J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing FAQs

A J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing brokerage account lets you trade stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options and fixed income products online on your own.

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 currently 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.

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

You can find out more about investing at chase.com. In the top menu, choose “Investments” then “Investing 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 stock, ETF, mutual fund trades, & options  online anytime between 6:15 AM and 2 AM ET. Only limit orders are allowed outside market hours (weekdays 9:30 AM - 4 PM ET). 

You can place fixed income trades online anytime on market trading days between 8:30 AM and 5 PM ET.

You can currently trade stocks, ETFs, and options using a J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing margin account. Only 1 margin account is allowed per person.

If you would like to open a margin account, you can go to the margin application in Profiles & Settings. 

You cannot trade, transfer or hold digital assets including cryptocurrencies directly on the platform. However, you can find cryptocurrency ETFs on the platform.

When you sell a security, it generally takes 1 to 3 business days for the trade to settle before the cash proceeds can be withdrawn. Check your Transactions to see the settlement date for a trade.

You can open a J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing account here.

To open a Self-Directed Investing account, you need to be at least 18 years old and have a valid Social Security number and U.S. home address. We may also ask you for your valid driver's license or state-issued ID. Apply now for a Self-Directed Investing account.

You can open a Self-Directed Investing account right now, even if you’re not already a Chase bank customer.

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing is a brokerage account which gives you full control to manage your investments on your own and offers retirement (Traditional and Roth IRA) accounts and non-retirement accounts.

No, there is no minimum amount required to open a J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing account. Apply now for a Self-Directed Investing account.

We save your application for 30 days. To continue working on your application, open the menu in the top left corner of your Chase dashboard on web. Under ‘Explore Products’, choose ‘Application status’, then choose ‘See your pending investment account applications’ to see your Application Status page.

Please note that the application status feature is only available on the web and not on mobile.

In your web browser, open the menu in the top left corner of your Chase dashboard. Under ‘Explore Products’, choose ‘Application status’, then choose ‘See your pending investment account applications’ to see your Application Status page.

If your application isn't on the Application Status page and you haven’t received a submission email, then there may have been an error. If you need help, call us at 1-800-392-5749, Monday-Friday 8 AM to 9 PM and Saturday 9 AM to 5 PM ET.

An individual retirement account (IRA) is intended to hold assets for your retirement. 

There are 2 types of IRAs: Traditional and Roth. They have different tax benefits and different rules.

Apply to open a J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing IRA here. 

To open an IRA with a J.P. Morgan advisor, please fill out our form..

You can learn more about IRAs here (PDF).

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing accounts can only be opened as personal accounts.

You can open a Self-Directed Investing account here.

If you have questions, you can call us at 1-800-392-5749, Monday-Friday 8 AM to 9 PM and Saturday 9 AM to 5 PM ET.

We’ll review your application within 1 business day and will reach out if we have any questions. You’ll get an email letting you know when your account is open or if further action is required.

You’ll need your Social Security or other eligible Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), employer’s name and mailing address, and an identification document such as a driver’s license or state ID. Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN) are not eligible.

Yes, you can open an account with one other applicant. To open a joint account online, both applicants must already have an existing joint Chase bank account or J.P. Morgan investing account together. If you do not have an existing joint account through Chase or J.P. Morgan, please visit a Chase branch for assistance in opening the account.

If you have questions about your J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing account, please call us at 1-800-392-5749, Monday-Friday 8 AM to 9 PM and Saturday 9 AM to 5 PM ET.

You can learn more about J.P. Morgan investment products here.

To open a J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing online, apply here. 

You can also go to a Chase branch and speak with a J.P. Morgan advisor about our investment products.

U.S. stocks or ADRs that aren't listed on a major U.S. exchange are traded "over the counter," or "OTC." You can trade certain OTC stocks or ADRs in J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing accounts, with a few notable exceptions:

Penny stocks purchases are not allowed. We define a penny stock as any security, such as a stock or ADR, that is trading at a price less than $5.00 and is not listed on a major U.S. exchange. Please contact the Service Center if you wish to liquidate an existing position.

You cannot buy securities classified as "Expert Market." The Expert Market is a specific market tier within the OTC Markets Group, a marketplace for trading securities that are not listed on major exchanges like the NYSE or NASDAQ. Also, open orders in a security that moves to the "Expert Market" tier will be cancelled. However, sell orders will be accepted and traded on a best efforts basis, and could execute at a price that differs significantly from the last market price. You can learn more about OTC Market securities here.

• Market: A market order means you buy or sell a security based on current market price.
• Limit: A limit order is an order to buy or sell a security 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) a security 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 security 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 will be executed at a specified Limit price (or better).

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.

Dividends are regular payments that certain companies make to their investors to share profits. Dividend payments usually come in the form of cash, although they can also be issued as shares of stock or other assets.

You can choose what to do with your dividends for your entire account or just one position in your portfolio. If you choose "Reinvest," these dividends will be used to purchase additional shares or units. If you choose "Pay in cash," you will receive the distributions as cash in your investment account.

Yes, you can buy fractional shares for eligible securities and ETFs. You can place market orders with fractional shares (up to 5 decimal places) or enter a dollar value, starting at $5, and we’ll calculate the share amount for you.

You can place orders during market hours (9:30AM to 4PM ET) on trading days.

See a list of eligible securities.

You cannot trade non-U.S. securities in your J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing account. However, you can trade ADRs that are listed in a major U.S. exchange.

Here's a list of mutual funds you can trade in your J.P, Morgan Self-Directed Investing accounts.

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.

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 the 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.

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.

Clients can't buy Class-C mutual funds on J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing accounts, You can see a list of mutual funds available for purchase in your J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing account here. For questions about mutual funds available for purchase in managed investment accounts, please call us at 1-800-392-5749, Monday-Friday 8 AM - 9 PM EST, or contact your financial advisor.

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 the 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.

Certificates of deposit (CDs) are savings certificates offered by banks and credit unions that typically offer a predetermined interest rate over a specified period. CDs earn income by locking in an interest rate that is paid back in fixed, regular payments or at maturity. CDs held in a J.P. Morgan brokerage account are eligible for FDIC insurance. You can currently trade new issue and secondary market brokered CDs.

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 over time.

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.

The main factors that impact the prices of fixed income securities include:

• interest rate changes
• default or credit risk
• secondary market liquidity risk

Since bonds are issued based on prevailing interest rates, changes in the rates have an impact on their market value.  Interest rates and bond prices have an inverse relationship. As interest rates go up, bond prices generally fall. Let’s say you purchased a $500 bond that pays a 6% rate of interest.  If interest rates rise to 7%, new bonds issued by the same company would become more attractive because investors stand to earn 1% more in interest. Investors aren’t likely to buy your bond unless you discount it. On the flip side, you would benefit from a drop in interest rates because your bonds would be more desirable to potential buyers.

Credit or default risk is the second factor that impacts bond prices. The issuer may go out of business and may not be able to pay its interest rate and principal obligations. Issuers of high-yield bonds have a lower credit rating and are in greater risk of default. To make up for the higher risk, these bonds will pay higher interest rates. Credit rating agencies provide ratings to help investors weigh the risk associated with these bonds.

Most bonds are traded over the counter (OTC), which means that trades are done not on an exchange, usually between two parties. If a bond has few buyers and sellers, there is liquidity risk, meaning an investor may not be able to sell a bond quickly enough to prevent or minimize a loss in value. 

A zero coupon is a bond that doesn’t pay interest until it reaches maturity.  An investor receives one payment, which includes principal and interest, when the bond matures.

Unlike a zero coupon, a regular bond pays interest at regular intervals but also pays the bond’s face value to the bondholder at maturity.

The difference between level 1 and level 2 are the strategies available to you. Covered calls, cash-secured puts and protective puts are level 1 strategies on J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing. Self-Directed Investing accounts with margin are not allowed to sell puts as a cash-secured strategy.

Level 2 strategies on J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing are long calls, long puts and all the strategies included in level 1.

• Any option contracts that are in the money when they expire will automatically get exercised. Option contracts that expire out of the money without getting exercised will expire worthless and get removed in your account.
• If your account does not have enough funds to cover the cost of exercising or assigning the option, or if your account cannot hold the resulting position, we may take action on the position on your behalf, such as closing your position. For more details, see our Options Agreement.

You can see your assigned or exercised option positions in Positions.

You cannot open any new non-standard option positions on J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing.

You cannot open option positions the same day that they expire on J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing.

You cannot open option positions that expire midweek on J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing.

To exercise your option contract early, simply call us at 1-800-392-5749.

You cannot trade index options on J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing at this time.

You cannot trade multi-leg option strategies on J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing at this time.