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OptionsHouse Stock Brokerage Review – Rated Number 1 Trade Experience

Amey S — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:25:57 +0000

At first glance you might think that OptionsHouse is only a brokerage for option traders, but the truth is they actually also have some of the lowest stock trade commissions around.

OptionsHouse is a subsidiary of PEAK6 Investments, one of the biggest option trading brokerages around. While they deal heavily with options, OptionsHouse also has the services and tools in place to trade stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds alike, with some of the lowest commissions around.

Barron’s 2009 Online Brokerage Survey just ranked OptionsHouse #1 in Trade Experience. Other notables like TradeKing and E*Trade have received such awards as well.

When it comes to OptionsHouse’s commissions they are pretty hard to beat. All fees are flat rates, so they are the same price regardless of the volume of your trade. Here is a breakdown of some important numbers to note…

$2.95/trade for stocks
$9.95/trade for options
No minimums or inactivity fees
$1000 required to open cash account
$2000 required to open margin account

The only brokerage that might be able to beat these rates is Zecco; however, there is criteria who need to meet.

Need a New Broker? Get $2.95 Flat-Rate Stocks, $9.95 Flat-Rate Options and $14.95 Flat-Rate Spreads at OptionsHouse. If you need to transfer, OptionsHouse will refund you up to $100.

For those looking to enter the stock market, take a second to download my free guide to entering the stock market.
Want More? Visit our Broker Center for more broker reviews and news.

Receive Market Alerts Straight To Your Twitter Account

Amey S — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:10:18 +0000

If you need to know one thing about trading stocks, then remember this – If the news is already made public then you are probably already late. Getting that edge or staying on top of news is critical when trading stocks. No surprise that there are many services that directly focus on bringing you the best news you need right when you want it.

With the popularity of Twitter, Zecco has now launched a new service that sends customized alerts directly to you through Twitter. They are free for anybody to use, and alerts are sent to you as direct messages.

Some of the alerts you can choose to receive include:

Market Trends: Gainers, Losers, Largest Volume
Breakfast Bell: Bullish & Bearish Ideas
The Analyst Call: Analyst Up and Downgrades
Various Stock Price Movements

Below is an example of what an alert looks like:

“Zecco Price & Volume Alert: AAPL:NASDAQ Price rises above $106.00 with a trade of $106.03 at 10:37AM ET”

Get market alerts sent directly to your Twitter account.

Etrade Stock Brokerage Review

Amey S — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:46:23 +0000

For more stock brokerage reviews check out the Broker Center.

Argubably the most popular stock brokerage, Etrade is probably most associated with the commercials starring the little talking baby.

Ranked number 1 online stock broker by SmartMoney in 2008, Etrade is well-known for their assortment of investment vehicles.

Members can select various types of retirement and savings accounts, trade options, stocks, and, futures, and even trade in multiple foreign markets.

Pricing figures:

Base trading commissions start $12.99 for stocks and $12.99 plus $0.75 per contract for options; however, there are various requirements that could lower commissions all the way down $6.99.
As long as you execute 1 trade per quarter or maintain a balance of plus $10,000, then you will avoid having to pay a quarterly maintenance fee of $40. There are also tons of other criteria that you can meet, to avoid the fee.
Account minimum to open an account is $1,000.

Account holders also have access to a large assortment of trading tools and resources. There are web-based and platform software and applications for built specifically for the iPhone or BlackBerry.

Overall Etrade tends to have higher commissions than most comparable stock brokerages, but you can’t complain about the amount of choices you have to invest with. Best for people looking for long-term trading and saving accounts.

Get 100 Commission Free Trades in an E*TRADE IRA. No-fee, no minimums.

TradeKing Stock Brokerage Review

Amey S — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 06:23:13 +0000

You have probably seen TradeKing posted everywhere on the internet, and rightfully so. The discount stock brokerage has racked up quite a few accolades over time:

SmartMoney 2008 – number 1 in customer service
SmartMoney 2007 – number 1 discount broker
Barron’s 2007 and 08 – received 4 stars
Kiplinger’s 2008 – received 5 stars

Key facts to consider:

Stock trades are $4.95, market or limit (regardless of account size).
Options trade at $4.95/trade plus 65 cents per options contract.
No minimum account fee or inactivity fee.

Besides stocks and options there are not many other investment vehicles to choose from; however, TradeKing does offer various tools and calculators sufficient for the average trader. There is also a community forum for users.

Overall, TradeKing is the perfect option for traders looking for cheap trades, excellent support, and viable tools.

For those looking to enter the stock market, take a second to download my free guide to entering the stock market.
Want More? Visit our Broker Center for more broker reviews and news.

Zecco Stock Brokerage Review

Amey S — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 06:12:00 +0000

Wasn’t it just yesterday when Zecco first hit the seen with their unheard of free trading? Hard to believe a couple years have already gone by; however, the once “commission-less” broker has made some huge steps in becoming a serious contender.

First off, you CAN still receive free trades from Zecco, but the requirements are a little higher to achieve:

Maintain a minimum of $25,000 in your account
Execute 25 trades per month and get 10 free trades

If you don’t meet those needs, commissions are still relatively cheap compared to other discount brokerages at $4.50 per trade and no-load mutual funds are $10.

With Zecco you can trade all the normal stuff: stocks, options, mutual funds, and ETF’s.
Become part of a 100,000 member investment community, with blogs, forums, and analysis.
There is no account minimum

Zecco is great for those looking for a reliable brokerage with cheap commissions and feel comfortable using third-party resources to research and find stocks; however, they are adding better tools and there is a strong community following.

The broker has recently launched their new FOREX service.

For those looking to enter the stock market, take a second to download my free guide to entering the stock market.
Want More? Visit our Broker Center for more broker reviews and news.

thinkorswim Stock Brokerage Review

Amey S — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 06:00:54 +0000

thinkorswim was rated number 1 online broker for 2009 by Barron’s, and I am not surprised. Every single trader I have come across, with an account, is absolutely in love with the service. Hey, if you are new to stock trading, then thinkorswim even has free paper trading for you.

The discount broker is known for its great educational resources and trading tools. You can usually find some sort of free live seminar hosted by thinkorswim.

thinkorswim tools

One of the major advantages for thinkorswim are their powerful tools, which allow you to trade anywhere from a computer to your phone. There are 4 tools (all are free with your account):

think Desktop – software-based platform
Web-based trading
think Anywhere – trade from your pda device
think Mobile – mini-browser for your cell phone

With thinkorswim you can trade stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, ETFs, and mortgage-backed securities. There are also various retirement and education saving plans, but you might want to look else where for these options.

thinkorswim pricing

$9.95 per stock trade (5000 shares max) or $.015 per share (500 min)
$500 account minimum
Standard option rate – $2.95 per contract or $1.50 per contract $9.95

Unlike the other brokers for active traders that we will be looking at, thinkorswim probably has the highest rates; however, there are many promotions that aim at giving you money back:

$50 per new customer referral
Replenish up to $100 on any transfer fees
They will rebate the cost of internet if you make 40+ trades in a month
3 complimentary mutual fund trades per month
Get a free TOS monkey when you fund your account

In short, thinkorswim is really a great choice for any type of trader. There are so many tools and options available to you that you almost couldn’t go wrong with this brokerage.

For those looking to enter the stock market, take a second to download my free guide to entering the stock market.
Want More? Visit our Broker Center for more broker reviews and news.

MB Trading Stock Brokerage Review

Amey S — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 05:11:59 +0000

Looking for cheap trades, cheap commissions? For a little while now, MB Trading has been a little secret used by many active traders because it offers relatively cheap trades.

The discount brokerage was recently rated 4.5 out of 5 stars by Barron’s, and has been acknowledge for its ability to constantly improve its services and tools. The brokerage has also been rated as one of the top brokers for frequent traders.

Here are some key facts to take note of:

Account minimum – $1000
Stocks – Direct: $.01 per share for first 500 shares and $.005 per share for unlimited additional shares ($1 min) Smart: $4.95 for up to 10,000 shares and $.005 for additional.
Options – $0.95 per contract per side (no min)

You can take a look at their price structure below. Find the one that is best for you.

With MB Trading you can trade stocks, FOREX, futures, options and more; however, don’t look for long-term saving plans here. With sign up, main tools include a software-based application that has recently been completely restructured.

MB Trading is a good option for those more active or frequent traders looking for low commissions.

For those looking to enter the stock market, take a second to download my free guide to entering the stock market.
Want More? Visit our Broker Center for more broker reviews and news.

TD Ameritrade Stock Brokerage Review

Amey S — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 05:22:54 +0000

I can’t help it but always see a TD Ameritrade commercial every time I turn on the television (a lot). It seems as though the discount brokerage has been around forever. The first brokerage account I opened was with TD Ameritrade, and I still actively use that account today.

Some key facts to note:

There are no account minimums.
Stock trades are a flat rate of $9.99.
There are no inactive or maintenance fees.
Offers a variety of investment products and solutions.

Although commissions are towards the high end for average discount brokerages, the services are almost unmatched. When it comes to resources and education, TD Ameritrade has it all.

TD Ameritrade offers a full streaming trading software, desktop backtesting software, and various trading educational classes free with an account.

Overall, TD Ameritrade is great for the average trader’s tasks. Those looking to play solid investments and long-term strategies. If you are shaky about trusting your money with a broker, then TD Ameritrade is where you need to start.

For those looking to enter the stock market, take a second to download my free guide to entering the stock market.
Want More? Visit our Broker Center for more broker reviews and news.

ShareBuilder Stock Brokerage Review

Amey S — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:48:16 +0000

If you are really (and I mean really) new to stock trading or just don’t want to waste time finding the best stock to invest in, then you might want to take a look at ShareBuilder.

Since it is part of ING Direct, odds are that you probably know what kind of broker ShareBuilder is. Basically it aims at building long-term growth.

Some key facts to note:

Buy stocks for as low as $4.
No account minimum.
No inactivity fee.
Real times trades are $9.95.

Many look at ShareBuilder as the “wealth builder for dummies.” With various tools and calculators, you can pick what you want to buy or even automatically receive suggestions based on your investment plan.

Because of the simplicity of this service, tools are fairly basic; however, you can receive $50 when you fund $500 into your ShareBuilder account.

A compatible service with more emphasis on self-trading would be TradeKing.

For those looking to enter the stock market, take a second to download my free guide to entering the stock market.
Want More? Visit our Broker Center for more broker reviews and news.

Interactive Brokers Stock Brokerage Review

Amey S — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:38:07 +0000

It seems the more comfortable you get with trading, the more often you want to do it. Once this happens, it almost seems like you can’t find low enough commissions. Interactive Brokers tries to get you the lowest commissions possible.

Most trading happens in-house. That is why they are able to keep commissions low; however, low commissions usually mean you have to pay for it somewhere else. In this case, Interactive Brokers lacks good customer support, but if you know what you are doing, then that shouldn’t be a problem.

With Interactive Brokers, you can trade stocks, options, futures, FOREX, bonds, and funds.

Pricing Structure – Since Interactive Brokers is trying to get you the lowest commissions possible, prices range depending on frequency, volume, and stock price. Take a look at the full breakdown here.

For an individual investor to open an account you must deposit $10,000, so this broker is obviously not meant for the new guy. If you are 21 or younger, then minimum is $3,000.

Their tools are not meant for the average trader, but, just like everything else with this broker, most people using this service won’t need to rely on it. You can demo it before you sign up.

This discount broker is probably best suited for the active trader. Do you want low commissions or someone to talk to? That is ultimately what it comes down to when deciding to use Interactive Brokers.

For those looking to enter the stock market, take a second to download my free guide to entering the stock market.
Want More? Visit our Broker Center for more broker reviews and news.