Stock Brokerage Houses are All Competing for Our Money
After years of trading, I’ve come up with a pretty good understand of how stock brokers work and how to figure out whether the brokerage firm is a good one or not. Do you have a dud or a winner? Find the broker below and see for yourself.
Zecco stomped onto the industry with unlimited free trades. It was a big mistake because it was an unsustainable business model. Now, it only offers ten free trades if you have $25,000 in your account.
OptionsHouse is relatively new but it’s making headlines as it provides stock trades at $2.95 per trade. The options pricing is very attractive as well at $9.95 flat fee, making it one of the cheapest brokers out there. There’s no bank or anything, but the cost may win you over.
TradeKing used to be the leader with $4.95 stock trades but other people have surpassed them to be the pricing leader. However, this broker has ultra responsive support which might be the determining factor for many.
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 has many loyal followings but it’s not doing enough to attract new customers, or at least the younger crowd. $7 is cheap if you are talking about ten years ago but it’s not cheap anymore.
TD Ameritrade really needs to update their interface, as well as lower their pricing. The price is high, not to mention that the website have been known to be down under heavy use.
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.
