Comments on: List Of The Best Online Brokers By Smart Money 2009

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:03:09 +0000

Your wrong simply send an email to TK and ask about the extra charge for stocks under $1 and others. Choicetrade is $5 a trade period and has prompt after hours trading, Zecco is alright except to my knoweledge they don’t have extended after market trading. Choicetrade must be the best kept secret in the brokerage market.

By: Robert L Mears

Robert L Mears — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:03:40 +0000

You are WRONG about Trade King. You need to ck out the ENTIRE list of tools. They have more than anyone else. There is not .01 per share either. I have been trading for over a month with them. the execution is blazing fast. the resolutions are the next day. Margin on $3 stocks. and also trail stops. trades are $4.95 PERIOD. i have used many brokerages over 15 years . and they are tops.

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:48:49 +0000

I’ve tried quite a few discount brokerages and continue to have Izone via (TD)Ameritrade. I have also kept Choicetrade which has been rock solid for me. I looked into TradeKing and fail to see the benefit of this brokerage, if I happened to buy a stock below $1 the cost is $4.95 plus $.01 for every share!

By: Frank

Frank — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:37:36 +0000

Obviously smart money does not take into consideration the fees that E-Trade hides from their customers. Like $40 a quarter for inactivity! I guess they have to get their money from somewhere to pay for their commercials and paying people like smart money to rank them #1. E-trades customer service is nowhere near getting five stars. They are rude, inconsiderate and uneducated. Stay away!

By: Jen

Jen — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:01:15 +0000

There are usually codes online to get you a couple of free trades with scottrade. If you choose to open an account with them, you can get three free online trades (worth $21). Enter the code XEPG6413 in the box after selecting “referred by friend/received a promo code” on the application page.

By: ROBERT L MEARS

ROBERT L MEARS — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:13:37 +0000

TRADE KING is the best overall broker. with 4.95 trades and a host of trading tools it beats out some of the best. rated high in every survey taken. check it out

By: Michael Comeau

Michael Comeau — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:39:09 +0000

How the heck did thinkorswim not make it into this survey? Was it because of the consolidation with TD Ameritrade?

By: Herb

Herb — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 14:27:01 +0000

As for a new trader, first determine what you will be trading,futures,options,currenceies, and or stocks etc. . You will eventually may want to use someone’s software in order to help in your trading selections,auto or manual as there some very good ones out there. the problem is they most often require a certain trading platforms such as ninja or met trader 4 etc. . Do your homework first , it’s not all about finding the cheapest broker it’s what the broker has to offer. If I was a new trader I would want to find a broker who does not have inactivity fees and has demo account for sure. Hope this helps as knowing what you want to do first hand can save you time and maybe money also.
Good luck,

By: Moe

Moe — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:37:31 +0000

Of the more well known online borkers (Ameritrade, Etrade, etc.), scottrade is the best for first time investors. They have good research tools, $7 trades (far less than the 9+ you’ll pay with the other guys), no inactivity fees and you can get 3 free trades using promotion code: SNEG9782. Again, it’s only $7 per trade no matter the quantity of shares purchased. Also, there are plenty of podcasts that show you the various tools available on the scottrade site.

By: WiilWaal

WiilWaal — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:36:59 +0000

I hope someone can point me out to the best online discount brokerage firms to start with for a beginner who is in short both capital and experience beside what this article has already explained very well.

By: Kyle Roth

Kyle Roth — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:57:32 +0000

I tried opening an account with Ameritrade and was in the midst of asking some questions when the new account(s) representative hung up in my face. I considered that it was a dropped call but then waited for the representative to call me back at my contact number (listed in their records) and she didn’t. That confirmed to me that I was “hung up on.” This happened again with someone else at Ameritrade. I have concluded that they are trained to simply end the call and hang up when the questions become too challenging for them to answer.
I have used E Trade and think the customer service, comparatively, is acceptable, but I never lose sight that they, just like the others, try to find ways to make money at the customer’s expense. E Trade is sneaky so you have to be careful with them. Pay close attention to their fees (that they don’t initially tell you about). Stay informed when trading with these online brokerage firms; it is the key to avoid getting ripped off.

By: Stefanie Springer

Stefanie Springer — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:03:36 +0000

I am in the process of picking a discount broker, my question after reading the replies regarding brokerage service along with banking, what about USAA. Why are they not mentioned?
Thank you,
Stefanie

By: Susan

Susan — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:52:56 +0000

Zecco is NOT a top online broker by any means. Its service is crappy and its website is filled with useless eye candy. Zecco girls or Zecco sirens as the broker calls them – is nothing but alluring content without substance. Are people here to invest or to ogle at girls anyhow?

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:57:17 +0000

If you want a nicely integrated bank and broker company – try the brokerages who are affiliated with major banks like Citibank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo Bank. ETrade is not affiliated with a major bank but they’re well known for offering decent bank and credit card products. I think their credit cards used to offer very good cash back rewards and low rates, though I’m not sure about now.

Citibank offers brick and mortar banking branches and runs its brokerage firm through Smith Barney (not sure this will be the case if Citibank eventually decides to sell off its Smith Barney investment arm due to its struggling status).

Bank of America’s brokerage arm is thriving based on reports on CNBC

Wells Fargo’s brokerage division is WellsTrade, which SmartMoney Mag has listed up there in the table…but it’s low in the rankings at #12 for some reason

By: DatekTrader

DatekTrader — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:13:23 +0000

Well I’ve stayed with Ameritrade ever since they bought out my old, old broker Datek (the original deep discount online broker) back in ‘02. The nice days of cheap fees and the new stock ticker! Then they bought out TD Waterhouse again, which I guess has improved their service.

However, I’ve been pondering the need for an integrated online bank and online broker way and Ameritrade doesn’t quite have the features I need any longer. Which cheap brokers also offer good bank functions and features with perhaps retail branches like traditional banks?

On the chart it looks like Etrade, Fidelity, CharlesSchwab, Banc of America, and Wellstrade offer the best bank servies (5 star each). Any recommendations? They all look pretty good after checking them out