New investors, get Investing 101 and $101 with the Schwab Starter Kit™.

Questions you might have for us.

What is Schwab Stock Slices?

Schwab Stock Slices is an easy way to buy fractional shares (or whole shares) for a set dollar amount. You have the option to buy slices of stock in up to 30 top U.S. companies in a single transaction. The shares you purchase through Schwab Stock Slices can be held and sold independently.

What’s a fractional share?

A fractional share (stock slice) is when you own less than one whole share of a company. Fractional shares allow you to invest in stocks based on a dollar amount, so you may end up with a fraction of a share, a whole share, or more than one share.

What is the S&P 500® and what does market capitalization (market cap) mean?

The S&P 500^® is widely regarded as the best single gauge of large-cap U.S. equities. According to our Annual Survey of Assets, an estimated USD 13.5 trillion is indexed or benchmarked to the index, with indexed assets comprising approximately USD 5.4 trillion of this total (as of Dec. 31, 2020). The index includes 500 leading companies and covers approximately 80% of available market capitalization.

Market cap is the most common measurement of a company's size and is computed by taking the outstanding shares and multiplying this by the price of the stock.

Is Schwab recommending everyone should invest in the top 5 stocks in the S&P 500?

No. We believe Schwab Starter Kit is a good way to start building your portfolio and learn more about investing. You should consider your circumstances and needs before making any investment, or enrolling in this offer, to determine whether it's appropriate for you and your situation. You should also consider the risks of investing and how to address them, including through diversification and asset allocation strategies.

Do fractional shares pay dividends?

Yes, proportionate to the percentage of the share you own.

What rights are different when you own less than one whole share of stock?

Voting: If you own less than one whole share of stock, you will generally be able to participate in mandatory corporate actions such as stock splits, mergers, or spin-offs, but you will not be able to participate in any shareholder vote or voluntary corporate actions like tender offers and certain rights offerings.

 

Transferability: If you want to transfer your account or specific share positions to another broker, only whole shares can be transferred. Your fractional shares that cannot be transferred or reorganized will be liquidated at prevailing market prices, and the proceeds will be credited to your account. Since your Fractional Shares cannot be transferred, your overall SIPC coverage may be affected.

 

Corporate Actions: If you receive fractional shares as the result of a stock split or other corporate action, we may either sell the shares on the open market or to the issuer or transfer agent, and you are entitled to receive your pro rata portion of the proceeds of such sale. If sold on the open market, the sale price may differ from that offered to certain registered owners by the issuer or transfer agent.

 

How do I get and when will I receive my $101 in Schwab Stock Slices?

Two business days after your account is opened Schwab will begin checking for deposits. Once your qualifying deposit has been received, Schwab will credit the $101 to your account and place your trades the next trading day. We'll send you an email the night before that happens, so you'll know when to expect your stock slices and the ability to review your orders.

Can I cancel the Stock Slices order?

Once the orders are placed, you will have a short period of time (from approximately 8:00 pm Eastern Time until approximately 9:25am the next morning) to cancel the orders. To cancel the orders, you will need to go to the Order Status page on schwab.com or to any of Schwab's other trading platforms or call a Schwab representative at 800-435-5000. If you cancel your orders, you keep the $101 cash bonus and can save or invest it however you want. If you take no action, the orders will be executed shortly after market open the next trading day. You will see the stocks reflected in your account and Schwab will send you trade confirmations.

What if I don't want the $101 of fractional shares?

If you do not want to place orders to buy fractional shares or receive the $101 cash bonus as described above, you may open a Schwab account independent from the Schwab Starter Kit offer by going to schwab.com. 

Can I get the order more than once by going to schwab.com or the Schwab mobile app?

The Schwab Starter Kit is limited to one per account, with no more than one account enrolled per client.

What are the full Terms and Conditions?

The Schwab Starter Kit^™ offer is only available to eligible new customers. To be eligible to receive the $101 cash bonus, you must be an individual who does not have a Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("Schwab") account (other than a Schwab Stock Plan Services account) and who: (1) opens a Schwab One individual taxable retail brokerage account and (2) deposits at least $50 into that account within 30 days of enrolling in the offer (only outside assets new to Schwab qualify; assets transferred from affiliates other than Schwab Retirement Plan Services are excluded).

The Schwab Starter Kit is intended to help you start investing. So with this offer, when you open your brokerage account, you will instruct Schwab to use the $101 cash bonus to place orders for you in the future to buy $20.20 fractional shares of each of the top 5 fractional shares by market capitalization in the S&P^® 500 Index through Schwab Stock Slices^™ (unless the orders are cancelled by you—see details below). The top 5 stocks will change from time-to-time. To see the top 5 fractional shares at any time, go to www.schwab.com/starterkit.

By agreeing to these terms and conditions you also agree to the Schwab Stock Slices Terms and Conditions, which you should review.

After you enroll in the offer, here's what will happen:

1. Two business days after your account is opened, Schwab will begin checking for qualifying deposits every business day. Once your qualifying deposit has been received, Schwab will credit the $101 cash bonus to your brokerage account at approximately 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time the next trading day. (If you make your qualifying deposit after 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Schwab will credit the $101 cash bonus at approximately 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time two trading days later.)
2. Schwab will send you an email about your 5 trade orders the night before the orders are placed.
3. Schwab will place the 5 orders for you ($20.20 fractional share orders for each of the top 5 stocks in the S&P 500) at approximately 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time the day the cash bonus is credited to your account, provided you maintain at least $50 in your brokerage account at that time.
4. You will have a short period of time (from approximately 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time until approximately 9:25 a.m. the next trading day) to cancel the orders.
5. To cancel the orders, you will need to go to the Order Status page on schwab.com or on any of Schwab's other trading platforms or call a Schwab representative at 800-435-4000.
6. If you cancel your orders, you will keep the $101 cash bonus and can save or invest it however you want.
7. If you take no action, the orders will be executed shortly after market open the next trading day. You will then see the fractional shares reflected in your account and Schwab will send you trade confirmations for the trades.

Note that if one company has multiple share classes of stock in the top 5, only the one with the most voting rights will be purchased. Please also note that the above process is specific to the Schwab Starter Kit offer and will not apply to any other trade orders you might place.

Additional important information you should know:

If you do not want to place orders to buy fractional shares or receive the $101 cash bonus as described above, you may open a Schwab brokerage account independent from the Schwab Starter Kit offer by going to schwab.com or the Schwab Mobile app.

This Schwab Starter Kit offer is limited to one per account, with no more than one account enrolled per client and does not apply to Schwab Bank Investor Checking™ accounts, the Schwab Global Account™, joint accounts, trust accounts, custodial accounts, IRAs, ERISA-covered retirement plans, other tax-qualified retirement plans and accounts, education savings accounts, or accounts managed by independent investment advisors.

This offer is not transferable, saleable, or valid in conjunction with other offers and is available to U.S. residents only. Employees of any securities regulatory organization or exchange are not eligible. Other restrictions may apply.

The cash bonus will be reported on your Form 1099-INT. Any related taxes are your responsibility.

Schwab reserves the right to change the offer terms or terminate the offer at any time without notice. 

This is a general offer and not specific to any individual investor. Neither Schwab nor any Schwab employee is determining whether investing in these 5 fractional shares is appropriate for you and your situation. You should consider your own circumstances and needs prior to deciding to enroll in the offer and investing in these 5 fractional shares with the $101 cash bonus. This offer is intended to help you learn more about investing by making an actual investment. You should consider the risks of investing generally and learn how to address them, including through diversification and asset allocation strategies. For more information about these and other investing principles, which can help address the risks of investing in a small number of similar stocks, see https://www.schwab.com/investing-principles.

Associated Required Disclosure

The "S&P 500^® Index" is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates ("SPDJI") and has been licensed for use by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("CS&Co"). Standard & Poor's^® and S&P^® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC ("S&P"); Dow Jones^® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC ("Dow Jones"). Schwab Stock Slices™ and Schwab Starter Kit^™ are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, their respective affiliates, and none of such parties make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such product(s) nor do they have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the S&P 500^® Index.

All other trademarks/logos appearing in this Charles Schwab ad are owned by their respective owners. The trademarks/logos are used to easily identify other public companies whose stock can be purchased through Schwab's fractional stock ownership program. Their inclusion in this ad is only for informational purposes and does not indicate any relationship, sponsorship, or endorsement between Charles Schwab and any of the companies that own those trademarks/logos