You can find highly ranked brokers with no account minimum, including TD Ameritrade, Merrill Edge and Ally Invest. All three are on NerdWallet’s list of the best brokers.
But some brokers do require a minimum initial investment, and it can skew toward $500 or more. Many mutual funds also require similar minimum investments, which means even if you’re able to open a brokerage account with a small amount of money, it could be a struggle to actually invest it.
It isn’t impossible, however: We have strategies for how to invest $500 and how to invest $1,000.