Battle of The Online Brokerages !!!!
So this is just a forum to help decide which online broker is the best, i've done some research have personally decided TradeKing is the way to go, but I'm looking for some insight into your opinions and your reasons, any horror stories? amazing successes? which ones offer the best software and research programs? go at it
Sogotrade
a scam according to google..hmmmm
I've been trading with them for over a year. Not a scam.
Google labels FXCM as a scam too...
I think he's referring to the fact that email from Sogo gets labeled as Spam (It does for me). It's just down to the fact that a lot of people getting emails from brokerages are too lazy to read it and label it as spam.
I was with Scottrade forever (as in, more than 10 years). I was very satisfied, they had a local office, and the rates were good. However, I was getting crushed in commission on my options trades. They charged $9.99 a trade for equities (now $7), which isn't bad. But they charged (at the time) $29 for options trades, which is way out of line. They've since brought it down to $7 + $1.25 per contract, which is still on the high side. Nice trading and research platform, though.
About a year ago, thanks to WSO, I switched to OptionsHouse. Don't let the name fool you - they do way more than just options. Their trading and research platform is second to none, and their pricing is fantastic. They charge $2.95 for equity trades and their two-tier options pricing works out to about $1 an option in either case. As in, you buy 5 options - you pay $5. Customer service is really good both over the phone and online instant chat. Plus, every month or so, they offer trading webinars to teach new techniques. Overall, I couldn't be happier with them.
Of course, it's all a scheme to get you trading more. Another nice thing about OptionsHouse is that they handle all the tax forms for you. You just click on the button and it prints out IRS Schedule D already filled in for whatever year you have to file. I have to say I was pretty surprised with how many pages my Schedule D was for 2009. I traded my ass off (and thankfully made money, but who didn't last year?).
Anyway, that's my two cents. Hard to do better than OptionsHouse.
P.S. If you're just starting out, or you're testing a new trading system, OptionsHouse lets you trade on their real-time trading platform with $5,000 in funny money that they provide for you. As in, when you set up an account with them, they give you another paper-trading account with $5,000 in it to test different trading strategies in real time.
Scottrade. As of three years ago, they got the best execution for limit orders and second best for market-orders. And it's only $7/trade. Then again, every single trade I make on my own account needs to be signed off by my manager and go through a designated broker (whose execution or pricing isn't as competitive as I'd like). If you're making multiple trades every day and are dealing with moderate sums of money, InteractiveBrokers certainly offers a very good deal.
I left scottrade for zecco about 3 years ago and have been happy since
trading fees are essentially $0, there is a minimum balance of course
I use TradeKing. Getting your account funded is excruciating but everything is real easy after that.
I had trade king for a few months, the userface is very simple and customer service is very good. However, it really depends how active you are going to be. Constantly making $5 trades gets expensive. I switched to interactive brokers, $1 trades and the interface is excellent to enter stops/limits etc. Endless opportunities with order execution and customization. Account minimum i believe is $10k, however you need $25k to "daytrade" and get around the 4 trades in a 5 day cycle rule.
If you got enough dough...go with Interactive Brokers. $1 trades
Is OptionsHouse the Peak6 platform?
Yeah, it's built on the Peak6 platform.
Stocks - Lightspeed Options -Interactive Brokers Futures - Velocity Futures using Xtrader Platform.
Really depends on what you are looking for out of the platform, your time horizon, and what type capabilities you are looking for.
I'm looking to open an account right now to trade equities and i saw lightspeed. So whenever i purchase 100 shares or less in a trade, the trade only costs 40 cents? seems like a fantastic deal if you arent buying penny stocks... and they claim there are no monthly trading minimums? what am i missing here?
If you have some decent dough in your account and trade often enough you can also try out TOS. No market data fees (like IB charges) and some pretty competitive rates (.01/share for stock - $5 minimum and $1 per contract for options).
Anyone try out sharebuilder? They have partial investing which I thought was nice... Still unsure of what to use right now
Sharebuilder is a gimmick to get pikers to invest. When you actually do the math on their commissions, it's absolutely brutal. Keep your money in a coffee can until you've saved up enough for a share of Google, and then use OptionsHouse or one of the other brokerages listed here that'll get it done for you for under $5.
Ha I was looking more at Berk but that was just for fun.
Anyway I've narrowed it down to TDAmeritrade, optionshouse, tradeking and scottrade. Do you have any input on these?
I've had accounts with 3 out of the 4 (never been with TradeKing). My TDAmeritrade account goes all the way back to the old Kennedy Cabot days (1995-ish), so it's been awhile and I've never used their Internet platform. I was with Scottrade for a really long time and was very satisfied overall, but I'm a pretty heavy options trader and they just couldn't compete on options commissions.
I moved to OptionsHouse about three years ago, I think. Never looked back. Great trading platform, fantastic executions, and the commission rate is like a sore dick - you just can't beat it. Plus they give you a bunch of free trades when you sign up, I think. On top of all that, they're doing webinars all the time to teach different trading strategies, which is something I haven't seen any of the others do.
Interesting. Only problem was I do trade on foreign exchanges and they only offer US. So I think I'm gonna rule out optionshouse
Have used various providers over the years, and here is my review of their services
Scottrade: C+ overall eTrade: B for service, B+ for platform, B- banking Schwab: A for service, C for platform, A for research, A for brokerage/banking link-up, C- for cost Merrill Edge: B+ overall, A for brokerage/banking link-up, A- for research
Current service used: Merrill Edge MarketPro
Any firms have global coverage? Like US, UK, Hong Kong europeans, tokyo, shanghai, latin america markets and etc?
Really hate spotting a potential investment opportunity, but cant ivnest in it due to barriers of entry. e.g HTC in the taiwan market.
I've has scottrade now for a month and I hate their platform. Mobile app is atrocious as well.
Debating on switching over to Merril Edge. Spoke with a rep and she said 30 free trades a month for the amount I'm transferring over.
Biggest problem I'm running into is that none of these firms offer foreign exchanges. Was really interested in some of the Asian markets as well as Canada, etc.
Might look into IB or one of the brokers that does. Suggestions welcome
Best Online Brokerage (Originally Posted: 05/16/2013)
I am going to start a little portfolio and possibly trade every now and then...Just wondering if any of you guys already have accounts, which one(s) are the best?
I won't have a ton of money in it (under $10,000) and won't be trading too much (definitely not everyday or every week).
Fidelity takes care of clients. You can find somewhat cheaper execution elsewhere; however in my experience, Fidelity seems to be interested in developing long-term relationships.
It depends on what you are looking to do but the ones I highly recommend are: Interactive Brokers: I really want an acct here but don't see the point given I'm barred from trading individual names that my fund would buy. Very low commissions and really wide selection of securities / strategies to employ. If you're under like 25 then it's like $1 per trade and $3 per month minimum (so 1 trade in a month = $3, 3 = $3, 4 = $4). Please note that most of the below at MINIMUM are $7 per trade.
Vanguard: Best place to go to for long term buy-hold. Offer lowest price and best products for passive investing. Have a pretty good selection of mutual funds also but this isn't their main focus. Not sure if you can open a margin acct w/ Vanguard.... Jack Bogle would probably have a heart attack if 50% of his user base had one.
Schwab/Scottrade/TDAmeritrade/Etrade: I place these all in the same bucket of a lot of stuff but not really ideal for one reason or another. Usually higher commissions than the above two but wider selection of mutual funds.
Look into TradeKing. Low commissions, great customer service when I've dealt with them
i second this. i've had a pretty good experience with them - it's like $4 per trade i think.
also, sharebuilder by ING (or, i guess capital one now) is decent. trades are around $6 per trade i think (they just lowered prices from $10) and they have some research reports and whatnot. probably not any better or worse that td ameritrade, etrade, or whatever else.
also, one thing i've found valuable is having my trading account affiliated with my bank account because transfers are free and almost immediate, whereas transferring funds one way or another between a separate account and your bank account takes around 5 days i think. if you're ever in a pinch and need some extra cash (i.e. laying out a fuck ton of money for an apartment deposit), this is a huge pain in the ass
I'm interested as well.
Does somebody know a platform that offers lower commissions than interactive brokers regarding stocks, particularly in Western European Countries?
Thanks
Thanks for the feedback. Does anyone know anything about or has anyone ever used OptionsHouse? I was reading up on it and it seems pretty good with a low flat rate of like $3.95 per trade...
Also, are there any big negatives to any of them that I should really watch out for? A little more information for what I'm looking to do with it, if it helps to point me in the right direction.. I think I will just use it to mostly play around with a few thousand dollars in stocks. Sell if they gain big, but otherwise hold. Definitely not a long-term retirement account or anything like that...
As alluded above, keep an eye on rates aside from simple trade commissions. Wire fees, transfer fees, deposit fees, and generally nickels and dimes everywhere. Echoing @snakeplissken, there's a strong argument to be made for using your bank's brokerage. For example, Merrill Edge is a pretty nice product, but it's extra nice if you're a BofA customer.
Online Broker Accounts (Originally Posted: 10/28/2014)
I am a recent college graduate, and I have a few thousand dollars to invest. I was wondering everyone's opinion on which online broker company is the best to use. I have been hearing a lot about dark pools and front running trades and was told to be skeptical about some of the online brokers (Haim Bodek spoke at my school). I am looking for a relatively cheap but reputable company.
FYI I am mainly going to invest in ETFs and Mutual funds.
Most people I know go with Scottrade or Thinkorswim (TD)
I use Schwab and have nothing but good things to say about them. TD Ameritrade is a popular choice as well.
Charles Schwab is probably the best for ETF trades. You can trade all of their etfs daily with zero fee, plus they have a good no-fee checking account.
I use Fidelity. Pretty similar
Interactive Brokers is definitely the lowest commissions and the greatest flexibility. However the UI isn't the best for beginners and you probably won't get the same type of help you would from a Fidelity or Charles Schwab. If you're just buying stocks to hold for years the difference between a $0.75 commission and $7.50 commission probably won't mean much but if you are doing anything more active I highly recommend IB.
Best online broker research tools? (Originally Posted: 11/10/2009)
I currently use Sogotrade as my online broker, but it has NO research available. No S&P reports, or any other kind of equity research at all.
I want to know which online brokers you all found to have the best research tools, and what kind of research. I'm thinking of opening an account just to have access to research. I'd prefer no account maintenance fees or annual charges.
I'll leave most of my trading on Sogotrade because its commissions are rock-bottom, so commissions are not a big concern.
I had an account there for a long time, and they offer access to a wide variety of research reports and ratings services. I was always pretty impressed with what they offered.
Does anyone know anything of Schwab/E-trade's research tools?
Schwab is decent. You get Credit Suisse, Argus, S&P, Ned Davis, Reuters, Market Edge and some Schwab stuff. Used to be much better imo when they had Goldman Sachs research.
Scottrade has a ton of research tools available, especially if you want to daytrade. I interned with them previously and worked with both the options trading platform department (Options First) and worked extensively with ScottradeELITE. Shoot me a PM if you have any questions and I should be able to help get you set up.
If I'm not mistaken has an annual fee, although I'm not sure exactly what it is. Maybe around $50...
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Best online brokerage for trading futures? (Originally Posted: 04/12/2011)
Anyone?
Maybe Interactive Brokers. Get ready to put up huge margins.
You're right about that, IP. Margins are off the hook these days. A feeble attempt by the CFTC to control speculation. Doesn't appear to be working.
Also, remember that margin requirements apply to both short and long positions. So if there is a dollar panic, folks will have more time to exit their short positions just like folks will have more time to exit their long positions if there's a commodities panic.
Reagan called the CFTC his favorite regulatory agency. They did exactly what was required for an orderly market and little more. Risk management is all about politics until there's a panic or crash. Then everyone except the ultra-conservative investors facepalm and say, "Oh, that's why they increased margin requirements."
Think or Swim is solid.
Yeah, it really is. I'm kind of a puritan when it comes to trading platforms, and I use OptionsHouse myself, but I'm really impressed with Think or Swim. Excellent support for just about every asset class.
It really is a shame the CFTC is treated like the regulatory red-headed step-child of Wall Street. So much of what we've experienced over the past decade could have easily been prevented if the commission was given more respect. It's really hard to not be a conspiracy theorist when you look at the common sense controls proposed by Brooksley Born in the late '90s compared to who benefited most from the rape of the U.S. economy through the repeal of Glass-Steagall and the exemption from oversight of the derivatives market.
Choosing an Online Brokerage (Originally Posted: 05/02/2013)
What is your preferred brokerage firm? Searching past topics, I found recommendations for ameritrade and optionshouse. How about Schwab? I am mainly interested in ETFs as a way to put my savings to use without the need to actively manage trades
Promise you won't be disappointed with TDameritrade's ThinkOrSwim platform. I've used them all, and it's the best.
Maybe, but I got shat on by an option trade the other day by TD (not TOS, just regular TD). Set a limit for "buy to open" and it opened at the limit. Meanwhile several trades were going on at a lower option price. The B/A spread was quite wide, but the movement was constant and all over the place.
I still felt I got screwed a bit on the price. Trade is working out well actually, but I could have been fucked.
If you want ETFs I would go with fidelity for sure. They give you free trades on a number of Ishares ETFs. Schwab also give you free trades on all schwab ETFs, but they are not as good as the Ishares.
Don't iShares have much higher % fees than schwab? What makes them better?
Scottrade anyone?
For stocks, it's ok. TD is better. Much easier to move in an out of positions and use the margin account. Scottrade still has more restrictions on trading for me.
how about ETRADE?
Fidelity has a really strong system and great customer service. I've used them for a while in my IRA and have no complaints.
Need help selecting online brokerage for trading. (Originally Posted: 01/19/2014)
Did a quick search, but most threads contain obsolete information from around 2009 (such as bashing on E*Trade's high price per trade, which has gone down significantly).
Anyways. Long story short - hoping to get back into trading. Need to find a good online brokerage.
Current picks: - TradeKing (I like its low rates) - E*Trade (aesthetic platform) - Scottrade (good reviews from friends)
Things to know: - Primarily doing swing trading, maybe some buy-and-hold. - Not interested in full-service brokers like Fidelity/Vanguard/Schwab
Requirements: - Must have mobile app that can execute trades. - Must have candlestick charting capability (hey, just saying... some platforms still use mountain charts...)
Anyone have recommendations? What do you use and why'd you choose it?
I use OptionsHouse for execution. $3.95 a trade. Great customer service.
I use ThinkOrSwim for charting. You can open an account for free. You don't have to chart where you trade.
I don't know what compels people to pay like $8+ a trade.
I've been candlesticking with Thinkorswim for ages (it's where I started!) - was definitely considering sticking with them and using something else for executions.
Second optionshouse.
Online broker question...(yet again) (Originally Posted: 01/23/2014)
So I have seen many threads discussin different online brokers. My problem is they are fairly outdated and reviews seem to not always match up with recommendations.
That being said I was looking for advice on the best online brokerage for trading purely stocks and starting with approximately $5000.
I was looking at optionhouse but their rates have increased constantly over the last few years and makes me believe that may continue. I also looked at tradeking and light speed. I apologize for asking this after I searched so many threads but want to make the best first choice.
Thanks!
Tradestation is my fave. Tradeking is best for less $
Let me know i you find a cheaper option than OptionsHouse that doesn't suck weenies and I'll switch over.
@jbone24 My only issue with tradeking is that the rates are no better than optionshouse at the level I am entering on, and the price for stocks under $2.00 is less at OptionsHouse.
Tradestation looks nice and has fair reviews when you are ready to invest the larger sum.
@bic - Not many responses here and OptionsHouse seems to be a favorite on this website so I will probably go with them. It would be nice if there were more reviews that are recent on OptionsHouse. The majority of the good reviews revolve around their $2.99 and $3.95 flat rate pricing. They are currently at $4.75.
I will leave this topic open for discussion and see if I get any replies over the weekend before moving forward with OH.
They grandfather you in at the rate you sign up under. It appears that I am going to finish my OH application this weekend and fund the account.
I use OptionsHouse as well and am grandfathered into the 3.95 trades. I used to use just2trade but realized it wasnt worth the 2.50 trades for how sketchy it was. Now that OH is essentially the same price as Tradeking it is pretty much a toss up.
Best online broker for options (Originally Posted: 07/11/2009)
I'm looking to start trading options, what is the best online brokerage I can use? Breadth of products available is the most important criteria for me - would like to trade options on more exotic securities (emerging markets, etc) if possible. Thanks.
What product though? Stocks? Financial Futures? Commodities? FX? There are a lot of brokers that specialize in particular areas. A pretty good broker with breadth is Interactive Brokers imo.
What do you mean "Exotic Securities"? Exotic securities are things such as CDOs, Swaps, FX Forwards, etc. Provide clarity and we can provide an answer. Honestly though, you will have better luck with a platform like E-Trade because they do have a larger global capability.
Also, I would check out whether whatever platform you plan to use has advanced features for a higher minimum account value and the built in costs for making non-standard trades. With the nonstandard trades, you will be hit with a higher commission. For example, the shop I work for charges a the greater of 1% post report notional (The value of a foreign trade after accounting for FX Conversions if any, misc. fees, and any levies charged for trading in that market) or $300 USD for the minimum commission charged to execute a trade made in Indonesia. E-Trade charges 10 Pounds to make a trade in the UK. That's 30 bucks right there. Now, if you are doing exotic securities in foreign markets, that 30 bucks, may turn into 300 by the time you are done.
Be a little more specific on exactly you want to trade options in. Also give us an idea how big the account is as leasing a seat may be a viable option also if your doing enough volume.
Typically I like Interactive brokers because its a one stop shop for a ton of markets under one platform but I have a major gripe with how they treat option orders and that's the fees for canceling/modifying an order. This simply put is a gigantic pain in the ass and should be a major determining factor in which options broker you use as the fees can quickly erode your profit margins.
"Oh the ladies ever tell you that you look like a fucking optical illusion" - Frank Slaughtery 25th Hour.
I would pretty much be looking for exposure to rates and currencies all across the world including smaller Asian/Latam markets if that's possible.
How is Interactive Brokers vs Velocity Futures?
I dont know anything about IR or currency options. As far as platforms go Velocity uses the X_trader platform which is the industry standard for trading futures. Velocity caters to the high volume guys who trade index futures and to a lesser extent energy and other futures.
"Oh the ladies ever tell you that you look like a fucking optical illusion" - Frank Slaughtery 25th Hour.
Best online broker for daytrading? (Originally Posted: 11/20/2013)
I am interested in opening an account with an online broker that allows for frequent trading. I love Interactive Brokers platform and super low commissions. The only problem is that if you execute more than 4 trades within a 5 day business week you are flagged as a pattern day trader, and must maintain a minimum balance of 25k.
Any suggestions on anywhere else to look? I want to find something with a desktop platform for tech analysis, something that allows all types of trade, (forex, futures, options ect) and obviously low commissions.
FINRA sets the rules (not the broker) on the 25K minimum and the 4 trades within 5 days. There is no way around it.
Has this always been this way? Does this apply for options, futures and forex as well?
As far as I know, these rules apply only to stocks and options. Futures and forex are fair game for day trading.
Questrade?
They are only available to Canadian citizens
trading futures/options (Originally Posted: 10/05/2009)
I want to trade commodity futures and stock/index options. I know Interactive Brokers is one of the best platforms but I only have around 3000 and their minimum is 10,000. Can anyone suggest a good place where I can set up an account with the amount of money I have?
I also have a few technical questions on trading options. If I buy a contract and it becomes in-the-money, the profit I should make on selling the contract should be the same as if I actually realize the terms of the contract? For example, if I buy a call option for XYZ with strike price of 10, and the price surges to 15, then I can sell the contract for a profit that should be equal to the profit I would make if I realize the terms of the contract and buy the stock XYZ for 10$ and sell it into the market for 15$, right? Would it always be equal like that?
Also, if I buy an option and the position initially goes against me, then the value of the contract should have decreased. Can I sell it back into the market at a loss? This way I can cut my losses quickly, instead of just waiting until expiration and losing the premium I paid for the option.
I hope these questions make sense. Appreciate any feedback
Take that 3k and spend it on learning more about the product. Come back in 3 months you will think you are ready to trade and do a search for Bondarb's post on how to get started in trading. Follow his directions.
"Oh the ladies ever tell you that you look like a fucking optical illusion" - Frank Slaughtery 25th Hour.
Can anyone post the link of Bondarb's post on how to get started in trading???
Could you answer my other questions?
Here are the answers to your technical questions:
There are two sources of value in a stock option: the time value and the intrinsic value. At expiration, there is no time value left, so the total value of the option is the intrinsic value. In your example, if you buy the 10 call and the stock moves to $15, the option will be worth at least $5 (the intrinsic value or parity). It could also still be worth more, depending on volatility and time left to expiration, which are the prime factors for determining the time value. Assuming there is no time value left, you should be able to exercise the option and sell the stock or simply sell the option contract for about the same amount. The difference is negligible, but it exists because of the bid/ask spread that will exist in both the stock and the options. The market for your $5 option might be $4.90/$5.10, so you would lose out on $.10 by selling it. Of course, exercising the option and selling the stock has transaction costs as well. More liquid stock options (or index options) will have much tighter spreads, and therefore should be much easier to trade.
If you buy an option for $1 and it is now worth $.50, of course you can sell it out for the loss. Again, you are subject to the bid/ask spread on both your purchase and sale.
A quick google search will let you find different brokerage sites where you can open an account with 3k, but Optionsexpress and Zecco may be good places to start. Other people may have other opinions.
If you are under 21, you only need 3000 to open.
As to your technical questions, you can look to the post above but you really need to learn a lot about options at least before you start trading. The questions you are asking are incredibly basic, and you should not be trading options at this point IMO... they can be very levered instruments and if you don't understand what you are doing and risking, you can lose a lot quickly.
"Also, if I buy an option and the position initially goes against me, then the value of the contract should have decreased. Can I sell it back into the market at a loss? This way I can cut my losses quickly, instead of just waiting until expiration and losing the premium I paid for the option."
You can't sell anything to the market.
Options are highly leveraged instruments which essentially work on the premise of working around the spread between the strike and market prices (at the time when you exercise your options).
If you bought a call at $10 and exercise it when the stock is $15, the option writer will thus be paying you $5 (you don't actually buy or sell anything - the difference is paid to you). You therefore pocket the difference of ($5 - premium).
As for when you can exercise your options, it depends on the type of options you're holding on to - European options can only be exercised at maturity, while American options can be exercised at any time during the life of the option. Obviously, to compensate for the embedded flexibility in an American option (with everything else being equal), the premium would be higher for an American option.
Hope that bit is clear - trying to keep the stuff simple and explaining it in layman terms...
Dbl Post
Pretty much all exchange traded options are American, meaning you can exercise them at any time. However, it is never optimal to exercise an American call option before maturity, hence the value of an American Call should equal the value of an European Call.
American Puts, on the other hand, do have the possibility of being optimal to exercise early, hence its value should be greater than or equal to the European Put.
And yes, you can sell the option in the open market at any time, assuming a market exists.
To clarify, what I meant was you can't physically sell any of the underlying to the market - you do not actually purchase or sell the physical stock in your options transaction...
http://www.cboe.com/LearnCenter/pdf/characteristicsandrisks.pdf
Covers the basics of options if you have more questions.
Given the nature of your question, you should learn more about the product before entering trading. In your case, selling the option would generate more profit because the time value.
I'm also curious about Bondarb's post on trading....does anyone have the link? I've tried searching, but Bondarb is pretty prolific....
It's in the sticky
Do not blow out your capital trading futures or options on futures. From reading your post you will lose your entire investment before your even get a chance to learn HOW to trade.
Example....
Your long 1 corn contract, market goes lock limit down, you WILL get a margin call. Do you pray to god the market turns around during the over night(which it won't)? Do you liquidate your position and take the loss in turn losing all your $$ on 1 trade, do you grab your balls and say the fundamentals(which I doubt you know) are wrong I'm going to withstand this brief ass whooping for a day or two?
Save up at least 15-20k, visit investopedia.com and demo trade in the mean time.
Looking for a new online broker (Originally Posted: 01/27/2016)
Hi guys,
Couple things I'm looking for:
-Options trading -Mobile app -Low commissions -FX
I'm also Canadian if that matters.
Thanks in advance.
Interactive Brokers or Virtual Brokers if you don't care about FX
If you are trading frequently IB is good, otherwise they have a monthly flat fee for inactivity ($10 or so I guess). Overall IB platform is quite solid I think.
You may also check TD Ameritrade, but probs it is not the best fit for FX or options trading.
Online Brokers - Any advice? (Originally Posted: 02/10/2014)
Im currently with Scottrade, and am debating on going with OH, Schwab, or TOS. Any advice? Mainly concerned about non-laggy real time quotes and reliability. Thanks
Need much more info than this. What amount are you playing with? Are you trading a lot or buy and hold? I'm assuming you're in the US?
Interactive Brokers - you pay for the real time quotes, but it would be worth it if you are an active trader.
ToS/TDAm has great real time quotes. Their mobile app is also spot on - quick updates, easy trade execution.
Once you get 50k, MerrillEdge Platinum gives you 30 free trades per month. Other perks aren't bad either: http://www.merrilledge.com/platinum-privileges
Otherwise, IB is the cheapest.
If you want SS research, Schwab will get you Credit Suisse. MerillEdge will of course give you BAML research. Not that you should be using SS ER for investment advice - but it can be useful to see where consensus is.
If you are outside USA i advice you to trade with this broker, find more about in my blog: www dot irontrading dot com
(i can't post it here due to rule)
TD Ameritrade is not bad. Pretty good set of tools like TOS and Trade Architect. The research reports are meh. No disrespect to them as some of the authors might be here :) but I find many to be too general. Still interesting to read and if you're an aspiring analyst certainly good examples to use to begin formulating your own.
Tradeking is another one. The tools/research are minimal but low cost: $4.99/trade.
Most of my research comes from sources outside of my broker. I'm really after the one who can execute what I want to trade for lowest cost.
What's your personal brokerage account? (Originally Posted: 09/12/2013)
Unfortunately I'm not allowed to trade equities (at all), and have very strict restrictions on ETFs (restrictions might go away in 2014). So for now I have to stick with mutual funds. Also might be worth mentioning that my fund doesn't participate in any sort of 401k program, so I'm literally on my own with my retirement money.
Currently I have Schwab, and I'm looking for possibly better options. Who do you use and why? Prefer replies from people in similar positions, aka only ETFs / funds.
I use Vanguard for mutual funds. Lower fees, higher liquidity, option to convert to admiral shares (even lower fees) when you have enough money invested.
+1 for Vanguard, simply the best...
interactive brokers, nothing can really beat its costs, as long as you don't care about really personal customer service. plus if you work in financial services, it is usually approved by most firms regarding where you can have your accounts.
ETrade
Check out Fidelity. They have little-to-no fees, $0 commissions on dozens of ETFs (see https://www.fidelity.com/etfs/ishares-view-all), and their credit card gives 2% cash back directly into your account. It's a good one-stop shop for personal finance. They also have physical locations throughout many cities.
I use Fidelity, but I know most people love Vanguard. Probably can't go wrong with either.
Online brokerages that provide short selling (Originally Posted: 10/27/2008)
Looking for an online brokerage that offers short selling. I just don't want to sit around when i'm 30-40 years old and say to myself, "maybe if I took advantage of the volatility of the markets in 2008/2009, i'd be ok"
TradeKing will let you short. $4.95 trades too. Let me know if you want a referral.
The market's off 40% from the high.
Now's the time to start shorting.
Hope your parents didn't spend much on that degree.
Best Online Discount Brokerage (Originally Posted: 10/18/2011)
Fellow Traders,
Which online discount brokerage will let me paper trade options and gives to access to international investors. Please don't say IB, they have ridiculous account requirements.
Things I need:
1-2K or less a/c req. paper trading web platform cheap option fees preferably no charges on ETF's open to international investors
SB for the best answer
10k isnt ridiculous bro. why ya gonna be trading on such small cash when commissions gonna rape yo income? my roomie uses optionshouses
tdameritrade gives access to commission-free ETFs, paper trading, and the excellent thinkorswim platform for great option fees, go to optionshouse
in canada questrade is tops
sogotrade
optionshouse
IB - if you are under 21 you can set it up with 3k.
online brokerage (Originally Posted: 12/20/2010)
Hey everyone, new here..
sorry if i have posted in the wrong forum
but currently i have etrade and it is so damn expensive to trade... relative to how much money have in it
im looking at transferring to another brokerage
im liking td ameritrade the trade fee is around $2 cheaper, they pay the trasnfer fee (from etrade to TD), and they give me 100 free trade
however ive been looking around and other sites like scotttrade have even cheaper trades ~$7, and will contact them about if they cover the fee etc...
what do yall think?
some banks offer brokerage services with free trades if you meet a certain minimum account balance - sounds like you may not, however, but just something to keep in mind which will help out once you do reach that threshold.
Tradeking.com is and has been my favorite - $4.95 trades.
yeah i deffintly dont meet the requiemnets... i have less
I have an account with optionshouse and pay $2.95 for stock trades.
^^^2nd opionshouse. I think it is the lowest out there. Doesn't sacrifice quality either
ill definitely look into that... how is the speed. my friend had sharebuilder (i think) and it took for ever to do a transaction
i pay .5 pennies a share at interactive brokers
wow thats cheap lol... but keepin mind i have less then 10k and dont think i would qualify for that since i normall trade less then 150-200 shares
Think or Swim, hands down. They're dominant, AND they will match prices.
Does anyone know what the size limit is on the $7 from scottrade or $4.95 from tradeking? I assume 1k shares then after that they start charging like .015/share? Maybe full 2c.
For Scottrade you just can't trade penny stocks. Stock must be valued @ $1 and above w/ limit orders only. I dont know about tradeking.
yeah i think im going to go with option house... the 2.95 trades seems awesome... and ill have the ability to trade otptions in the future....
and one else prefer OH??
anyone else prefer OH*
Bravo I am not talking about pennystocks If I want to buy 5k ADBE on scottrade how much is it going to cost me. And dont say $7 because that $7 per trade has a cap on how many shares its for.
@ Trade4size
You can buy 5k shares of ADBE and they will only charge you $7 if your whole order gets filled with in that day. If you have a GTC order going lasting several days they will charge you $7 per day until the order is filled.
..aslong as your stock is valued above $1(which ABDE is) it's $7 commission.
....and you must place the trade online, broker assisted is more but I figure you will be placing the trade yourself.
Online Discount Broker (Originally Posted: 01/12/2011)
Whats the best online discount broker out there? I've been looking into OptionsHouse for stocks/ETFs but after reading some reviews, I'm not really sure. Anybody with Tradeking?
Scottrade was getting really high ratings a couple years ago in market orders and bids/asks. Not sure if $9/trade qualifies as discount anymore, but if it does, Fidelity gives you access to a lot of research and a lot of extra markets.
I'm a fan of fidelity
I have one account with TradeKing and I've been pretty happy with them. I'm not very active in it except for dividend reinvestment. I opened a new account with Interactive Brokers because their rates are much lower but TK is definitely easier to use.
I use tradeking, only $5 a trade... can't complain about them. pm me for a referral if you sign up so we can both make $50, lol
I am a fan of Zecco.
if you want to trade just equities/options, fido or td ameritrade
if you want ability to trade futures as well, OX or IB
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