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LightSpeed Trading vs Etrade
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LightSpeed Trading vs Etrade 2012: Commissions and Investments
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- Stocks and ETFs: $4.50 per order, plus/minus Market Center Fees
- or $0.0045 per share, plus/minus Market Center Fees, $1 minimum per trade
- OTCBB and Pink Sheets: $10 per order, plus/minus Market Center Fees
- Options: $0.60 per contract, no minimum/no order charges
- Futures: $0.60 per contract, no minimum/no order charges plus exchange fees
- Investment products: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, futures, ETFs
- Minimum to open Lightspeed Trading account: $1,000 for Web Trader platform, $10,000 for Lightspeed Trader platform
- All Lightspeed Trading fees
- Lightspeed Trading promotional code
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- 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
- Etrade login
and Etrade referral code
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- Some of the lowest commissions in the industry
- Direct access to ECN’s and exchanges
- Free practice account
- Online community
- Automated trading
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- 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
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- $10,000 minimum to use Lightspeed Trader (but only $1,000 to use Lightspeed Web Trader)
- $35 annual IRA fee
- Account opening needs work
- Web Trader platform is badly designed, full of bugs and it could take a lot of time to enter the order
- Extended hours trading is not available on the Web Trader platform
- Customer service needs improvement
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- High commissions on all investment products
- High margin rates
- Customer service complaints
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LightSpeed Trading vs Etrade: Comparison Summary
LightSpeed Trading (LightSpeed Trading Review)
easily beats Etrade (Etrade Review) when it comes to stock and ETF
commissions: $0.0045 per share and $1 minimum per trade versus Etrade's $9.99 per trade.
In fact, LightSpeed Trading is one of the lowest priced stock brokerage firms in US.
LightSpeed Trading is targeting primarily very active traders. The firm offers free virtual
trading where investors could test different trading strategies and improve their skills without risking their money.
If you are a beginner at investing, neither of these companies is right for you and you are better off
with one of our Best Online Brokers for Beginners.
We also believe that there are better choices for
Free IRA Account.
Based on dramatically lower commissions, we strongly recommend LightSpeed Trading over Etrade to active traders. For everybody else
we suggest taking a look at the companies in our Best Brokerages article.
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