Broker review
E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley review
A zero-commission equity schedule inside Morgan Stanley, with futures, bonds and crypto on the same statement.
- Written by
- Juan Manuel Gonzalez
- Published
- Data verified
In summary
E*TRADE is now offered through Morgan Stanley. Published pricing is $0 for stocks, options base, mutual funds and ETFs, $0.65 per options contract falling to $0.50 with 30 or more trades per quarter, $1.50 per futures contract, $1.00 per bond online in the secondary market, and 0.50% on crypto. Readers should note the entity change: BrokerCheck lists E*TRADE Securities LLC (CRD 29106) as inactive.
Editorial score, based on our methodology
How this is calculated- Safety2.4
- Cost2.4
- Selection1.8
- Accounts1.6
- Headroom1.8
Legal entity and regulation
Read from FINRA BrokerCheck on August 28, 2026. Check it yourself — the reference number below is all you need.
- Legal name
- MORGAN STANLEY
- CRD
- 149777
- SEC
- 8-68191
- Registration status
- ACTIVE
- Regulators
- SEC, FINRA
- Investor protection
- SIPC member — up to $500,000, including $250,000 for cash
Published fees
7 of 14 fields verifiedRead from E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley’s own published schedule. Fields we could not find on the pages we read are marked not verified — we do not fill them with estimates, and a blank would read as zero.
| US stocks and ETFs | $0Stocks, options base, mutual funds and ETFs |
|---|---|
| Options base commission | $0 |
| Options per contract | $0.65$0.50 with 30+ trades per quarter |
| Account minimum | Not verified |
| Mutual funds | $06,000+ no-load, no-transaction-fee funds |
| Bonds | $1.00 per bondOnline secondary; minimum $10, maximum $250 |
| Futures | $1.50 per contract |
| Crypto | 0.50%Of the dollar value of each trade |
| Account service fee | Not verified |
| Inactivity fee | Not verified |
| Outgoing transfer fee | Not verified |
| Broker-assisted trade | Not verified |
| Margin rate | Not verified |
| Currency conversion | Not verified |
Where these costs sit
Against every other broker we publish that has a verified figure for the same field. Brokers whose figure we could not verify are left out rather than plotted at zero.
What you can hold
- US stocksOffered
- ETFsOffered
- OptionsOffered
- Mutual fundsOffered
- BondsOffered
- FuturesOffered
- Spot currenciesNot offered
- CryptoOffered
- International listingsNot verified
- Fractional sharesNot verified
- OTC equitiesOffered
Account types
- Individual taxable offered
- Joint offered
- Traditional IRA offered
- Roth IRA offered
- Rollover IRA offered
- SEP / SIMPLE IRA offered
- Custodial offered
- Trust offered
- Solo 401(k) not offered
- HSA not offered
- Margin offered
- Managed portfolio offered
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Options contract fee drops to $0.50 at 30 or more trades per quarter
- Futures, bonds, CDs and crypto sit on the same published schedule as equities
- 6,000+ no-load, no-transaction-fee mutual funds
- Integrated FDIC-insured banking through Morgan Stanley Private Bank
Limitations
- $1.50 per futures contract is the highest futures rate in our set
- The E*TRADE Securities LLC registration is inactive on BrokerCheck — the servicing entity is now Morgan Stanley
- Account minimum and account service fees were not stated on the pricing page we read
Check these yourself
- Bond commissions carry a $10 minimum and $250 maximum per order — check the effect on small bond ladders
- New-account cash offers are time-limited and promotional; they are not part of our scoring
How E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley scores
Under our default weights. Individual rankings re-weight these same sub-scores, which is why E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley sits in different positions on different pages.
- Safety and regulationweight 30%8/10
- Fees and total costweight 30%8/10
- Investment selectionweight 22%8/10
- Account types and featuresweight 18%9/10
- Safety and regulation8/10 · weighted 30%
- Accounts sit with an active SEC-registered Morgan Stanley broker-dealer (8-68191) that is a SIPC member. Marked one point below the long-single-entity firms because BrokerCheck lists the original E*TRADE Securities LLC registration as inactive, so clients have been through an entity migration.
- Fees and total cost8/10 · weighted 30%
- $0 on stocks, ETFs and mutual funds with a $0.65 options contract fee that falls to $0.50 at 30 trades per quarter. Futures at $1.50 per contract are the most expensive futures rate we recorded, and crypto at 0.50% is mid-pack.
- Investment selection8/10 · weighted 22%
- Stocks, ETFs, options, mutual funds, bonds, CDs, futures and crypto all appear on the published schedule. Fractional shares and direct international listings were not confirmed from the page we read.
- Account types and features9/10 · weighted 18%
- Full retail lineup including all IRA variants, custodial, trust and managed Core Portfolios, backed by integrated banking through Morgan Stanley Private Bank.
Not scored
- Access and eligibility — Not scored in v1.0. Requires per-country eligibility confirmed against each firm's own onboarding terms, which we have not completed.
- Platform and usability — Not scored in v1.0. Requires hands-on use of a funded account, which we have not done.
- Research and education — Not scored in v1.0. Requires logged-in access to the research suite, which we have not had.
- Customer service — Not scored in v1.0. Requires timed contact tests across channels, which we have not run.
- Execution quality — Not scored in v1.0. Requires analysis of Rule 605/606 order-execution reports, which is scheduled for a later release.
Sources
- [1]E*TRADE — Pricing and ratesRead August 28, 2026
- [2]FINRA BrokerCheck — Morgan Stanley / E*TRADE Securities LLCRead August 28, 2026
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Risk warning
Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Nothing on this site is personalized investment advice, a recommendation to buy or sell any security, or a solicitation. Figures are read from public sources on the dates shown and can change without notice — verify anything you intend to act on with the provider directly. Read the full risk disclosure.