earn $2,000
  • Deposit $1,000,000 – $1,999,999 and earn $3,000
  • Deposit $2,000,000 or more and earn $5,000

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is a robo-advisor?

  A robo-advisor is a digital advisor that provides financial advice or manages investments on your behalf. While they vary by firm, robo-advisors support online services and investment portfolio automation through the use of algorithms and data.

• When should I consult a human advisor?

  As a rule of thumb, you should consult a human advisor when you’re able to save and invest 20% of your income, or when your personal finances are more complicated. The more complex your financial situation, the more need you will have for in-person customer service. Keep in mind that financial advisors are generally more expensive than robo-advisors, which are a low-cost alternative to traditional financial management.

• What do I need to start a brokerage account?

  The documentation needed to start a brokerage account will vary by firm, but you will generally need the following: legal name and address, Social Security number, phone number, email address, details about your net worth, annual income and risk tolerance — as well a government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license or passport.

• How much of my wealth should I invest?

  As a rule of thumb, you should invest 10% to 20% of your net income (after taxes and deductions) in a diverse combination of stocks, bonds, 401(k) and other assets, — or some form of interest-bearing activity, such as a high-yield savings account or money market account. Keep in mind that the amount of your wealth that you invest will also depend on your risk tolerance.