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Speedtrader vs LightSpeed Trading
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Speedtrader vs LightSpeed Trading: Commissions, Fees and Investments 2012
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- Stocks and ETFs Per Trade: $6.95
- Stocks and ETFs Per Share: $0.0039 per share, $0.99 min per trade
- Futures Trades (Electronic): $1 per contract (plus exchange and NFA fees)
- Options Trades: $1 per contract
- Bonds Trades: $50 per ticket
- Mutual Funds: $50 per trade for no-load mutual funds
- Investment products: stocks, options, futures, futures symbols, no-load mutual funds, Forex, bonds, ETFs
- Minimum to open SpeedTrader account: $0 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account
- All SpeedTrader fees
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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
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- Low commissions for very active traders
- Free streaming real-time Level I or Level II quotes
- Professional trading platform
- Free intra-day charting
- Virtual trading
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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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- $30 Quarterly Inactivity Fee (if under 15 trades)
- Steep software fees
- High mutual funds commissions
- $35 annual IRA fee and $25 IRA set-up fee
- Option exercise or assignment $30 each
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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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Speedtrader versus LightSpeed Trading: Comparison Summary
Speedtrader (Speedtrader Review) and
LightSpeed Trading (LightSpeed Trading Review)
offer very low commissions on stocks and ETFs: $0.0039/share and $0.0045/share respectively. Both brokerage firms don't have surcharges
on penny stocks, extended hours trades and on large orders.
These online brokerages are primarily suited for very active traders and hedge funds. They offer their clients professional trading
platforms with all the bells and whistles a daytrader might want.
There is a steep learning curve to master professional trading tools at Speedtrader and LightSpeed Trading.
If you are a beginner at investing, neither of these companies is right for you. You will be better off
with one of our Best Online Brokers for Beginners recommendations.
Both companies provide customers with free practice accounts. LightSpeed Trading also offers online trader community, where
users could get help and even investment ideas.
We recommend LightSpeed Trading over Speedtrader to active investors who trade often. For everybody else we suggest taking a
look at the companies in our Best Brokerage Firms article.
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