|
|
Commissions for Online Stock/Equity Trades |
Cash Account Minimums |
Cost Rating |
Awards and Recognitions |
Quality Rating |
|
TradeKing
|
$4.95
flat rate |
None |
|
Rated #3 among all online (not just discount) brokers in 2008 & "Best" in Customer Service by SmartMoney -The Wall Street Journal Magazine as well as their #1 Discount Broker in 2006 & 2007. Also top-rated among web-based brokers by Barron's. |
|
E*Trade
 |
Tiered from $6.99-$12.99 based on number of trades per quarter and account balance plus $40 quarterly account maintenance fee (waived based on account size) |
$1,000 |
|
ETrade rated the #1 Online Broker by SmartMoney - The Wall Street Journal Magazine and received 4 out of 5 stars by Barron's annual ranking of the best online brokers. |
|
| Scottrade |
$7.00 flat rate |
$500 |
|
In the current survey (October, 2007), Scottrade was ranked Highest in Investor Satisfaction with Online Investing Services by J.D. Power and Associates for the seventh time |
|
|
TD
Ameritrade |
$9.99 flat rate |
$2,000 |
|
Rated #4 overall in 2008 by SmartMoney magazine and ranked "Best" in quality of trading tools |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Below are some articles related to picking the best
online stock trading broker. They explain the criteria you should
use to evaluate the true cost of a broker, taking into consideration all
commissions and fees as well as minimum balance
requirements.
Below are some articles related to picking the best
online stock trading broker. They explain the criteria you should
use to evaluate the true cost of a broker, taking into consideration all
commissions and fees as well as minimum balance
requirements.
Picking the
Best Online Stock Broker for Cost and Quality
Picking the
Best Online Stock Broker for Cost and Quality
Whether you are just beginning online trading, or you are a more experienced investor, picking the right online broker is a very important part of your success as a trader. When you are just starting stock investing, you should weigh the cost factors more heavily. As you gain more experience, you will learn what features are important to you, like trading tools, customer support, live broker assistance or the availability of branch offices that you can visit.
As a new trader, look at the category of discount brokers. Don't let the term "discount" scare you. There are some very big names in this category that have built a solid reputation for serving the needs of individual traders. Names like E*Trade, TD Ameritrade, TradeKing and Scottrade.
But can you get quality along with your choice for a cheap online broker? The answer is a resounding YES! Here are some of the quality awards and recognitions for these brokers:
E*Trade - Rated the #1 Online Broker by SmartMoney - The Wall Street Journal Magazine and received 4 out of 5 stars by Barron's annual ranking of the best online brokers.
TradeKing - Rated #3 among all online brokers in 2008 and "Best" in Customer Service by SmartMoney - The Wall Street Journal Magazine as well as their #1 Discount Broker in 2006 and 2007. Also top-rated among web-based brokers by Barron's.
TD Ameritrade - Rated #4 overall in 2008 by SmartMoney magazine and ranked "Best" in quality of trading tools.
Scottrade - In the current survey (October, 2007), Scottrade was ranked Highest in Investor Satisfaction with Online Investing Services by J.D. Power and Associates for the seventh time.
So there it is, you have several good choices for a low-cost and high-quality online trading broker as measured by independent industry experts.
The Best
Online Broker for Beginning Stock Traders
The Best Online Broker for Beginning Stock Traders
One of the first decisions that the new online trader has to make is which online stock broker to sign up with. There are hundreds of online brokers to choose from, so it may be hard to figure out the best choice for a beginner.
You can easily narrow down your list if you understand the requirements of a beginning trader. One thing to keep in mind is that as a new trader, you won't be using the advanced tools needed by more experienced traders or day traders. Since your trading with be pretty straight-forward, at least in the beginning, then the basic tools of most brokers will suit your requirements just fine. So really, you want to find a broker who is rock-solid in ease of use, customer support and overall quality of service.
Once you have a list of quality providers, the beginner should focus on finding the cheapest broker. That is because early on in your trading career, the beginner will tend to place smaller trades. These are trades for small amounts of money or a small amount of shares. And also because the beginner will also not hold those trading positions long, on average.
The reason for both of these is that a beginner naturally goes through a period of trial and error. As they try out strategies, they will place lots of trades and turn them over quickly.
So having a cheap online broker is very important. A beginner should be able to place small trades as they experiment and not have to pay huge commissions. This is an important part of the learning process and the beginner can 't be punished by large trading fees for doing this.