Many mistakes, many years later and stand before you is a man who knows about stock brokers. I’ve almost tried them all so I can quickly tell whether the interface is good or not, without making a single trade. Here’s what I think about the different brokers.
Zecco still advertises stock trading at no cost, but the package it offers is a far cry from the unlimited free trades that it used to promote. Nonetheless, 10 free trades per month (for those that qualify) is still quite good.
OptionsHouse was a no-name until it made headlines with $2.95 per trade. Before that, they were offering $4.95 a trade without anyone ever signing up. Now that they’ve lowered the price, people are signing up in droves. Will it last?
TradeKing was one of the first stock brokers who invented the area of discount brokerage firms. It’s good customer support, fair pricing and good tools ranks high in my book of stock brokers.
As the name implies, OptionsXpress is all about options. While it has stock trading offers, options trading is where it really shines. It even has an extensive guide to options trading, which is good for beginners as well as professionals.
Scottrade is not really promoting its business like it should but it does offer a solid platform for traders. At $7 a trade, it is middle of the pack in terms of price and middle of the pack in terms of features.
TD Ameritrade has good person support because you can walk into a branch and talk to someone. However, its website is lacking and looks like something from the 80s. I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole but you may like it.
Etrade used to be the most innovative and web savvy company but with all the troubles and all these up and coming discount brokerages, Etrade has a tough road ahead. Still, this firm has a solid offering if you don’t mind paying a little bit more per trade.
Tags: broker, brokerage, Finance, fixed income, futures, income, investing, investments, money, options, options broker, stock broker, trading