Investing with ING has numerous benefits. Initially, ING offered only a money market account through its Orange Savings Account. However, after some acquisitions and developments, online investors can truly benefits from the wealth of products offered by ING.
Savings Vehicles
ING started its offering in the United States with its Orange Savings Accounts, a high-yielding, FDIC-insured savings vehicle that acted more like a money market account than a savings account. Later on, the company began to offer the Orange CD (Certificate of Deposit) as another savings vehicle. Both savings vehicles may be opened with no minimum and the interest earned from a CD may be reinvested in the CD or deposited into the Orange Savings Account. Savers may also withdraw all or a portion of their Orange CD with limited penalties as opposed to the fees and penalties incurred when dealing with banks and credit unions. The damage that an Orange CD will suffer will be loss of value and interest if withdrawn early. Both savings vehicles offer investors a comforting yield beyond the brick and mortar competition as well as some online competitors.
Checking with Earning Power
The Electric Orange Account serves as a checking account on steroids. It is not only an FDIC-insured account like the Orange Savings Account. It also carries the feature where you can get a MasterCard debit/ ATM card for the account. In fact, you may be able to catch an online offer for a “signing bonus,” where ING will award your account a bonus for just signing up and add it to the credit on your account. The account accumulates interest also, although it is at a slightly lower rate than the Orange Savings Account. With the electronic bill payment feature and the ability to link to an investment account as well as an external checking or savings account, ING’s Electric Orange Account is an account with some beneficial features for those who make a high volume of transfers and use plastic at the counter.
Investments
ING offers the average investor some superior advantages. With the acquisition of ShareBuilder, ING investors can invest in stock for as low as $4 per trade. It may sound like a gimmick, but that is the honest truth. SharBuilder investors can set up monthly investments of shares of stock in incremental orders that utilize a dollar-cost-averaging strategy and save on trading costs. In essence, that benefits the investor by allowing him or her to invest more while spending less on the costs to trade in and out of stocks. The ShareBuilder account may be connected to the ING savings accounts and funded via online transfer on a periodic basis such as monthly, bimonthly or otherwise.
There are limits to investing with ING and ShareBuilder. Certain types of investment vehicles may not be available through ING. They may be researched via ShareBuilder, but they cannot be purchased in that account. ING offers its own line of Mutual Funds as well as an offering of fund families. Funds purchased through ING’s ShareBuilder must be purchased with the minimum initial investment as stipulated by the mutual fund company. However, when one calculates the trading costs and fees compared with full-service and other discount brokerage houses in light of the features for the accounts offered by ING, ING will typically come out on top due to its ease of use and convenience as well as its savings directly to the investor.
For more information on ING and its numerous products and services such as business accounts, mortgages and other information, visit their home page online or call (800) 464-3473.