|
|
Etrade vs Tradestation: which brokerage to choose in 2012?
|
Etrade vs Tradestation 2012: Commissions, Fees and Investments
|
|
- Stocks and ETFs: $9.99 if 0-149 trades per quarter; $7.99 if 150+ trades per quarter
- Options: $9.99 plus $0.75/contract if 0-149 trades per quarter; $7.99 plus $0.75/contract if 150+ trades per quarter
- Mutual Funds: $19.99
- Futures contracts: $2.99 per contract, per side + fees
- Investment products: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, futures, options, ETFs
- Minimum to open Etrade account: $2,000 for margin account. For securities accounts (except retirement accounts), an account minimum deposit of
either at least $500 in cash or a deposit of securities is required within 60 days of account opening for the account to remain active. There is no initial minimum deposit requirement for retirement, custodial, or employee stock plan accounts. Accounts not meeting the minimum deposit requirement will be closed after 60 days.
- All Etrade fees
|
- Stocks and ETFs Flat-Rate Plan: 1 to 9 trades/month - $9.99/trade; 10 to 29 trades/month - $7.99/trade; 30 or more trades/month - $6.99/trade
- Stocks and ETFs Per-Share Plan: first 500 shares $0.01 per share, $0.006 per share thereafter, $1 minimum per trade
- Options: $1 per contract with no ticket charge and no minimum
- Futures: 25¢ - $1.20 per side, per contract + exchange, regulatory & overnight fees
- Mutual funds: $14.95
- Bonds: $14.95 plus $5 per bond
- T-Bills: equities - $50, futures - $10
- OTCBB: $9.99 (100,000 share position maximum)
- Pink Sheet Stocks: $9.99 (100,000 share position maximum)
- Investment products: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, futures, T-Bills, OTCBB, Pink Sheet Stocks, Forex, ETFs
- Minimum to open Tradestation account: $5,000 for non-daytraders and $30,000 for daytraders
- All Tradestation fees
|
Etrade vs Tradestation: Pros
|
|
- Very good trading tools
- No IRA account fees, no minimums with electronic statements and confirms
- Minimum to open: $1,000 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account
- Banking products: checking, savings, money market accounts, CDs and credit cards
- No surcharges on large orders, penny stocks and extended hours trading
- Great research amenities
|
- Great trading platform
- Trading modeling functionality
- Lots of investment products to trade
- Active online community
|
Etrade vs Tradestation: Cons
|
|
- High commissions on all investment products
- High margin rates
- Customer service complaints
|
- Somewhat high stock and ETF commissions
- $99.95 fee to use TradeStation Platform if not traded at least 5,000 shares in previous month
- Lots of fees for market data
- $35 annual IRA fee
- Steep learning curve: trading platform is too complicated for beginner investors
- Minimum amount to open account is $5,000 for non-daytraders and $30,000 for daytraders
|
Etrade versus Tradestation: Comparison Summary
When comparing flat-rate pricing plans,
Etrade (Etrade Review) and
Tradestation (Tradestation Review)
offer remarkably similar commission structures: $9.99 per stock/ETF trade which could get somewhat lower the more customer trades.
Tradestation has $99.95 fee to use Tradestation Platform if client did not trade at least 5,000 shares in previous
month. The firm also charges $0.005 per share more on shares over 5,000 in a single order.
Tradestation excels in trading tools but its software has a steep learning curve and will be too
complicated for beginners. If you are new to investing, check out our recommendations for
Best Brokers for Beginners.
Etrade comes ahead in banking services and customer service.
There is no IRA setup fee and no annual IRA fee at Etrade. Tradestation charges $35 annual IRA fee.
Due to high commissions, neither of these companies made it into our
Best IRA Brokers in 2012 list.
Both online brokers are pretty good but their commissions are much higher than average in the industry. Tradestation is an OK choice
for active traders. Etrade would be our suggestion for "buy-and-hold" investors who rarely trade.
Investors could spend a lot less per trade and save a fortune over the years in investment costs by
going with one of our Best Brokerages recommendations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|