Express Funding

What is Express Funding?

Express Funding allows you to place a buy order (real-time and mutual funds) when you do not have enough Cash Available for Investing to cover the entire order. Essentially, it will allow you to place the order without requiring that you first post a deposit to your account.

Here's how it works – If you are trying to place a buy order that exceeds your Cash Available for Investing, selecting Express Funding as your Funding Source will automatically create an electronic funds deposit to transfer the required amount from your checking or savings account. ShareBuilder will then place your trade as instructed without delay while we process the transfer.

You can use Express Funding for real-time buy orders in individual, joint and custodial accounts. You are limited to $5,000 in outstanding Express Funding transfers at any one time, and the minimum deposit amount is $35.00. There is a $6.95 charge for each trade that uses Express Funding. This charge is added to the cost of your trade. The charge is waived if the money is coming from an ING DIRECT bank account.

Note: For Express Funding orders placed before 5:00pm (ET) on a business day, the electronic funds deposit will be processed the same day. If the order is placed after 5:00pm (ET), over the weekend or on a holiday, the deposit will be processed on the next business day. In either case, the funds will post to your ShareBuilder account on the business day following the processing.

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How is the Express Funding deposit amount calculated?

The Express Funding Transfer Amount is the difference between the Estimated Cost of Trade and your cash available for investing. In addition to this, we’ll ask you to authorize a little more to account for any increase in the stock price that may happen by the time your order is executed. For example, if the estimated total cost of the trade is $750 and your cash available for investing is $500, the Express Funding deposit request (the Transfer Amount) will be $282: $250 to complete the trade, plus $25 to account for market volatility, plus $6.95 for the Express Funding charge (rounded up).

Note: The $6.95 Express Funding charge is automatically added to the cost of the trade when you place the trade. The charge is waived if the money is coming from an ING DIRECT bank account. For example, if your real-time trade commission is $9.95 and you place a trade using Express Funding with money coming from a non-ING DIRECT bank account, $6.95 will be added, bringing your total commission to $16.90. If your trade does not execute, you will not be charged $6.95 and this amount will remain in your account.

In some cases the amount needed to complete the trade may exceed the ‘Estimated Required Amount’. If this happens, we will not update the amount you authorized. This situation will result in a negative cash balance in your account and you will need to make another deposit that covers the debit balance.

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How much money can I request with Express Funding?

An account that is eligible to use Express Funding can request up $5,000 at any one time. This can be in a single real-time trade or it can be spread across multiple smaller trades. After the deposit requests have posted to your ShareBuilder account (generally the business day after the request has been processed and submitted to your bank or credit union), you will be able to place additional real-time trades using Express Funding.

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What securities can I buy with Express Funding?

Securities must meet ShareBuilder's specific criteria, such as market capitalization and average daily volume, in order to be eligible for Express Funding. Most stocks on the ShareBuilder Stock List are available for purchase with Express Funding, and new securities are added periodically based on how well the securities meet our criteria. Option contracts are not eligible for Express Funding. ShareBuilder Securities Corporation reserves the right to change the eligibility of a stock for Express Funding at any time.

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How do I pay the Express Funding charge?

The $6.95 Express Funding charge is automatically added to the cost of your trade (real-time and mutual funds) when you place the trade unless the funds are coming from a bank account you have with ING DIRECT. For example, if your real-time trade commission is $9.95 and you place a trade using Express Funding with funds coming from a bank other than ING DIRECT, $6.95 will be added, bringing your total commission to $16.90.

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How can I get the Express Funding charge waived?

The Express Funding charge of $6.95 is waived for customers who use their Electric Orange checking account or Orange Savings Account to fund a trade. If you are not currently funding your ShareBuilder account from your ING DIRECT account, you can update your bank account information when you verify the details of your Express Funding trade.

For more information about ING DIRECT banking products, visit the Banking tab on the ShareBuilder website.

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How do I cancel my Express Funding request?

If you want to cancel an Express Funding request, you must first cancel the trade order that initiated this deposit.

Note: If the trade that initiated the Express Funding deposit request has already executed, you cannot cancel the deposit.

To cancel the order, follow the instructions below:
  1. Navigate to Trade > Order Status (login required).
  2. Locate the trade (real-time or mutual fund)) that initiated the deposit.
  3. If the Status is 'Open,' click the Detail link for the trade.
  4. On the order details page, click the Cancel Order link.

Once the request to cancel the order is complete and if the Express Funding deposit request is unprocessed, it will be cancelled automatically when the request to cancel the order is complete. Learn more about when a request to cancel a trade order will be processed.

Note: Express Funding deposit requests are processed at 5:00pm (ET), and cannot be cancelled after this deadline. If you have cancelled the initiating real-time trade order but your funds are still transferred, the funds will be available in your Money market cash balance on the following business day. ou will not be charged the Express Funding charge in this case, although it will have been transferred as part of the deposit request.

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Securities products are: Not FDIC insured • Not Bank guaranteed • May lose value