Free ETF Trading

After Schwab (SCHW) marked its entrance into the ETF industry in late 2009 with commission free trading on Schwab ETFs, several other issuers followed suit in 2010. Vanguard quickly sought to level the playing field with its low cost rival by introducing commission-free trading on Vanguard ETFs for Vanguard clients (Vanguard currently offers more than 60 ETFs, while Schwab offers just 11 funds). iShares also made several of its most popular ETFs eligible for commission-free trading, partnering with Fidelity to offer a program that includes 25 of the largest iShares ETFs.

Arguably the most comprehensive commission-free ETF trading program was introduced by TD Ameritrade (AMTD), which partnered with Morningstar (MORN) to identify more than 100 ETPs from a handful of different issuers to include in the commission free program. Recently, a unit of Scottrade made a filing detailing plans for a line of domestic equity ETFs, prompting speculation that the firm is scrambling to match the offerings of its competitors.

Fidelity commission-free ETFs

In response to Charles Schwab’s recent offering of 8 commission-free ETFs, Fidelity
announced today that they will offer 25 of the iShares ETFs commission-free. Fidelity
also undercut Schwab by lowering their commissions for online equity trades to a flat
$7.95 per trade, starting tomorrow.