Trading platforms have surely evolved into great tools for active traders and professionals alike. Etrade provides a great platform for those who are serious about investing called Etrade Pro. It’s actually a trading software that you can download for your desktop computer. If you’re considering taking your trading to the next level, you will need to know: is Etrade Pro free?
Yes, Etrade Pro is free, but you will have to qualify for the subscription by executing at least 30 trades per calendar quarter. More so, you will need to subscribe to real-time quotes in order to log in to the platform. Real-time quotes are, fortunately, free as well for non-professionals but you will have to have a balance of $1,000 or more to get access to them.
In this article, I will walk you through the process of getting access to and downloading Etrade Pro. I will also provide you with an overview of what the trading platform looks like and its various tools that it comes with. Finally, I will show you how you can place a trade with it.
Sounds good enough? Let’s get started!
How to Get Etrade Pro
Let’s first see how you can get Etrade Pro.
As I already told you, you first need to have a balance of at least $1,000 in your Etrade account to qualify for real-time quotes. If you have already taken care of this, then all you have to do is go to your portfolio page, find the link that enables real-time quotes somewhere at the bottom of the screen, and then change the quotes from delayed to real-time.
Notice how NYSE-ARCA data is free and Nasdaq Total View along with NYSE Open Book aren’t. Don’t worry though as you won’t have to subscribe to those services too for accessing Etrade Pro. Just keep in mind that if you want Level-II market data, you will have to. But I digress…
Now, get in contact with Etrade customer support and ask them to add Etrade Pro to your account. After they do, you will be able to find a link in the platform, exactly underneath the one for Power Etrade.
All you have to do is click on it and you will be able to download the file to install Etrade Pro.
FYI: The best way I've found to invest in ETFs is through M1 Finance. It's free and you even get an instant line of credit! Have a look here (link to M1 Finance).
Etrade Pro Appearance
Now, let’s talk about what you are going to experience when you install Etrade Pro in terms of appearance.
First of all, the trading platform comes in 3 different themes, light, dark, and market trader. You can adjust them by simply clicking on “Themes” which is located under “Settings” in the upper-left menu. Or you can leave the default theme enabled which will be “dark”.
You will also encounter some windows with multiple functions. You can move those around, delete them, or even add new ones. Then, you can save a layout by clicking “Layout” in the same menu and selecting “Save Layout”.
You will notice that in the Layout menu you will find various stock layouts like multiple charts and futures trading. It’s fairly easy to switch between layouts if you want to test them all.
Now, when it comes to the tools menu, you will find it under the settings and layout ones. If you click on it, you will get a drop-down window that includes several functions. The icons that are next to these functions will help you navigate the menu very easily.
You will find many choices here like Bloomberg TV, an economic calendar, a time and sales window, the day’s market movers, a watch list, charting, options chains, market depth, options tools, a margin tool, futures chain, etc.
Moving to the bottom of the platform, you will find a menu that will have a row of screen choices. Using them will allow you to quickly alternate between the different layouts. This is super useful; you can, for example, create one layout to include Bloomberg and market movers of the day and another that includes news and charting, and rapidly shuffle between them.
When it comes to charting, there’s a small window with a chart that you can delete, enlarge, or expand to completely fill the screen of your monitor.
If you want to easily locate valuable charting tools, you should definitely expand the window. There are 30 drawing tools and 120 technical studies, more or less, for you to use. You can also view price history in as many as 6 chart styles and that includes colored bar, Heikin Ashi, and mountain.
As for company events, you will find three: dividends, earnings, and splits.
NOTE: The easiest way to add diversification to your portfolio is to invest in real estate through Fundrise. You can become private real estate investor without the burden of property management! Check it out here (link to Fundrise).
How To Submit An Order On E*Trade Pro
Now, let me guide you through the process of submitting a trade on Etrade Pro.
You can find the two order tickets that the platform has under the Tools menu. The first is called “Order Entry” and the other is under “Options Chains”, which is for options trading.
You will be able to trade stocks and ETFs through the Order Entry using many order types: hidden stop, trailing, and market-on-close, contingent, one-trigger-OCO, and bracketed.
If you’re an options trader, you could build your own strategy or simply use one of the Etrade stock strategy choices.
FYI: Another great way to get exposure to the real estate sector is by investing in real estate debt. Groundfloor offers fantastic short-term, high-yield bonds that can add diversification to your portfolio!
Conclusion
In conclusion, Etrade Pro is actually free but you need to have a balance of at least $1,000 and make 30+ trades per calendar quarter to qualify for it.
When you activate real-time data and contact customer support to make the option to download the platform available, all you need to do is click the link they give you and install the software.
Did you find this article helpful? Did it answer your question? Please share it with others if you did. Also, leave a comment below and let me know if you want my help with something.
Thank you for reading…
Current recommendations:
Over the past years, I have discovered several tools and products that have helped me tremendously on my path to financial freedom:
P.S.: The links below are affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you when you sign up for one of the services. Thank you for your support!
1)Personal Capital is simply the best tool out there to track your net worth and plan for financial freedom. Just their retirement planner alone has become an invaluable tool to keep myself on track financially. Try it out, it's free!
2) Take a look at M1 Finance, my favorite broker. I love how easy it is to invest and maintain my portfolio with them. I can set up automatic transfers, rebalance my portfolio with one click and even borrow up to 35% of my assets at super low interest rates!
3) Fundrise is by far the best way I've found to invest in Real Estate. You can diversify your portfolio by investing in their eREITs or even allocate capital to individual properties (without the hassle of managing tenants!).
4) Groundfloor is another great way to get exposure to the real estate sector by investing in short-term, high-yield real estate debt. Current returns are >10% and you can get started with just $10.
5) If you are interested in startup investing, check out Mainvest. I've started allocating a small amount of assets to invest in and support small businesses. Return targets are between 10-25% and you can start with just $100!
To see all of my most up-to-date recommendations, check out the Recommended Tools section.
I started this blog because I believe that money is just a means to an end: to be free to spend your time as you wish, to maximize your positive impact on the world.
To track my progress towards complete financial independence I use Personal Capital. Most of my monthly surplus I invest in Vanguard ETFs with M1 Finance. I use the dividends (plus their 'borrow' option) to invest in real estate deals with Fundrise.
Finally, I invest the real estate distributions into startups using Mainvest and high-yield real estate debt with Groundfloor.
