You Invest Trade FAQs

A J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing brokerage account lets you trade stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and options online on your own. Learn more about what you can do with J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing.

With J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing, there's no minimum account balance to get started, and you get unlimited commission-free online stock, ETF and options trades. Options contract and other fees may apply. Get more info on pricing and fees here.

J.P. Morgan offers J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing, an online self-directed brokerage account in which you can trade stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, options and fixed income products online. To purchase other types of investments, please contact your J.P. Morgan Advisor.

In the top menu, choose "Trade" then choose the kind of product you’d like to trade: stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, options or fixed income.

Your account value is the current market value of your account in U.S. dollars. Depending on the securities you own, it could reflect intraday values, which may change during market hours (9:30 AM to 4 PM ET).

You can find out more about investing at chase.com. In the top menu, choose “Investments” then “Learning & Insights" to explore available articles and tips.

We put all the cash in your investment account in a bank deposit sweep account, which earns interest. You can see current bank deposit sweep rates here.

You can place trades online anytime between 6 AM and 2 AM ET. After hours trading isn't available at this time. All orders placed outside of normal trading hours (9:30AM - 4PM ET) will be queued.

We don’t allow clients to buy (and have certain restrictions on the sale of) penny stocks in J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing accounts. We define a penny stock as any security that is trading at a price of less than $5.00 and isn't listed on a major exchange.

However, you can buy securities that aren’t listed on a major stock exchange but are trading at $5.00 or more in your You Invest Trade account. There may be restrictions on the sale of such securities if they trade below $5.00.

• Market: A market order means you buy or sell stock based on current market price. 
• Limit: A limit order is an order to buy or sell a stock at a specific price or better. A buy limit order can only be executed at the limit price or lower, and a sell limit order can only be executed at the limit price or higher. A limit order is not guaranteed to execute. 
• Stop: This is an order to sell (or buy) at the market once the price of a security falls (or rises) to a designated level. 
• Stop Limit: A stop-limit order is an order to buy or sell a stock that combines the features of a stop order and a limit order. Once the stop price is reached, a stop-limit order becomes a limit order that'll be executed at a specified Limit price (or better). 

• Day: Valid for the current trading day
• Good 'Til Canceled: Remain active until they're canceled
• On the Open: Condition to buy or sell at market open
• On the Close: Condition to buy or sell as close as possible to market close
• Immediate or Cancel: All or part of the order will be executed immediately or will be canceled

Estimated maximum shares refers to approximately how many shares of a given security you could buy, based on the cash you have available for trading. This calculation doesn’t include commission charges.

The main difference between the two types of stock is that holders of common stock typically have voting privileges, whereas holders of preferred stock may not. However, preferred stock holders generally have a greater claim to a company's assets. Typically, preferred stock offers higher dividend yield incentive.

The net asset value of a mutual fund is the fund’s value per share. The net asset value of a mutual fund equals the market value of its assets minus its liabilities, divided by the number of outstanding shares. The NAV is calculated once each day after close of the market.

To discourage short-term trading, mutual funds often charge a short-term redemption fee if you sell your shares before the fund’s holding period requirement has ended.

A load is a type of a commission that may be charged by a mutual fund. Depending on the fund, the following load types could be applicable:
 

• Front-end is a sales charge investors pay upon the initial purchase of mutual fund shares. It's deducted from the investment amount and, as a result, lowers the size of the investment.
• Back-end is a sales charge that investors pay when selling mutual fund shares. Generally, a back-end load is a percentage of the value of the share being sold and may decrease over time (usually 6 years).
• Load-waived means that the sales charge normally paid by an investor when purchasing mutual fund shares has been waived. Owning shares in a load-waived fund is a benefit to investors because it allows them to retain all of their investment's return instead of losing a portion of it to fees. The fund’s prospectus explains when loads are waived.
• No load means that mutual fund shares aren’t subject to any sales charge. This occurs because the shares are distributed directly by the investment company, instead of going through a secondary party.

Mutual funds may charge two types of sales charges: front-end load and back-end load. A front-end load fee is charged when you buy shares of a mutual fund. A back-end load fee is charged when you sell your shares of a mutual fund. Funds that don’t charge either kind of fee are generally called no-load mutual funds.

Certain mutual funds (generally, a fund’s Class B shares) may have a contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) if you sell shares within a specified number of years after you buy them. Calculated as a percentage of the value of the shares being sold, the fee varies with each mutual fund and can start out at 5% or more. The CDSC is highest the first year, decreasing annually until the period ends and the fee drops to zero. It’s also known as a back-end load or sales charge.

Bonds are the most common type of fixed income securities. A bond represents a loan to the issuer (e.g., a corporation or government) for a certain period of time. In exchange, the issuer typically pays the bond holder interest until the bond matures. When the bond matures, the issuer repays the bond at its face value (or par value).

These are the main types of bonds:
 

• Treasury bonds are issued by the U.S. government and are generally considered very safe.
• Corporate bonds are issued by companies. Their risk varies, as reflected by a credit rating.
• Municipal bonds are issued by states, their agencies and subdivisions, such as counties and municipalities.
• Agency bonds are issued by federally-sponsored agencies, although these investments aren’t guaranteed by the federal government.
• Zero coupon bonds are bonds issued at a deep discount to their face value but pay no interest.

Accrued interest is the interest you earn on a bond or other fixed income security that hasn’t been paid out. Accrued interest generally starts accumulating the day the purchase of a bond settles.

Face or “par” value is generally the amount the issuer (e.g., a corporation or government) is required to pay the bondholder when a bond matures. Face value stays the same overtime.

The market value of bonds and stocks is determined by the buying and selling activity of all investors on the open market. A bond can be purchased for more or less than its par value, depending on market sentiment. Upon maturity, the bondholder is paid the par value, regardless of the purchase price.

The coupon rate is the stated rate of interest paid on a bond.

The yield to maturity is the annual rate of return you earn if you hold a bond to maturity.

An investment grade security has a relatively low risk of default. Only companies rated at 'BBB-' or higher by Standard and Poor's or Baa3 by Moody's are considered investment grade. Anything below those ratings is considered non-investment grade and carries a higher risk of default.