Stock Markets Exposed

Which online investing company would you use (eTrade, Scottrade....)?

I'm about to try online stocks and investing and was curious which most of you use.

Public Comments

1. Scottrade offers lower trading fees.
2. I would consider spreading my risk by investing in a mutual fund. The fund managers spend all day every day analyzing many many individual stocks that you couldn't possibly analyze if you spend your day doing anything else. I'd buy my shares directly from the funds themselves so as not to pay any additional fees. I'd look at Vanguard, American Century, and maybe certain Fidelity funds.
3. I used both, and kept Etrade.
4. You know, as an observation, folks who are confident enough to do their own online trading without help generally are confident enough to pick their own trading site, too. No offense intended. Just an observation.
5. Scottrade has low fees, and lower minimum orders. They also tend to increase gains when selling by a tiny percent because of the way they execute trades. E-Trade is undergoing lot of difficult issues, and it is a takeover target, and if they get bought out, they prob. will have some issues moving accounts and such.
6. Scottrade is alright. I would avoid E*trade. Like idiots, they extended themselves out into the subprime world and have taken an ugly hit on their books. Does this mean they are going under? Who knows. Its too soon to tell for them, but considering they offer such low rates, their customers are going to soon fell the pain of E*trade's errors as they are going to need to generate revenue somehow to offset the damage to their books. I would keep that in mind, and avoid them altogether.
7. At Fidelity their fees are somewhat higher, but they offer very good interest on cash balances and have excellent research material. Also they offer free purchases of t-bills. I use Fidelity. If you plan on making a lot of buys and sells, their fees drop based on volume and become as low as $8.00 a trade.
8. well, since I invest to make money, I go with Scottrade due to their lower commissions.
9. It really depends upon your own personal needs. If you plan on being an active trader, and you will be making a large number of smaller trades, 500 shares or less, then you should look for a broker that charges commissions per share. Like Interactive Brokers among others. If you are looking for a broker that offers excellent research and banking facilities you might want to try Fidelity. If you only plan on making a limited number of trades per month, then you might want to try Scottrade or ETrade. Personally I prefer Scottrades' platform, but I use Interactive Brokers. If you are seriously considering trading stocks, then you should have learned the importance of doing your research, and this is no different. You need to assess what your needs are and which brokerage best fills those needs. We can offer you some advice, but ultimately it comes down to your own research. Other things you might want to keep in mind are, does the broker pay you interest on any cash in your account? How easy is it to move money in and out of your account? What does the broker offer to help you with your tax preparation?Something that you may not think about until it comes time to start filling out the paperwork. Most brokerages can exchange data automatically with places like Turbo Tax, but not all. Do they charge extra for pre and after hours trading? What do they charge for commissions on penny stocks? Choosing a broker is a lot like choosing a stock, you need to do your research. If on the other hand you just want to buy and hold a few shares every now and then. Scottrade or ETrade should do just fine. If you want someplace that offers really good research but where you'll pay higher commissions, then I would go with Fidelity. That's my $.02
10. I've used Scottrade for years. It's $500 to open an account. No fees. Both market and limit orders are $7. Lots of good info on the site. Brokers are courteous when you call them for something (like to get a check out). No problems. Very satisfied with them.
11. Thinkorswim (aka TOS) is the best! If you're a stock investor or options trader, you need this account. There are charting software that lets you pick what type of technical analysis you want, plus you can scan for certain technical patterns or create your own. Live quote data. You can even watch CNBC live on the platform. All these features are free! They even match other brokerages commission prices so get more for the same price or less.
12. I just popped in here for a moment and could not help myself. I had to respond to this. I only saw one correct answer to this and that is Thinkorswim. Without exception, they are superior. Their customer service is amazing. I have sent an inquiry at 11:55pm on a Saturday night and received an answer BEFORE Midnight. Now that is service. If you are asking this question, then price is not your answer (TOS is very competitive with pricing and for options, about the best). All of their help desk staff are former Chicago floor traders. You can call and discuss trade strategies and they will tell you if they think it will work (options). Once you pick a company, stay with them. You will invest a great deal of time in learning their platform (and if you don't need to, then their platform is a waste of time). A good trading platform will provide you with so much function, that is will take you months to learn just most of it. And it will be adding function as fast as you can learn it. TOS rocks. Tom
13. Interactive brokers. 1$ a trade for stocks or options, and access to international exchanges.