Optionshouse vs USAA Brokerage: Commissions, Fees and Investments 2012
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- Stocks and ETFs: $3.95
- Stocks and ETFs Broker assisted: $3.95
- Two plans for options:
1. Up to five contracts for $5; each additional
contract $1
2. $8.50 + 0.15/contract (great if trading over 10 contracts)
- Two plans for spreads:
1. Up to 10 contracts for $10; each additional
contract $1
2. $12.50 + 0.15/contract
- Mutual Funds: $9.95
- Orders for U.S. treasury bonds and listed corporate bonds are accepted by phone
- Investments: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, ETFs
- Minimum to open Optionshouse account: $1,000 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account
- All Optionshouse fees
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- Stocks and ETFs: $8.95 for Gold members and $5.95 for Platinum members (an additional $0.01 per share and $0.005 is charged for each share over 1,000 for Gold and Platinum, respectively)
- Stocks and ETFs broker assisted: $50 (an additional $0.005 per share is charged for each share over 1,000)
- Options: $8.95 + $0.75 per contract for Gold members and $5.95 + $0.75 per contract for Platinum members
- Transaction-Fee No-Load Funds: $45 minimum
- All Listed Corporate Bonds: $25 plus $3 per bond
- U.S. Treasury Securities at Auction: $45
- Investment products: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, U.S. Treasury Securities, ETFs
- Minimum to open USAA Brokerage account: $0
- All USAA Brokerage fees
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Optionshouse vs USAA Brokerage: Pros
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- Lowest commissions
- Free streaming quotes
- Efficient trading tools
- No account minimums. Minimum initial funding size is $1,000 for a cash account and $2,000 for a margin account
- No fee IRA accounts
- No volume requirements, maintenance and inactivity fees
- Free check-writing privileges
- Free DRIPs (complete shares only)
- No surcharges for large orders and extended hours trading
- Very low margin rates
- Free virtual trading
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- No account maintenance, inactivity or hidden fees
- Good banking services
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Optionshouse vs USAA Brokerage: Cons
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- For stocks priced $2 or less that are not options eligible, add $0.005 per share for the entire order
- Shortened extended hours trading: 8:00 am - 9:30 am and 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST
- International investors are not accepted
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- Higher than average commissions for Gold Members
- Surcharge of $0.01 per share and $0.005 is charged for each share over 1,000 for Gold and Platinum, respectively
- Poor trading platform
- Few educational resources
- Few research services
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USAA vs Optionshouse: Comparison Summary
USAA Brokerage (USAA Brokerage Review)
offers more than twice as expensive rates on buying and selling stocks and ETFs than
Optionshouse (Optionshouse Review):
$8.95 per trade verus $3.95 per trade.
Optionshouse provides some of the cheapest in the industry commissions on all
investment products without compromising on customer service, quality of trading tools and reliability. The firm was rated
4 1/2 stars (highest rating) for Trade Experience and awarded an impressive third consecutive "Best for Options Traders"
ranking in Barron's 2011 annual ranking of top online brokers.
Both online brokerage companies don't have IRA fees (annual and setup), and Optionshouse is included in our
Best IRA Accounts 2012 list.
We don't see any good reasons to open account at USAA Brokerage. Optionshouse is a great choice for everyone: from beginners
to active traders/day-traders.
Optionshouse is our strong recommensation between these two brokerage houses. We rated it #1 among the
Best Online Brokers in 2012.
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USAA
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