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OptionsHouse vs TradeKing
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OptionsHouse vs TradeKing 2013: Trading Fees and Investments
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- Stocks and ETFs: $4.95 (for stocks/etfs priced over $2)
- Options: $4.95 plus $0.65 per contract
- Short options valued at 5 cents or less, can be bought to close these positions for no charge (commission free)
- Mutual funds: $9.95
- Bonds: $4.95 per bond ($14.95 minimum)
- Treasuries: $24.95
- Certificates of Deposit (CDs): $24.95
- Investments: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, CDs, forex, treasuries, ETFs
- TradeKing minimum deposit to open account: $0
- All TradeKing fees
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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
- Optionshouse minimum deposit to open account: $1,000 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account
- All Optionshouse fees
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- Great commissions
- No minimums, or maintenance or hidden fees
- Free real-time quotes
- Top-rated customer service
- Low margin rates
- Best online investor community
- Fee-free IRAs
- Free DRIPs (dividend reinvestment plans)
- Extensive educational resources
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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, or maintenance or inactivity fees
- Free check-writing privileges
- Free DRIPs/Dividend Reinvestment (complete, non-fractional shares only)
- No surcharges for large orders or extended hours trading
- Very low margin rates
- Free virtual trading
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- Additional $0.01 per share on the entire order for stocks priced at less than $2
- $50 annual inactivity fee if BOTH apply to an account(s):
- Combined account value of the household account(s) is less than $2,500
- No commission-charged trades have been executed in the account(s) during the last 12 months
- International investors are not accepted
- Shorter after-hours trading: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST, instead of 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm EST
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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 after-hours trading: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST, instead of 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm EST
- Basic charts
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OptionsHouse vs TradeKing: Comparison Summary
Optionshouse (Optionshouse Review)
is better priced discount brokerage than
TradeKing (TradeKing Review):
$3.95 versus $4.95 for stock and ETF trades. Mutual funds have the same rate: $9.95 per transaction. TradeKing
charges $0.01 per share more on stocks under $2, and Optionshouse $0.005 per share more on stocks under $2 that are
not options eligible. Both firms do not have additional commission on large orders and extended hours trading.
TradeKing is friendlier brokerage for beginner investors: lots of learning materials and
helpful online user community. Customers could call broker and place a trade with his/her help without a surcharge at both firms.
TradeKing and OptionsHouse don't have IRA setup and IRA maintenance fees, and they made it into our list of the
Best Brokers for IRA Account.
Both of these companies are excellent and are highly rated by all financial magazines.
If you are new to investing, want the best customer service, or participation in online investor community -
go with TradeKing. Otherwise, OptionsHouse is your broker.
You could also open accounts in about 20 minutes with both firms with no obligation (non-IRA accounts don't have account closing fee), and
see for yourself which brokerage will work better for you.
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This article was updated on 1/21/2013.
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