How many of you keep an E*Trade, Scotttrade...etc account?
(Senior Monkey, 99
Points)
on 7/26/10 at 5:31pm
Just wondering how many of you WSO members trade for your own sake on these websites? I'm considering opening an account soon to invest on my own, and was wondering if you had any advice on which site/ investment methods to use. I would like to find undervalued small cap stocks, but wonder if this is the best strategy considering a small bank roll. Thanks for your input guys
Alex
Control your own destiny, or someone else will.
before you go setting up an
before you go setting up an etrade acct. , check out this article to help you decide which provider is suitable for you.
http://www.moneybluebook.com/reviews-of-the-best-o...
thanks General Thade! do you
thanks General Thade!
do you use an online brokerage? and if you do what type of strategy do you use to invest?...mutual funds, etf's, etc...
Control your own destiny, or someone else will.
i have a few different
i have a few different accounts, one of which is an online etrade acct. I have no complaints. I'm not a fund guy, i prefer to pick individual stocks, but etrade does offer tools and research for a variety of different investment vehicles.
I definitely trade for my own
I definitely trade for my own account, and did during my time in banking also. You have to be very careful about compliance and not using any insider information.
FYI - I use TradeKing.
- Capt K -
"Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
How much are you guys playing
How much are you guys playing with?
Also, do any of you have accounts outside of your firm? I declared them with my firm when hired FT, but I really want to invest in an IRA outside of my bank. It's just a pain dealing with them, especially when I feel like I can handle it on my own.
Ok then, perfect timing
Ok then, perfect timing CaptK.
I still feel hesitant in opening an account and not declaring it with the firm. Like you said, I'm sure it's not really an issue until you start using inside information, but I'm still cautious.
I'm sure this has been already addressed several times on the forum before, but I just saw the thread and figured I would ask it here.
General Thade's link is an
General Thade's link is an old review. For the latest and greatest in online brokers, check out Barrons' annual broker review:
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB12684497324286...
I have two accounts - Sogotrade and Optionshouse. Sogo was the first one I opened, its cheap and got the job done, but sometimes trades were slow to execute. Also really barebones - practically no advanced features at all, and very limited features.
Optionshouse does better in many ways.
At your stage, pay attention to costs, esp if you're starting with a small bankroll. If you plan on trading often, consider using Lightspeed. Hope this helps.
strategies anyone? and would
strategies anyone?
and would trying to find undervalued small cap stocks be worthwhile or should i just stick with funds, or etf's?
keep in mind im probably starting with around $1,000
Control your own destiny, or someone else will.
I use Options House for
I use Options House for equities
Oanda for FX
TD Amertitrade for Mutual Funds
Sogo for Pennies
Shake wrote: Like you said,
Like you said, I'm sure it's not really an issue until you start using inside information, but I'm still cautious.
Shake you idiot - no matter whether or not you declare your account to your firm, trading on insider information is ILLEGAL and is a good way to get fired, sanctioned by the SEC, and potentially thrown in jail. Do not do it. Use only the publicly available information you'll turn up on the industries you're working in, and only trade in stocks that are NOT clients of the firm.
The way it works at most firms is that you'll have an intranet site that lists all the tickers your bank has inside information on. You are not allowed to trade any of those tickers, regardless of whether or not you're working on the deal specifically. Some firms require you to keep your brokerage account with them so they can monitor it directly, some only require that you get your existing broker to send them duplicate statements so they can see what you're trading.
- Capt K -
"Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
Since $1000 isn't all that
Since $1000 isn't all that much, fee management is probably going to be a big consideration for you.
I'd recommend Zecco. Though they aren't the greatest, and won't let you reinvest dividends, they have cheap (4.50) commissions, which I assume you care about with such a small portfolio. I started out with Zecco about 2 years ago, with $700, and they've seen me through to this day when I'm leaving for thinkorswim (better for options) with almost $20k.
What Zecco does well: Low fees, easy to set up an account and fund it, really easy to use and navigate their interface, and they have some solid tutorial videos for basics on stocks, options, technical vs fundamental analysis etc. Best part is, the tutorials are done by hot women, amen.
Another cool feature that they just added but I haven't used is their new ZapTrade-you can actually tell them what site you use for your info (Yahoo! Finance, Bloomberg, etc.), and when you're on that site, there's a little box in the corner so that you don't have to go back to Zecco.com to make a trade. Sounds convenient.
What Zecco doesn't do well: No dividend reinvestment (which probably wouldn't be a problem for you considering the asset class you're looking at), the customer service is done via their own instant messenger system (which is cool but slow), and I'm sure their execution isn't perfect (although I'm sure a couple of cents per share won't make a significant impact on trades as small as yours).
Hope that helps and happy trading!
"Despite a voluminous and often fervent literature on 'income distribution', the cold fact is that most income is not distributed: it is earned."
-Thomas Sowell
CaptK wrote: Shake
Like you said, I'm sure it's not really an issue until you start using inside information, but I'm still cautious.
Shake you idiot - no matter whether or not you declare your account to your firm, trading on insider information is ILLEGAL and is a good way to get fired, sanctioned by the SEC, and potentially thrown in jail. Do not do it. Use only the publicly available information you'll turn up on the industries you're working in, and only trade in stocks that are NOT clients of the firm.
The way it works at most firms is that you'll have an intranet site that lists all the tickers your bank has inside information on. You are not allowed to trade any of those tickers, regardless of whether or not you're working on the deal specifically. Some firms require you to keep your brokerage account with them so they can monitor it directly, some only require that you get your existing broker to send them duplicate statements so they can see what you're trading.
if you rly have nais inside info, i would ask a friend of mine to buy the stocks in his name and share the profits. Isn't that possible?
Collector - you also are an
Collector - you also are an idiot. That is just as illegal as doing it yourself, and also a good way to get fired, sanctioned by the SEC, and potentially thrown in jail. You may get caught, you may not. But is it really worth it? What's the most you and your buddy would make from an insider trading scheme with your own capital? A few thousand dollars? Is that really worth risking tens of thousands in fines, being barred from working in finance for life, and potential jail time?
I really hope you two are smarter than this.
- Capt K -
"Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
If your going to invest in
If your going to invest in small cap value be able to stomach huge swings on no news! You should also just put that 1,000 in an index because its not worth picking individual stocks with that little money due to costs......unless you only purchase one company that you felt good about
"One should recognize reality even when one doesn't like it, indeed, especially when one doesn't like it." - Charlie Munger
moranges wrote: Since $1000
Since $1000 isn't all that much, fee management is probably going to be a big consideration for you.
I'd recommend Zecco. Though they aren't the greatest, and won't let you reinvest dividends, they have cheap (4.50) commissions, which I assume you care about with such a small portfolio. I started out with Zecco about 2 years ago, with $700, and they've seen me through to this day when I'm leaving for thinkorswim (better for options) with almost $20k.
What Zecco does well: Low fees, easy to set up an account and fund it, really easy to use and navigate their interface, and they have some solid tutorial videos for basics on stocks, options, technical vs fundamental analysis etc. Best part is, the tutorials are done by hot women, amen.
Another cool feature that they just added but I haven't used is their new ZapTrade-you can actually tell them what site you use for your info (Yahoo! Finance, Bloomberg, etc.), and when you're on that site, there's a little box in the corner so that you don't have to go back to Zecco.com to make a trade. Sounds convenient.
What Zecco doesn't do well: No dividend reinvestment (which probably wouldn't be a problem for you considering the asset class you're looking at), the customer service is done via their own instant messenger system (which is cool but slow), and I'm sure their execution isn't perfect (although I'm sure a couple of cents per share won't make a significant impact on trades as small as yours).
Hope that helps and happy trading!
Thanks Moranges!
Control your own destiny, or someone else will.
AG0311 wrote: If your going
Control your own destiny, or someone else will.
If you plan to eventually
if your looking to jump into
I would use Scottrade for
thanks for all the input! my
Control your own destiny, or someone else will.
at a number of banks (BAC,
I've read a lot of good
"Despite a voluminous and often fervent literature on 'income distribution', the cold fact is that most income is not distributed: it is earned."
-Thomas Sowell
awesome, thanks again!
Control your own destiny, or someone else will.
i have both zecco and
I use TD Ameritrade. They
for those of you who trade
Control your own destiny, or someone else will.
Oh, no, I knew that. I'm not
aleayers wrote: for those of
"Despite a voluminous and often fervent literature on 'income distribution', the cold fact is that most income is not distributed: it is earned."
-Thomas Sowell
Glad i read this, i was about
if you bought $400 worth a
"One should recognize reality even when one doesn't like it, indeed, especially when one doesn't like it." - Charlie Munger
it just seems that smaller
smaller stocks move down just
"One should recognize reality even when one doesn't like it, indeed, especially when one doesn't like it." - Charlie Munger
AG0311 wrote: smaller stocks
"Despite a voluminous and often fervent literature on 'income distribution', the cold fact is that most income is not distributed: it is earned."
-Thomas Sowell