To set up automatic investing, create a recurring purchase instruction with your brokerage: choose an eligible account and investment, select where the money will come from, set an amount and schedule, then review and confirm. Depending on the broker, you may also need to arrange a separate recurring deposit so cash is available before each purchase.
What automatic investing does—and what it does not do
A recurring investment is an instruction to buy an eligible investment on a schedule. Some brokerages can pull the purchase amount from a linked bank account; others may require you to fund the brokerage account separately. That distinction matters: a purchase schedule alone does not ensure that money will be ready when the order is due.
Scheduled purchases do not guarantee a particular market price, a profit, or protection from loss. J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing states, “Recurring investing does not guarantee a profit or protect against a loss.” Order handling also differs by provider. Fidelity says scheduled stock and ETF purchases are market orders on the selected investment date; if that date is not a trading day, execution moves to the next trading day. Mutual fund purchases receive the next available price based on the selected date. Check your broker’s current order disclosures before setting a plan.
Before you create a schedule
- Confirm eligibility. Check that your account type and chosen investment support recurring purchases. Brokers differ in the securities and accounts they allow.
- Decide how it will be funded. Find out whether the purchase can draw directly from a linked bank account or whether you must first deposit cash into the brokerage account. Check the required lead time.
- Choose an amount and frequency you can sustain. Review the broker’s minimums, limits, available dates, and any investment-specific minimum. Do not assume another provider has the same rules.
- Understand order and cancellation terms. Check how purchases are priced, what happens on non-trading days, and when you can edit, pause, or cancel an upcoming transaction.
- For an IRA or other tax-advantaged account, check contribution rules separately. Account eligibility, contribution limits, and tax treatment depend on your circumstances; the recurring-purchase feature does not resolve those questions.
Set up automatic investing
- Sign in and open the recurring-investment feature. Look for labels such as “recurring investment,” “automatic investing,” or “recurring purchase.” Exact menu names vary by broker and app version.
- Select the account. Choose the brokerage account in which you want purchases made, then verify that this account type is eligible for the feature.
- Choose the investment. Select an eligible stock, ETF, mutual fund, basket, or portfolio option offered by your broker. Confirm the exact investment before proceeding; availability is provider-specific.
- Choose the funding source. Select available brokerage cash or a linked bank account if the broker supports direct funding for the purchase. If you need to deposit separately, set up that transfer with enough lead time for the cash to be available by the purchase date.
- Enter the amount and schedule. Choose an amount, frequency, and date from the options shown. Check minimums, maximums, and any fund-specific investment requirement.
- Review and confirm. On the preview or confirmation screen, verify the account, investment, amount, schedule, funding source, and order handling. Submit only when those details are correct.
- Check the first scheduled transaction. After its date, review the plan and account activity to confirm that funding and the purchase occurred as expected. Locate the controls for editing, pausing, or canceling before relying on future transactions.
How broker features differ
These official provider examples illustrate differences; they are not market-wide rules or a ranking. Features, eligibility, limits, and interfaces can change, so confirm the terms shown in your own account.
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| Broker | Documented recurring-investment support | Funding and setup details | Limits or qualifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fidelity | Stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and Fidelity Basket Portfolios; listed eligible accounts include brokerage and cash management accounts, traditional/rollover/Roth IRAs, and HSAs. | Plans may use a core cash position or linked bank account. Fidelity says plans can be changed or canceled. Its September 2, 2025 tutorial describes selecting an investment, amount, frequency, funding option, previewing, and confirming. | Fidelity’s feature page, accessed October 4, 2026, lists $1–$100,000 for stocks, ETFs, and baskets, and $10–$100,000 for mutual funds. Funds may have separate minimums; these are Fidelity-specific figures and may change. |
| J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing (Chase) | Eligible stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. | The FAQ describes choosing the account, funding source, security, amount, and frequency. Funding may come from investment-account cash or an internal or external bank account; external bank funds are withdrawn one business day before each trade date, according to the FAQ. | Confirm current eligibility and cutoff rules in the account. The FAQ cautions that recurring investing does not guarantee profit or prevent loss. |
| Webull | Stocks, ETFs, or Wefolios, according to its help page. | The documented app flow is to choose a target, find the recurring-investment control, follow the prompts, and confirm. | The help page lists supported account types. Interface labels and availability may change. |
| Interactive Brokers | Its feature page describes automatically investing funds according to a predetermined strategy on a recurring schedule. | Detailed setup steps and funding arrangements are not stated on the cited feature page. | Check the provider’s current account and feature terms for eligibility and operating details. |
How to stop or change a recurring investment
Use the recurring-investment or plan-management area in your brokerage account to find the schedule and its available controls. The exact path and deadline vary, so review the upcoming transaction date and the provider’s cancellation terms before assuming a change will affect the next purchase. Fidelity says its plans can be changed or canceled; the reviewed provider information does not establish a universal cancellation cutoff or a market-wide policy for failed payments.
If you are stopping a plan because the brokerage balance may be insufficient, check the broker’s funding and failed-payment rules directly. Do not assume an order will be skipped, delayed, or canceled in a particular way unless the provider says so.
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Questions to resolve with your broker
- Which of my account types and chosen investments are eligible?
- Can the scheduled purchase pull directly from my bank, or must cash already be available in the account?
- What are the schedule options, purchase-date rules, minimums, maximums, fees, and investment-specific requirements?
- How are orders priced, and what happens if the scheduled date is not a trading day?
- When does a change or cancellation take effect, and what happens if funding is late or insufficient?
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
