Webull is a commission-free online discount brokerage that also offers cryptocurrency trading, retirement accounts, and margin trading. The company also provides several other essential features, such as full extended hours trading, free real-time market quotes, and online customer support that is available around the clock.
The company is an SEC-registered brokerage that is also a member of FINRA, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), and NASDAQ. The New York-based startup was founded in 2017. At the same time, the company’s app is available for both iOS and Android.
What is Webull?
Webull is a New York-based Chinese financial technology company. In 2016, Wang Anquan, the company’s founder, and CEO founded Fumi Technology, a Chinese fintech company that now operates a trading platform. To compete with market leader Robinhood, it launched a Chinese trading app in 2017. This fintech company sought to gain legitimacy in the American market. As a result, the company opened offices in New York and hired Wall Street veteran Anthony Denier as CEO.
The firm’s initial focus was on improving mobile trading tools, including advanced charting packages for mobile devices. Due to the GameStop debacle in early2021, many Robinhood users migrated to its trading platform, increasing revenue.
How Does Webull Work?
Webull is basically an online discount broker that allows you to trade on the go. It moves away from the traditional desktop-dominated market to make trading tools available on the go. To trade stocks or ETFs, users do not need to learn a complex trading platform like Sterling Pro or DAS Trader.
Traders can use it on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and Linux. This trading company, Robinhood, and Interactive Brokers all offer ETF trading and commission-free stock. However, active traders seeking low-cost individual brokerage and margin accounts should consider the company.
Conversely, Interactive Brokers is a better fit for all investors. It has self-directed brokerage accounts, automated investing accounts, IRAs, and other products that help people build wealth.
Trading on Brokerage Accounts
Webull specializes in individual cash and margin accounts. Accounts do not charge commissions on US-listed stocks, ETFs, or options. But some of the fintech’s regulators and clearing firms still charge small trade fees.
The margin accounts of the company provide you with additional purchasing power by allowing you to use any securities you own or unsettled funds to purchase additional securities. This will allow you to need at least $2,000 to start.
The platform also enables you to trade multiple cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, zcash, bitcoin cash, litecoin, dash, dogecoin, ethereum classic, ethereum, cardano, stella lumens, and shiba inu are currently supported by the corporate.
While the cryptocurrency market is open 24 hours a day, the extended hours trading feature of the trading platform allows you to trade traditional investments such as ETFs and stocks from 4 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. or 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. (The normal hours of the stock market are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time).
Individual Retirement accounts
The corporate believes in traditional, Roth, and rollover IRAs. This means you can open an individual retirement account, and also contribute pre- or post-tax dollars. Plus, you can choose to roll over your employer-sponsored retirement plan.
Additionally, IRA accounts are limited to stock and ETF trading.
What is The Webull Business Model?
Webull provides a special value proposition that a few other systems fail flat to match.
Available Features (Stock Trading, Exchange-Traded Funds, Options Trading, Cryptos, and American Depository Receipts)
The trading corporate provides free trading on the majority of things which increasingly becomes common in the trading environment of today. To reduce trading fees, the application has developed an ETF and stock matching service.
It has a big advantage over some of its rivals because it lets people trade options contracts for free. Various other brokerages levy small trading fees on their options contracts, which is common. The firm also lets you trade cryptocurrency for free, with amounts as small as $1. In other words, the app will automatically clear all trades in their supported cryptos if they are worth a minimum of $1 or more.
Best Platform for Intermediate Traders and Pro Traders
The app fills an intriguing market need that no other app appears to fill: a user experience capable of meeting the needs of advanced traders while also providing research tools as well as ample stock analysis to intermediate traders. Before publication, no app met this niche market needs. This broadens the app’s appeal to more users, potentially increasing its user base.
It’s worth noting that, despite the initially massive demonstration of technical indicators, financial data, as well as other stock figures and facts, this platform is simple to navigate because of its user-friendly interface.
This simple design allows its users to range from people who are just starting to trade to people who are more advanced. The company has options that are good for both types of traders.
$1.99 Advance Subscription Up to 3 Months
When you sign up for an account, you will automatically receive free complimentary access to Level 2 trading quotes. These quotes give you a better idea of the market’s direction, sentiment, and pricing.
Investors who are intermediate or advanced can benefit from this feature, but even new traders can gain deeper insights into financial data by learning how to read it.
Low Margin Trading Rates
The firm provides competitive and attractive margin trading rates to its customers without charging additional fees for holders of margin accounts. Unlike many of its rivals, this organization has slightly lower rate tiers, and customers having a bank account of at least $2,000 may utilize the service for free. Numerous different services, such as Robinhood, have greater rates and yet also cost an entry fee on top of that.
As a side note, this could easily be viewed as a disadvantage if used by an unpracticed investor who is unaware of the consequences related to margin trading, which can certainly be considered as a risk. Straightforwardly, margin trading is fraught with danger— many brokers outright prohibit it due to the high risk of investor mismanagement.
Before implementing any margin trading plan, ensure that you are fully aware and accept the risks associated with this trading type plus how to prudently control hazards if you are involved in a certain operation.
How Does Webull Make Money?
Webull makes money by paying large High-Frequency Trading Firms (HFTs) for order flow, allowing them to profit from the spread between selling and buying shares. They also make money from interest on margin accounts, short-selling fees, and subscription fees paid by platform users.
The flow of Order Payment
When a user makes a transaction on the platform, it is not immediately sent to the market. The company instead routes the order through a market maker, similar to a high-frequency trading firm (HFT). HFT can use this model to earn commission by trading stocks at a spread.
To put it another way, the HFT bank that processes your order will sell it to other market makers in nanoseconds, profiting from the “spread” arbitrage or selling and buying price.
There is a company called Apex Clearing Corporation that works with this fintech company to settle transactions. The firm receives a fee from the market maker for sending its orders. The question of whether or not this is a good thing to do is the subject of a lot of debate. With many brokers now offering commission-free trading, we think this will become the new normal for trading.
Monthly Subscriptions
Webull established a reputation for providing advanced trading as well as charting tools to its users. The company teamed up with Nasdaq TotalView, which gives traders on its platform access to Level 2 and Level 1 market-depth data, which is not available at competitors like Robinhood
Level 1 data is available at no cost. If the user wants Level 2 data, they must pay the subscription of $1.99 per month.
Margin Trading Option
Webull provides margin trading, which allows users to quickly grow a small account. Margin allows traders to leverage their account balance in order to make larger gains. For example, if you have $100 in your trading account and a 3:1 margin, you can purchase up to $300 in stock.
In addition, the company earns income by charging interest on margin loans. As for the margin interest rate, it ranges from 3.99 percent to 6.99 percent.
Interest Charges for Short Selling
Webull, like its margin-based income model, allows traders to borrow shares to short the market. The trader pays the platform interest on the outstanding shares, which makes this firm a profit when the position is closed, and the trade is settled.
To use the short-selling feature, traders must have a margin account. Traders pay interest on shares held in trade. Traders hold shares for only a few minutes on some scalper days, whereas swing investors may keep them for several days.
Fees for Withdrawing and Depositing
Webull, unlike the majority of other online brokers, charges a fee for incoming bank wire deposits. Additionally, depositing money costs $8 and withdrawing costs $25 if you use a wire transfer from domestic.
International wires are more costly. Wire transfers cost $12.50, while withdrawals cost a whopping $45 per withdrawal. Also, Automated Clearing House or ACH network transfers are free, but reversing an ACH transaction costs $30.