JPMorgan launching free stock trading app

JPMorgan
CEO Jamie Dimon.
Thomson
Reuters

• JPMorgan is taking the plunge into the world of
  low-cost stock trading,
  according to a CNBC report. 
• JPMorgan has been rolling-out a number of services to
  target younger investors. That puts it in direct competition
  with startup firms like Robinhood. 

JPMorgan is taking the plunge into the market for low-cost stock
trading, another sign the investing giant is going after the
business of younger, sexier startup firms like Robinhood. 

The New York-based firm is launching its new investing app set to
next week, according to a CNBC report. The new app would offer
discounted stock trading, a portfolio-building feature, and
access to the investment bank’s research 

Customers who download JPMorgan’s banking app can get 100 free
trades in the first year. 

Across the brokerage industry firms have been under pressure to
lower cost amid rising competition. Notably, California brokerage
Robinhood pioneered free stock trading, forcing establishment
firms like Fidelity and TDAmeritrade to slash their pricing. Most
recently, Fidelity announced no-fee index funds. 

Still,
large firms like JPMorgan have been encroaching on Silicon
Valley’s turf, offering more services that target millennials
and inexperienced investors. Meanwhile, financial technology
firms such as Robinhood and Betterment have been rolling out more
advanced services to target wealthier clients. Robinhood, for
instance,
launched multi-leg options and Betterment, which had been the
poster-child for automated investment advice,
rolled-out a portfolio coupled with human advice. 

JPMorgan has already taken a big step towards winning over the
hearts of younger Americans with a new branch-less banking
service, Finn. And the app’s autosave functionality mimics
the key features of investing startup Acorns and Stash. 

Devin Ryan, an analyst at JMP Securities, said JPMorgan’s recent
moves shows that startups aren’t immune from big banks
copy-catting and then improving upon services they pioneered.

“The best features that are getting launched today are being
replicated in some cases by the incumbents,” Ryan said. “And in
some cases the incumbents are launching them on their own.”

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