Best Resource to Trades Stocks/MF/ETF

[cr]

I know there was a post on this before but I couldn’t find it. Any recommendations on discount brokers?

[asragov]

Depending on how active of a trader you are, these guys might be good for you:

http://www.mbtrading.com/

[Mr_Brightside]

I used E*Trade, it’s a very good platform in my view. The user interface is the best I’ve seen.

What are I don’t like about E*Trade is I have had issues with getting executions on some thinly traded ETFs that I used as part of a trading program that implement from time to time. I also think their margin rates are high. If you are in Power E*Trade the customer service people are quick to get to and are quite knowledgeable.

I also have an Interactive Brokers account which had great margin rates, interest on short balances (the main reason I have the account) and incredibly fast execution.

Basically if you do regular standard trading I’d recommend E*Trade. If you’ve been at it for awhile you mind want to open an Interactive Brokers account.

[stockstradr]

I have accounts with E*Trade, OptionsExpress, and Fidelity, and also several family members have experience with TD Ameritrade

E*Trade:
I’ve been using E*Trade for ten years now and am extremely impressed. The only minor drawback if I recall correctly, E*Trade doesn’t have access to some of the mutual funds offered by Fidelity

Fidelity:
On several trades I initiated one hour before market close, delays with phone call-in and probems with Fidelity online prevented my excuting those trades before end-of-day. This gives you an idea of serious I found Fidelity system and service delays

When I tried to sell online a mutual fund I had purchased from Fidelity online, their system responded “you cannot trade this mutual fund online.” Then I called in I was put on hold on their trading line for over 45 minutes. That trade ended up excecuting the NEXT DAY at end-of-day. By coincidence, at the same time I sold the exact same mutual fund (on the day I wanted to sell it) through E*Trade in 2 minutes.

I lost three grand due to Fidelity because as I expected market moved against my fund the next day, and their delay forced me to hold that fund during that down day. I have since moved the 1/3 of my portfolio I had in Fidelity into E*TRade.

TD Ameritrade
My father and sister use this broker and are happy with it.

OptionsXpress
Great if you love to trade options. More options trading software than you’ll find at E*Trade.

[cr]

Thanks guys. I opened a savings account with E*Trade b/c ING just lowered their rates, but I also recently read E*Trade wasn’t doing well financially, and they also didn’t have the best rate for low volume trades, but saving $2 on a trade that takes an extra day probably isn’t worth it.

Anyone used ScottTrade?

[drunkle]

i’m a newbie to trading and i use scottrade.

their money transfer system is slow, taking up to and slightly more than a week to do bank transfers.

their stock ticker graphs are wonky sometimes.

their trading system is quick.

costs are on the order of $8/trade. on options, there’s an additional cost, something like $1/per contract on top of the regular per/trade fee.

the interface isn’t the greatest. tracking stocks, i use yahoo’s charts. there isn’t a real time ticker. navigating the site can be annoying; going from a stock’s summary to your account history on that stock is a pita.

it’s free to join so why don’t you try them all?

[davidt1]

I am looking for a broker too. What I need is free trade, no account inactivity fee, high-interest rate for my unused money, level II quote, and the availability of mutual funds, options, currency and commodity. I haven’t found a broker that meets all these criteria. These are some I have come across.

ZECCO: free trade, but that’s about it. They pay a low 1% for free money.

IB: low trading price ( 2$ round trip) if you trade 10 times a month; pay a good rate for unused money; there is, however, an inactivity fee if you trade less than 10 times a month.

MB: seems similar to IB, but there is no inactivity fee; I don’t really understand their pricing though.

Here is a list for more:

http://www.broker-reviews.us/

[kewp]

Have you looked at ProFunds?

http://www.profunds.com/

Whats neat about their products is you can trade amongst their various funds for no cost.

The downside is they require a hefty initial investment to open an account, which may or may not be an issue for you.

[Anonymous]

I use several online brokers and scottrade is one of them. Their software is pretty good and stock trades are $7 for any amount of shares. They have surprisingly good options execution, too. Customer service is a pathetic joke.

Ameritrade: I use often and like the best overall. They have a trailing stop feature that some other brokers have now but I’ve been happy with them over time. They also offer a good money market sweep account you have to ask for. Easy options platform and the best tech support.

Options Express: Good software, futures products just added (single stock futures, too.) Like them a lot but commissions high for online. Have the trailing stop feature, too.

[davidt1]

covered_10,

Why so many brokers? I am curious.

[Author]

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