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Compare Options Brokers | Options Brokers
Comparison Chart
More and more emphasis is being placed on the
capabilities of the top online brokers when it comes to
options trading. Many brokers are promoting themselves
as
options brokers of choice based on their trading tools and
options education materials.
The options brokers comparison chart below compares online
brokers based on their stock and options trading fees. Once you select your
options broker, setting up an options trading account is
easy and
involves:
1) Completing an online application
(there is no cost to do this)
2) Depositing funds
into your account
- Now you are ready for trading!
Bookmark this page for later reference
About this Options Brokers
Comparison Chart
This Options Brokers Comparison Chart looks at the most
prominent online brokers from the perspective of a new trader or
beginning trader. While there are many ways to compare online brokers,
including availability of investment products, banking services
or sophistication of its options trading platform, an options
trader should be
concerned at first with cost factors and overall service quality
ratings.
Cost Factors
In order
to get a complete view of total cost when you compare online
brokers, look at all factors including trading fees (the cost
to the trader for executing a single trade, whether a "buy" or
"sell" trade. This can be misleading at first because buying a
stock and then later selling it involves two trades. So a broker
with $5.00 per trade fee will cost you $10.00 to buy and sell. A
broker with a $10.00 per trade fee will cost you $20.00. After
you sell a stock is when you determine your profit or loss and
these fees must be included in your accounting. When you compare
online brokers, there are also
some "additional" fees that are charged based on specific types
of trades and these are outlined in the broker comparison chart above. "Per Trade"
fees may also vary depending upon the number or volume of trades
executed over a defined time period, with lower fees charged as
trading volume increases. A "Flat-Rate" broker is one that
charges the same "per trade" fee regardless of the type of trade
or the volume of trades executed over a defined time period.
"Minimum Balance" and "Required Funding Amounts" are not a
cost to you, but they take money out of your pocket and are a
factor to be considered. One broker may require a minimum
balance be in your account in order to maintain it while another
may have no minimum balance. When you are setting up your
account, this could mean the difference between depositing $400
into your trading account because that is what you want to start
with, or having to deposit $2,500 in your account. A beginning
trader may not want to deposit that much into their account
initially, so that can be an important decision criteria when
selecting your trading broker. The broker comparison includes
these costs for you to compare online brokers with complete
information.
Options Brokers Star Rating
This review is primarily fact-based, reporting the brokers
pricing schedule and fees policies and ratings given by the
named publications. Based on the totality of the Cost Factors
and the Quality Factors, a star rating is given to summarize
that particular online broker's performance in that category
relative to its competitors. The overall star rating can be used
to directly compare brokers by combining
the Cost and Quality Factor ratings, using equal weighting (50%
given to each) to arrive at a summary rating that can be used to
choose a broker you want to open a trading account with.
Return to the home page to continue to compare online
brokers.
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2011 BeginningOnlineTrader.com All rights reserved
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