Online brokers are all over so it’s hard to figure out which one is really the best. I’ve compiled a list of the different ones out there and give a brief description of my thoughts on each.
Etrade Financial really messed up with its mortgage division. During the past 2 years, the brokerage have been posting consecutive quarters of losses and it doesn’t even have anything to do with its brokerage firm. It’s really letting Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade take its share and it’s just going downhill slowly.
TD Waterhouse acquired Ameritrade to make TD Ameritrade. They also changed it to green but that’s about all the changes they made. The online user interface still looks like it’s from the 1990s when everything was based on command lines. I would recommend other options over this one any day.
Charles Schwab have been cleaning up in the last year or so, especially with the troubles of Etrade. Honestly, I’ve been thinking about moving my money to Charles Schwab as well since they offer everything you’d want.
TradeKing is the stock broker that I use after years with Etrade. While I’ve made a lot of money with Etrade, I just don’t want any problems with it going bankrupt. TradeKing also offers commissions at half the cost of Etrade.
Zecco has the worst marketing ever but it is one of the few broker that offers free stock trades. If you have over $25,000 or trade 25 times or more, the trades are free. Otherwise, it’s $4.50 per trade.
I was looking forward to SogoTrade until I can’t seem to find a way to trade options. Huh? The stock trade is cheap at $3 per trade but your cash earn no interest (yes, 0%). Protection seems to be good though with up to $5 million protected but still, probably not my cup of tea.
Wells Fargo offers a trading platform in its WellsTrade as well. It’s free for people with over $25,000 of combined assets with them so it’s worth a look (if you have the money). My personal experience is that the platform is lacking but for retirement accounts and/or investors who don’t trade often, free trades are a good alternative.
Bank of America basically has the same offering as Wells Fargo. It matches them with the free stock trades with the same conditions ($25k minimum to qualify for the free trades). I wouldn’t be surprised that they will change something though after they set their feet and start integrating with Merrill Lynch though.
OptionsXpress has a weird name because it’s not just a options house. It’s not the cheapest and it’s not the bigger. Everything is just middle of the pack but then if you are into options, they have the most comprehensive tools.
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