J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing Review

Our Take

J.P. Morgan has been a mainstay in the financial world for over 200 years, making it one of the most recognizable and trusted brands in the industry. J.P. Morgan shines bright in not making its Self-Directed Investing platform overly complicated for customers, which is good—especially for new investors. Intermediate investors who prefer DIY investing may find that J.P. Morgan’s Self-Directed Investing platform is a pleasant resource for managing their investments. 

J.P. Morgan’s Self-Directed Investing platform has many features, several of which have been recently enhanced for a more robust user experience. While the platform is quite streamlined with limited account offerings, it does offer hundreds of investment options with fractional share trading, lowering the entry point for investing in high-priced stocks for new investors or those who don’t have much money to invest. J.P. Morgan’s main goal is to provide exceptional customer service by putting the needs of its customers first and seeing things from the customer’s perspective.

Introduction

J.P. Morgan’s history began over two centuries ago, in 1799, when Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton formed The Manhattan Company in the state of New York. J.P. Morgan’s mission is to build and maintain the best and most respected financial services company in the world.  

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is the overarching financial entity and includes the Chase banking side. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. owns broker-dealer J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (JPMS), which, in turn, runs the J.P. Morgan Wealth Management business with its full-service broker that provides various financial products and services. J.P. Morgan Wealth Management has a discount broker with commission-free stocks and ETFs buried inside it known as J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing (formerly “You Invest”). 

What J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing does well is provide user-friendly platforms, tools, and resources to customers. However, a lack of advanced trading tools and other key features may cause more active traders to choose one of J.P. Morgan’s competitors.

Pros & Cons

Pros Explained 

• User-friendly app: J.P. Morgan Chase offers a user-friendly self-directed investing platform on both the website and mobile app. The website and mobile app have similar designs, and the process for completing trades is similar on both platforms. Customers can easily find the sections they are looking for when they log into their account.
• Platform integrates with all Chase accounts: Chase customers who have a Self-Directed Investing account can see all their Chase accounts in the mobile app.
• Commission-free mutual funds: J.P. Morgan's Self-Directed Investing platform offers commission-free online mutual fund trading. This is a rarity among brokers. Some of J.P. Morgan’s competitors either do not offer online mutual fund trading or charge commissions and other transactional fees to trade mutual funds online. Customers should be aware that there are still expenses associated with owning mutual funds, such as annual operating fees, management fees, and more. 

Cons Explained 

• No direct crypto trading: investors seeking crypto investments will have to find other options, as there is no direct cryptocurrency trading in the Self-Directed Investing platform.
• No futures or forex trading: Investors seeking to trade a wider range of assets will have to look elsewhere.
• Limited research tools: J.P. Morgan gives customers access to proprietary research, but there is limited access to third-party research tools. Recently, however, J.P. Morgan has enhanced many of its platform’s capabilities to provide a much more extensive, and increasingly sophisticated, user experience, which we will further detail in the following sections.

Usability

One of the benefits of being a J.P. Morgan customer is that all your accounts are integrated into the website and mobile app platforms, making it convenient to easily view your current financial situation. Both the website and mobile platforms are user-friendly and easy to navigate, whether you’re a new or experienced investor.

J.P. Morgan has recently made enhancements so that clients can now more easily track gains and losses, see contributions and withdrawals to accounts, and assess how their investments are doing compared to the market. Additionally, the company has improved account features to make it easier for investors to screen and explore investment options. Users can now select a default screen for common trading strategies or choose their own with filtering options. Investors also now have the ability to set personalized market alerts, such as price or volume changes to a particular stock.   

Users can customize the layout of the Self-Directed Investing platform on both the website and the mobile app. Customers have the capability to view their Self-Directed Investing account information on multiple platforms and devices simultaneously as long as they are logged into each platform and device.  

Current Chase customers can set up a Self-Directed Investing account in the mobile app in less than five minutes. The application pre-fills some of your information using data from your existing account. Upon completing the application, it takes up to one business day to be processed and the account activated.

Trade Experience

Whether using the website or the mobile app, Self-Directed Investing customers have similar trading experiences. J.P. Morgan recently enhanced its trade ticket, which now provides a guided strategy that has simplified the investment order process. It also allows clients to easily see available cash and view order status. Investors have access to real-time quote streams on the platform.

Mobile Trade Experience

Investors who prefer mobile investing will find that J.P. Morgan’s mobile app features are very similar to the website platform. You have access to all the same tools, resources, account types, order types, and asset classes through the mobile app. Additionally, the mobile app offers screeners for stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs, and customers can customize screens and convert screens to watchlists on the app. Mobile Self-Directed Investing customers have access to market news for the investments in their watchlists, J.P. Morgan Research, and market analysis.

Range of Offerings

Self-Directed Investing customers have access to various types of investments, including:

• Stocks
• Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
• Mutual funds (over 3,000 mutual funds are available; J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing only offers no-load or load-waived funds). 
• Options
• Fixed income (newly issued and secondary market corporate bonds, municipal bonds, government agency bonds, brokered certificates of deposit (CDs), and U.S. Treasury bonds, bills, and notes) 
• Fractional shares (for as low as $5, J.P. Morgan Self-Directed customers can now buy fractional shares in over 800 stocks and ETFs)

Order Types

J.P. Morgan offers four basic order types in the Self-Directed Investing platform:   

• Market
• Limit
• Stop 
• Stop limit

The same order types are offered on the website and in the mobile app. J.P. Morgan doesn’t offer more advanced order types, such as conditional orders like one-cancels-other (OCO). Conditional orders allow an investor to protect profit and minimize loss if a stock’s price declines. More experienced investors and active traders often depend on advanced order types for position management, so their omission makes this group less likely to choose J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing.

Trading Technology

J.P. Morgan uses various processes to execute electronic orders. These include different trading systems and smart order routing (SOR) technology approaches. For instance, SOR is used to split orders into smaller orders and route them to single dealers, securities exchanges, different trading systems, and internal matching systems. There is a specific routing logic used in this process. J.P. Morgan didn’t provide execution statistics. 

Customers must accept electronic trading agreements to use J.P. Morgan’s trading technology. The agreement essentially is that customers will comply with all applicable practices, rules, regulations, policies, and laws.

Costs 

J.P. Morgan makes the costs associated with the Self-Directed Investing account very clear to customers.

• U.S. listed stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, fixed income: $0 commission
• Options: $0 commission + $0.65 per contract
• Broker-assisted trade: $25
• Transfer and close a brokerage account or close a retirement brokerage account: $75
• Wire transfer fee: $25 (does not apply to internal wire transfers)
• Maintenance or inactivity fees: $0
• Deposit or withdrawal fees: $0

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing pricing costs and miscellaneous fees are listed on the website.

How This Broker Makes Money From You and for You

J.P. Morgan makes customers aware that they will have various types of costs and expenses that are associated with investing. Like many of its competitors, J.P. Morgan offers commission-free investments. However, the company must have another option to earn income by providing products and services.

• Interest on idle cash: J.P. Morgan investors can earn 0.01% on uninvested cash by setting up a deposit sweep account. Higher rates of interest are available through a money market fund sweep or a managed deposit sweep account. 
• Price improvement: J.P. Morgan discloses that it works to obtain the best execution of orders to meet customers' guaranteed price orders. It also states that it is committed to providing transparency about its order execution process, which sometimes includes hedging to minimize its market risk. Sometimes, this process may impact the order execution price. To comply with regulations, J.P. Morgan is careful to determine which markets are best for investments and execute orders in those markets at the best price based on current market conditions. J.P. Morgan doesn’t publish execution statistics in an easy-to-digest format. 
• Payment for order flow (PFOF): J.P. Morgan discloses that it may make money from receiving payments for order flow, such as credits, rebates, discounts, and lower fees. J.P. Morgan discloses these payments in its quarterly Rule 606 reports. 

Account and Research Amenities

J.P. Morgan publishes over 100,000 pieces of market research each year. The company utilizes its team of over 800 analysts in 25 countries to report on over 5,200 companies, providing clients with industry-recognized analysis.

Stock Screener

J.P. Morgan’s Self-Directed Investing platform has a stock screener that customers can access on the mobile app and the website. Customers can screen stocks based on technical indicators and Morningstar ratings, save screens for future use, and convert screens into watchlists. With the recent enhancements rolled out for stock screeners, investors have an even greater ability to sort and compare potential investments by creating their own filtering options.

ETF and Mutual Fund Screener

The Self-Directed Investing platform has a screener for ETFs and mutual funds available on the mobile app and website. Customers can screen mutual funds and ETFs based on technical indicators and Morningstar ratings, save screens for future use, and convert screens into watchlists.

Options Screener

Screening for options is not available in the Self-Directed Investing platform.

Fixed Income Screener

Screening for fixed income securities is a feature made available to Self-Directed Investing platform customers.

Tools and Calculators

J.P. Morgan’s Self-Directed Investing customers have access to various financial and retirement planning tools and calculators:

• 401(k)/403(b) calculator
• IRA calculator
• Traditional to Roth IRA conversion calculator
• IRA eligibility calculator
• Annuity calculator
• Career break calculator

Additionally, clients have access to the J.P. Morgan Wealth Plan, which helps investors track income and expenses, set and track financial goals, get personalized tips, and have one place to easily see an overview of their financial situation. Investors can use Wealth Plan on the website or via the app. 

Charting

J.P. Morgan’s Self-Directed Investing platform offers investors several charting types:

• Line
• Area
• OHLC
• HLC
• Candlestick
• Bar
• Dot

Drawing options are also available on the website and mobile app. Customers can use technical indicators to customize charts. 

Trading Idea Generators

Self-Directed Investing customers have access to a recently enhanced “Explore” option to help search for investments. Investors can view ideas from J.P. Morgan analysts, easily discover which stocks are most active in the market currently, or see which companies have high growth potential.

News

Mobile Self-Directed Investing customers have access to market news for the investments in their watchlists. Customers can subscribe to the biweekly The Know newsletter to receive news about investing trends, strategy recommendations, and market analysis. Additionally, customers can subscribe to The Know: In Focus, which allows them to choose topics they’d like to receive information on, including:

• Learn to invest
• Retirement essentials
• Economic & market outlook
• Investment strategies
• Planning your taxes
• Planning for your family

Third-Party Research

While third-party research is not evident on the website, customers still have access to the company’s proprietary J.P. Morgan Markets, DataQuery, and Global Index Research platforms. J.P. Morgan Research contains research on over 1,200 companies.

Cash Management

If Self-Directed Investing customers have cash balances in their accounts, J.P. Morgan places the cash into a deposit account. Customers can choose to have the funds automatically swept into a bank deposit sweep account at 0.01% or a money market fund sweep account with yields up to 4.94% as of Oct. 3, 2024.

Fractional Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP)

J.P. Morgan offers customers the option to make fractional share investments, including dividend reinvestments. 

SRI/ESG Research Amenities

There is a section called Find Investments in the Self-Directed Investing platform where customers can search for mutual funds, stocks, and ETFs. There is a filter option to only search for socially responsible investments (SRI) in the mutual funds and ETFs search sections. Customers can view individual quotes, track the investment’s performance, view Morningstar’s ratings, and more.

Portfolio Analysis

J.P. Morgan has made several upgrades to its platform recently, all of which assist the investor with portfolio analysis.

• Track account performance: Investors can easily identify gains and losses, contributions and withdrawals over time; contrast how investments are doing compared to the market
• Explore potential investments: investors can view the most active stocks, stocks that are outperforming, companies that pay the highest dividends, and more.
• Enhanced screener options: Investors now have the ability to sort and compare investments and choose a preset screen or create their own with filtering options.
• Personalized market alerts: These can be set for current or potential investments.

Education

J.P. Morgan offers various free educational resources to Self-Directed Investing customers. Customers can subscribe to The Know: In Focus, which is a biweekly email of articles and videos that cover various topics. Topics include economic and market outlook, investing basics from A to Z, information about retirement, and more. There is also a section on the website called The Know which contains various articles and videos on various topics, market trends, research, and more.

Customer Service

Customers have a variety of ways to contact customer service on the website and in the mobile app. On the website, there is an entire page dedicated to customer service and how and where all J.P. Morgan Chase customers can find help.

• Customer service is available by phone or at a local branch during normal business hours.
• There is no live chat option.
• In the mobile app, customers have access to a 24/7 Chase Digital Assistant chat function.
• Customers can contact customer service through Chase’s social media accounts: X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, Instagram
• Both the website and mobile app have Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) sections on various pages. 
• Customers have the option to speak with a licensed advisor or broker during normal business hours. 

Security and Reliability

J.P. Morgan takes its role to protect its customers’ information and accounts seriously. It uses a variety of processes and procedures to secure information, including:

• Data encryption
• Safeguards against suspicious account activity
• Secure connection to outside apps so you don’t have to give outside sources your password
• A multiple-step authentication process when logging in from a device that isn’t recognized or for a first-time login
• Biometric login features such as Apple's fingerprint and facial recognition or Android's fingerprint login 
• Membership in the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC); cash sweep is protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

Transparency

Throughout the website and in the mobile app, J.P. Morgan provides detailed information about the pricing and fee structure for the Self-Directed Investing platform. Customers can also find additional information about various terms, costs, fees, risks of investing, and more in the footnotes that are normally located near the bottom of the company’s web pages. J.P. Morgan provides details about its order execution process and payments it receives according to regulatory requirements, but doesn’t make these as easy to understand as many other brokers.

Available Account Types

J.P. Morgan offers just three Self-Directed Investing accounts: 

• Individual taxable account 
• Traditional individual retirement account (IRA)
• Roth IRA

The Bottom Line

J.P. Morgan is a financial company with over two centuries of history. The heft of the J.P. Morgan brand helps its products and services succeed even when the offering itself is quite simple. Without a doubt, J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing is streamlined; however, that doesn’t mean that it lacks options. Due to recent enhancements implemented by the company, investors now have a more robust platform to get a full overview of their financial picture, resources to help plan for retirement, and options to choose and monitor current and potential investments.  

With the April 2024 addition of investing in fractional shares for as little as $5, investors can now invest in high-dollar stocks without having to invest the amount for a full share. This helps new investors and those who don’t have much to invest enter into the market and still be able to diversify their portfolios. J.P. Morgan, being a part of Chase, also provides an all-in-one option for both investing and banking, making it even more convenient by integrating all accounts on their platform. While more sophisticated or active traders may not be impressed with the simplicity of the platform, a J.P. Morgan self-directed account will fit the needs of most investors.

Compare J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing to Similar Brokers

How We Picked the Best Online Brokers and Trading Platforms

Providing readers with unbiased, comprehensive reviews of online brokers and trading platforms is a top priority for Investopedia. We combined our industry research, subject matter expertise, and investor survey data to guide the research and weightings for our 2024 online broker awards. To collect the data, we sent a digital survey with 110 questions to each of the 26 companies we included in our rubric. Additionally, our team of researchers verified the survey responses and collected any missing data points through online research and conversations with each company directly. The data collection process spanned from Feb. 19 to March 19, 2024.

We then developed a proprietary model that scored each company to rate its performance across 11 major categories and 89 criteria to find the best online brokers and trading platforms. The score for each company’s overall star rating is a weighted average of the criteria in the following categories:

Additionally, during our 2024 research, many of the companies we reviewed gave us live demonstrations of their platforms and services via video conferencing methods and also granted our team of expert writers and editors access to live accounts so they could perform hands-on testing.

Through this all-encompassing data collection and review process, Investopedia has provided you with an unbiased and thorough review of the top online brokers and trading platforms.

Learn more about how we review online brokers.